Can we measure Microsoft's market power ?

This paper has the objective of measuring the market power of Microsoft in the software industry. We develop a two tier arguent. Firstly we estimate the scale economies within the industry. We then make the crude hypothesis that a firm's success in this industry is linked to its size, based on the scale argument. We modelise these assumptions and then compare the expected profits and actual profits genereted by Microsoft. The results tend to show that Microsoft has posted profits in excess of those that such a firm is expected to benefit from if it does not have market power.software industry ; scale economies ; Microsoft

Social efficiency of entry in a vertically related industry

We provide a new perspective to the literature on social desirability of entry by showing that, if the input supplier has market power, social desirability of entry of the final goods producers depends on returns to scale. Entry in the final goods market can be socially insufficient under constant returns to scale technology, but it can be socially excessive under decreasing returns to scale technologies if the cost of entry is low so that the final goods market is sufficiently competitive. Hence, the anti-competitive entry regulation policies are more justifiable if the final goods market is characterised by decreasing returns to scale technologies

The Life Cycle Effects of Software Process Improvement: A Longitudinal Study

Rapid innovation, intense competition, and the drive to survive have compelled information technology (IT) firms to seek ways to develop high quality software quickly and productively. The critical issues faced by these firms are the inter-relationships, sometimes viewed as trade-offs, between quality, cycle time, and effort in the software development life cycle. Some believe that higher quality can only be achieved with increased development time and effort. Others argue that higher quality results in less rework, with shorter development cycles and reduced effort. In this study, we investigate the inter-relationships between software process improvement, quality, cycle time, and effort. We perform a comprehensive analysis of the effect of software process improvement and software quality on all activities in the software development life cycle. We find that software process improvement leads to higher quality and that process improvement and quality are associated with reduced cycle time, development effort, and supporting activity effort (e.g., configuration management, quality assurance). We are in the process of examining the effect of process improvement and quality on post-deployment maintenance activities

A systematic review of software development cost estimation studies

This paper aims to provide a basis for the improvement of software estimation research through a systematic review of previous work. The review identifies 304 software cost estimation papers in 76 journals and classifies the papers according to research topic, estimation approach, research approach, study context and data set. A web-based library of these cost estimation papers is provided to ease the identification of relevant estimation research results. The review results combined with other knowledge provide support for recommendations for future software cost estimation research, including: 1) Increase the breadth of the search for relevant studies, 2) Search manually for relevant papers within a carefully selected set of journals when completeness is essential, 3) Conduct more studies on estimation methods commonly used by the software industry, and, 4) Increase the awareness of how properties of the data sets impact the results when evaluating estimation methods

The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Economic Competitiveness

It is important to note that enterprises will be more productive when they utilize information communication technologies to the fullest extent possible. This will result in an increase in their competitiveness, which will enable them to achieve sustainable economic growth, which, in the long run, is a prerequisite for reducing poverty. As a result of the development of information communication technologies, the opportunities for developing economies to participate in international markets are constantly expanding as a result of the development of this technology. With the advent of the Internet, we are witnessing a dramatic change in how goods and services are produced, delivered, sold, and purchased. As a result, the number of people and businesses that are connected to the internet on a daily basis is increasing, thus making them ready to take part in and contribute to the knowledge economy in an ever-increasing way. As a result of the use of the Internet, weak participants in the global economy will be empowered - such as small business owners in developing countries - enabling them to access information, communication, and knowledge that they had not been able to access in the past. It has become possible to trade goods and services more quickly due to the use of new technologies. Over the past few years, it has been shown that the trade in information and communication technology goods and services has been growing at a faster rate than the trade in total goods and services in the past few years. The information and communication technologies have also enabled trade in other sectors as they have improved market access and brought a broader range of customers into the market, as well as simplified the customs, transportation, and logistics processes that are associated with trade in other sectors. In terms of the economic impact of ICTs, one of their most important features is that they play a very important role in changing productivity processes within organizations

Experience: Quality benchmarking of datasets used in software effort estimation

Data is a cornerstone of empirical software engineering (ESE) research and practice. Data underpin numerous process and project management activities, including the estimation of development effort and the prediction of the likely location and severity of defects in code. Serious questions have been raised, however, over the quality of the data used in ESE. Data quality problems caused by noise, outliers, and incompleteness have been noted as being especially prevalent. Other quality issues, although also potentially important, have received less attention. In this study, we assess the quality of 13 datasets that have been used extensively in research on software effort estimation. The quality issues considered in this article draw on a taxonomy that we published previously based on a systematic mapping of data quality issues in ESE. Our contributions are as follows: (1) an evaluation of the “fitness for purpose” of these commonly used datasets and (2) an assessment of the utility of the taxonomy in terms of dataset benchmarking. We also propose a template that could be used to both improve the ESE data collection/submission process and to evaluate other such datasets, contributing to enhanced awareness of data quality issues in the ESE community and, in time, the availability and use of higher-quality datasets

Approaches to Assess Market Power in the Online Networking Market

Facebook, the world’s largest online networking platform, is the subject of multiple antitrust investigations by various state and federal regulators. Yet scholars and practitioners remain divided on how to measure Facebook’s market power. Some argue that conventional approaches for identifying market power are suitable for the online networking market. This Article argues such conventional approaches are inadequate for assessing market power in online networking markets.This Article begins by introducing the traditional approaches that courts have employed to assess market power: the direct effects approach, the Lerner Index approach, and the market share approach. It next describes Facebook’s business model and shows that, because Facebook is a two-sided market, these traditional approaches should not be applied to Facebook.Instead, the Article proposes that the information gaps, switching costs, and entry barriers approaches are better suited for assessing the market power of online networking platforms. The Article thus concludes by proposing a legal framework for assessing market power in online networking platforms which employs such non-traditional approaches. While this Article uses Facebook as the main case study, this paper’s findings are equally applicable to similar online networking platforms

Schätzwerterfüllung in Softwareentwicklungsprojekten

Effort estimates are of utmost economic importance in software development projects. Estimates bridge the gap between managers and the invisible and almost artistic domain of developers. They give a means to managers to track and control projects. Consequently, numerous estimation approaches have been developed over the past decades, starting with Allan Albrecht's Function Point Analysis in the late 1970s. However, this work neither tries to develop just another estimation approach, nor focuses on improving accuracy of existing techniques. Instead of characterizing software development as a technological problem, this work understands software development as a sociological challenge. Consequently, this work focuses on the question, what happens when developers are confronted with estimates representing the major instrument of management control? Do estimates influence developers, or are they unaffected? Is it irrational to expect that developers start to communicate and discuss estimates, conform to them, work strategically, hide progress or delay? This study shows that it is inappropriate to assume an independency of estimated and actual development effort. A theory is developed and tested, that explains how developers and managers influence the relationship between estimated and actual development effort. The theory therefore elaborates the phenomenon of estimation fulfillment.Schätzwerte in Softwareentwicklungsprojekten sind von besonderer ökonomischer Wichtigkeit. Sie überbrücken die Lücke zwischen Projektleitern und der unsichtbaren und beinahe künstlerischen Domäne der Entwickler. Sie stellen ein Instrument dar, welches erlaubt, Projekte zu verfolgen und zu kontrollieren. Daher wurden in den vergangenen vier Jahrzehnten diverse Schätzverfahren entwickelt, beginnend mit der "Function Point" Analyse von Allan Albrecht. Diese Arbeit versucht allerdings weder ein neues Schätzverfahren zu entwickeln noch bestehende Verfahren zu verbessern. Anstatt Softwareentwicklung als technologisches Problem zu charakterisieren, wird in dieser Arbeit eine soziologische Perspektive genutzt. Dementsprechend fokussiert diese Arbeit die Frage, was passiert, wenn Entwickler mit Schätzwerten konfrontiert werden, die das wichtigste Kontrollinstrument des Managements darstellen? Lassen sich Entwickler von diesen Werten beeinflussen oder bleiben sie davon unberührt? Wäre es irrational, zu erwarten, dass Entwickler Schätzwerte kommunizieren, diese diskutieren, sich diesen anpassen, strategisch arbeiten sowie Verzögerungen verschleiern? Die vorliegende Studie zeigt, dass die Unabhängigkeitsannahme von Schätzwerten und tatsächlichem Entwicklungsaufwand unbegründet ist. Es wird eine Theorie entwickelt, welche erklärt, wie Entwickler und Projektleiter die Beziehung von Schätzungen und Aufwand beeinflussen und dass das Phänomen der Schätzwerterfüllung auftreten kann