Price dispersion through space and time: The roles of ubiquity and persistence

A considerable portion of the variability in price dispersion remains inadequately explained in marketing research. Existing theoretical perspectives that emphasize information asymmetry, market competition, and consumer behavior capture only limited aspects of this multifaceted phenomenon. Drawing on microeconomic and behavioral pricing theory, we propose ubiquity and persistence as higher-order contextual moderators that shape how the determinants of price dispersion, namely micro-market conditions, seller characteristics, product characteristics, and client characteristics, influence price variability across markets. Ubiquity captures the spatial coexistence of heterogeneous prices, while persistence reflects their temporal continuity. Rather than constituting types or dimensions of price dispersion, these constructs define the contextual conditions under which its drivers exert their effects. Building on this foundation, we advance two theoretical propositions and develop a conceptual framework that clarifies when and where each micro-level mechanism operates most strongly. The present study contributes to marketing theory by integrating spatial and temporal contingencies into a unified framework that links pricing behavior to enduring market outcomes and opens new avenues for empirical research.