Exploration and exploitation in the presence of network externalities

This paper examines the conditions under which exploration of a new, incompatible technologyis conducive to firm growth in the presence of network externalities. In particular, this studyis motivated bythe divergent evolutions of the PC and the workstation markets in response to a new technology: reduced instruction set computing (RISC). In the PC market, Intel has developed new microprocessors bymaintaining compatibilitywith the established architecture, whereas it was radicallyr eplaced byRISC in the workstation market. History indicates that unlike the PC market, the workstation market consisted of a large number of power users, who are less sensitive to compatibilitythan ordinaryusers. Our numerical analysis indicates that the exploration of a new, incompatible technologyis more likelyto increase the chance of firm growth when there are a substantial number of power users or when a new technologyis introduced before an established technologytakes off. (; ; ;

The scale of production in technological revolutions

Many manufacturing industries, including the computer industry, have seen large increases in productivity growth rates and have experienced a reduction in average establishment size and a decrease in the variance of the sizes of plants. A vintage capital model is introduced where learning increases productivity on any given technology and firms choose when to adopt a new vintage. In the model, a rise in the rate of technological change leads to a decrease in both the mean and variance of the size distribution.Productivity

IS Research and Policy: Notes From the 2015 ICIS Senior Scholar’s Forum

Based on the International Conference on Information Systems’ (ICIS) 2015 senior scholars’ forum, we provide insights on the role and opportunities of IS researchers in shaping policy

Internal and external linkages in the MNC--the case of R&D subsidiaries in Japan

"Paper presented at symposium on Management of the MNC, Brussels, June 1987."Bibliography: leaves 24-27.D. Eleanor Westney

A Dynamic Power Management Schema for Multi-Tier Data Centers

An issue of great concern as it relates to global warming is power consumption and efficient use of computers especially in large data centers. Data centers have an important role in IT infrastructures because of their huge power consumption. This thesis explores the sleep state of data centers' servers under specific conditions such as setup time and identifies optimal number of servers. Moreover, their potential to greatly increase energy efficiency in data centers. We use a dynamic power management policy based on a mathematical model. Our new methodology is based on the optimal number of servers required in each tier while increasing servers' setup time after sleep mode to reduce the power consumption. The Reactive approach is used to prove the validity of the results and energy efficiency by calculating the average power consumption of each server under specific sleep mode and setup time. We introduce a new methodology that uses average power consumption to calculate the Normalized-Performance-Per-Watt in order to evaluate the power efficiency. Our results indicate that the proposed schema is beneficial for data centers with high setup time

IS research and policy: Notes from the 2015 ICIS senior scholar's forum

Based on the International Conference on Information Systems’ (ICIS) 2015 senior scholars’ forum, we provide insights on the role and opportunities of IS researchers in shaping policy

Channel coordination under price protection, midlife returns, and end-of-life returns in dynamic markets,”

T his paper examines three channel policies that are used in declining price environments: Price protection (P) is a mechanism under which the manufacturer pays the retailer a credit applying to the retailer's unsold inventory when the wholesale price drops during the life cycle; midlife returns (M) allow the retailer to return units partway through the life cycle at some rebate; and end-of-life returns (E) allow the retailer to return unsold units at the end of the life cycle. Under declining retail prices, if the wholesale prices and the return rebates are set properly, then EM (i.e., midlife and end-of-life returns) achieves channel coordination. However, such a policy may not be implementable because it may require the manufacturer to be worse off as a result of coordination. If P is used in addition to EM and the terms are set properly, then PEM guarantees both coordination and a win-win outcome. If the retail price is constant over time, then EM is sufficient to guarantee both coordination and a win-win outcome

Limiting intellectual property : the competition interface

PhDThis is a study of legal limits of the exercise of intellectual property, with emphasis on chip designs. In Part One, the focus is on the economics of innovation dynamics and the nature of the social bargain underlying intellectual property. It analyses the function of intellectual property and the structure of protection of chip designs under the US chip law, the IPIC Treaty and the Agreement on TRIPS. It suggests that while protection of intellectual property is designed to promote technical innovation and enhance competition in the public favour, the innovation process is carried out in conditions of increasingly imperfect competition. On these grounds, a point is made to limit the exercise of proprietary rights in the welfare/efficiency perspective. Part Two addresses the treatment of legal limitations. An analysis is made concerning the evolution of the safeguarding provisions on which unauthorised use of copyright and patent in the British legal system relies. These safeguards, structured within the intellectual property law, have gradually been developed to also rely on a resurgent competition legislation, which has been considerably used by OECD countries to order the exercise of proprietary rights. The ability of modem competition law to induce an intellectual property order, and the features of the adjudicatory process of non-voluntary licences over UK patents are also examined. From the findings the emergence of; namely, a safeguarding policy is identified. The conceptualisation of this institutional policy, aiming at efficiency and welfare objectives related to the exercise of proprietary rights, is a central theme. It shows that safeguarding provisions intrinsic to intellectual property law is insufficient to pursue these objectives, and holds that to protect intellectual property without an effective control of anti-competitive practices is a distorting and unsustainable legal policy

Mapping the process of product innovation: Contextualising the 'black box' of computer and video games design

The academic literature hitherto has mainly addressed the 'effects' of video games and not their creation. The thesis seeks to gain an understanding of the motivations behind the design choices in creating home computer and video games software in light of this 'gap'. The research sought to understand the process of constructing games by examining: (i) the individual designer's aims and how these were mediated by the contexts of. - (ii) the development team and organisation; (iii) the needs of the audience and their presence in the innovation process and (iv) the impact of the hardware manufacturer's quality assessment upon the game's design. These aims were met by outlining the industry structure operating in the video games' market from the period between the early 1980s to mid-1990s. This was performed with reference to the rise of Sega and Nintendo's hardware and software strategy, covering their diffusion from Japan to the US and UK. This highlighted the context surrounding the creation of three computer games from initial concept to actual commodity that served as the subject of case study analysis. The discussion seeks to explore the implications of the choices made in designing the games and widens the debate to the creation of other games. It is argued that the design of games mirrors aspects similar to the creation of other entertainment media but possess certain problems associated with aesthetic conventions, labour, industry and technical issues unique to this medium. Consequently the thesis outlines certain dimensions that impinge'upon the process of product innovation in entertainment software. From a theoretical perspective the application of a social constructivist approach to the emergence of a leisure technology is a novel one and demonstrates the contingent nature of game design