Strategic Bundling of Products and Prices: A New Synthesis for Marketing

TLDR

Bundling is widespread, yet the literature suffers from inconsistent terminology, unclear principles, and no comprehensive classification, legal guidelines, or optimality framework. This article aims to create a unified synthesis of bundling that delivers three key benefits. The synthesis defines bundling terms, introduces two dimensions for a complete classification, establishes legal evaluation rules, and presents a 12‑proposition framework indicating optimal strategies across contexts. The resulting framework equips managers to select appropriate bundling strategies and opens new research directions for scholars.

Abstract

Bundling is pervasive in today's markets. However, the bundling literature contains inconsistencies in the use of terms and ambiguity about basic principles underlying the phenomenon. The literature also lacks an encompassing classification of the various strategies, clear rules to evaluate the legality of each strategy, and a unifying tramework to indicate when each is optimal. Based on a review of the marketing, economics, and law literature, this article develops a new synthesis of the field of bundling, which provides three important benetits. First, the article clearly and consistently defines bundling terms and identifies two key dimensions that enable a comprehensive classitication of bundling strategies. Second, it formulates clear rules for evaluating the legality of each of these strategies. Third, it proposes a framework of 12 propositions that suggest which bundling strategy is optimal in various contexts. The synthesis provides managers with a framework with which to understand and choose bundling strategies. It also provides researchers with promising avenues for further research.