Final answer:
Manufacturers can stimulate demand by offering a price reduction for microwave ovens during the maturity stage of their product life cycle. This is because the market is saturated, and there is strong competition. Price reductions can help maintain market share in this phase.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the maturity stage of a product life cycle, the market is typically saturated, and there is a high level of competition. Manufacturers might use price reductions as a strategy to maintain or increase their market share while the product is in this stage. The provided reference discusses how companies evaluate the decision to change prices and highlights the concept of menu costs, which are the costs associated with changing prices, such as updating marketing materials and labels.
Furthermore, prices can be sticky due to these costs, and firms may not frequently change prices as it could confuse or frustrate customers. However, the other options such as setting high prices, price increases due to changes in demand, or price reductions solely due to increasing competition and eliminating high-cost firms, are not attuned with the typical characteristics of the maturity stage.