Corporate Leverage and Product Differentiation Strategy

Abstract

This paper develops a model of the interplay between corporate leverage and product differentiation strategy. Leverage improves managerial discipline, but it can also raise customer concerns about a vendor’s long-term viability. We argue that customer concerns about firm viability will be particularly pronounced when products are highly differentiated from competitors’ products. In this context, optimal product differentiation strategies solve a trade-off between softening price competition and reducing customers’ total cost of ownership. Our analysis is consistent with empirical evidence suggesting a negative correlation between corporate leverage and product uniqueness.

Keywords: Leverage, Product differentiation, Liquidation costs, Customer lock-in, Innovation

JEL Classification: G0, L0, M0