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Abstract
In this paper, a two-period game is constructed, where duopoly firms choose advertising
strategies in the first period and compete in price or quantity in the second period by maximizing
the value of firm equity. Using certainty equivalence, we demonstrate the impacts of uncertainty
and modes of competition on duopoly firms' optimal pricing, production, and advertising
strategies. Equilibrium price and quantity outcomes emerge as significantly different from the
standard industrial organization model of profit maximization. It turns out that the common
measurement of market power, the Lerner index, is generally mis-stated. In contrast to the
literature, we also find that firms will optimally switch from quantity to price competition either
when advertising costs are low, demand is high, or if idiosyncratic risk is reduced. A series of
simulations confirm these findings.