A note on symmetry breaking in a non linear marketing model

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the nonlinear discrete-time dynamic model proposed by Bischi and Baiardi (Chaos Solitons Fractals 79:145-156, 2015a). The model considers players with adaptive adjustment mechanisms towards the best reply and a form of inertia in adopting such mechanism. Moreover, we formulate an extension of the original model, where endogenous market size is considered. Through numerical simulations, we show that multiple attractors may exist in the presence of homogeneous agents and the emergence of non-synchronized trajectories both in the short (on-off intermittency) and long (global riddling) run. Therefore, the article highlights that strategic contexts exist in which the players' knowledge of the market and the adoption of the best reply do not always allow the use of the representative agent's rhetoric to describe the dynamics of the model.