NETWORK EXTERNALITY ON RETAILER AND SUPPLIER PRICING STRATEGIES FOR COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS

Network externality, which affects the value of many high-tech and Internet-related products, may have a critical impact on firm strategies. This paper focuses on the strategy selection of various players in a channel structure. We design a sequential game among two suppliers and a retailer. In the developed game and model, we provide two optional strategies to the retailer, whereas suppliers can impact retailer strategies with their own pricing. We found that (direct) network externality typically had a positive effect on firms. More important, we conclude that when the degree of product network externality from a weak supplier reaches a certain scale, a relatively stable state of competition is facilitated, which is more profitable compared with a collusion strategy. Otherwise, the two suppliers can still maintain a competition relationship. However, a collusion strategy may be more profitable than competition in the second case. In this article, we recommend an acquisition strategy as a sustainable and reasonable collusion strategy

A Cognitive Role Theoretic Approach to the Consumer Role

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a role theoretic approach to the empirical study of the consumer role. To do this, I adopt a cognitive role theory perspective and propose that the consumer role is best conceptualized as a network of associations subject to the cognitive rules of availability and accessibility. When a consumer role prime (i.e., a tangible, external stimulus associated with being a consumer) is encountered, the network of associations should be activated and cognition, perception, and behavior should be shaped accordingly. This proposition is at the heart of my dissertation and is tested with six experiments. Chapter 1 introduces the concept of the consumer role (including key assumptions and boundaries surrounding this construct) and why studying the consumer role is important. In chapter 2, the literature review, I provide a comprehensive review of role theory, including a discussion of the different perspectives within role theory and how they have been applied in marketing. In chapter 3 and 4, I examine the temporal orientation of the consumer role. Because of the strong association between consumerism and instant gratification, I propose the consumer role is present-oriented. This hypothesis and the mechanism behind consumer role impatience are tested in three studies. In chapter 5, I adopt a more comprehensive view of consumer role activation. Specifically, I explore whether a consumer role prime will activate a network of associations and whether this activation will spread outward through the network, beginning with more proximal associations and extending to more distal associations. In chapter 6, I examine the consequences of consumer role activation on outcomes more typically associated with the citizen role––voting intentions and actual voting behavior in the 2012 American Presidential Election. In chapter 7, contributions to role theory and consumer research are discussed

Online expansion: is it another kind of strategic manufacturer response to a dominant retailer?

YesThe issues of channel conflict and channel power have received widespread research attention, including Geylani et al.’s (2007) work on channel relations in an asymmetric retail setting. Specifically, these authors suggest that a manufacturer can respond to a dominant retailer’s pricing pressure by raising the wholesale price for a weak retailer over that for the dominant retailer while transferring demand to the weak retailer channel via cooperative advertising. But, is online expansion another kind of strategic manufacturer’s optimal response to a dominant retailer? In this paper, we extend this work by adding a direct online selling channel to illustrate the impact of the manufacturer’s internet entry on firms’ demands, profits, and pricing strategies and on consumer welfare. Our analysis thus includes a condition in which the manufacturer can add an online channel. If such an online channel is opened, the channel-supported network externality will always benefit the manufacturer but hurt the retailers. Consumers, however, will only benefit from the network externality when a dominant retailer is present and will be hurt when both retailers are symmetric.National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chongqing’s Natural Science Foundation, British Academ

Decoding the "Free/Open Source(F/OSS) Software Puzzle" a survey of theoretical and empirical contributions

F/OSS software has been described by many as a puzzle. In the past five years, it has stimulated the curiosity of scholars in a variety of fields, including economics, law, psychology, anthropology and computer science, so that the number of contributions on the subject has increased exponentially. The purpose of this paper is to provide a sufficiently comprehensive account of these contributions in order to draw some general conclusions on the state of our understanding of the phenomenon and identify directions for future research. The exercise suggests that what is puzzling about F/OSS is not so much the fact that people freely contribute to a good they make available to all, but rather the complexity of its institutional structure and its ability to organizationally evolve over time.F/OSS software, Innovation, Incentives, Governance, Intellectual Property Rights

Taxation and regulation of smoking, drinking and gambling in the European Union

Smoking is the single largest cause of avoidable death in the European Union accounting for over half a million deaths each year. One in ten of all 11-year olds have been drunk twice or more times, possibly causing lasting physical and mental harm. Electronic gaming machines are the crack cocaine of gambling. Consumer sovereignty, on the other hand, indicates that people should be allowed to smoke as long as they do not harm others. There is sound medical evidence, furthermore, that a drink each day keeps the doctor away, while recreational gambling can be an enjoyable form of entertainment for many people. These and other salient facts about the harmful and positive effects of smoking, drinking and gambling provide the background for a dispassionate economic analysis of the taxation and regulation of these activities. The main message the studies convey is that it would be unrealistic to rely solely on duty levels and differentiation to curb abusive use. Duty levels do have a clear impact in restraining consumption by children and young adults - an important priority for policy. But complementary policies - including direct regulation and provision of information - also have a meaningful role to play in each of the markets for tobacco, alcohol and gambling.

The Rise of Noncommunicable Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges for Public Health Policies

The health landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean is changing quickly. The region is undergoing a demographic and epidemiological transition in which health problems are highly concentrated on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In light of this, the region faces two main challenges: (1) develop cost-effective policies to prevent NCD risk factors, and (2) increase access to quality healthcare in a scenario in which a large share of the labor force is employed in the informal sector. This paper describes both alternative interventions to expand health insurance coverage and their tradeoff with labor informality and moral hazard problems. The paper also focuses on obesity as a case example of a NCD, and emphasizes how lack of knowledge along with self-control problems would lead people to make suboptimal decisions related to food consumption, which may later manifest in obesity problems.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS

The Rise of Noncommunicable Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges for Public Health Policies

The health landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean is changing quickly. The region is undergoing a demographic and epidemiological transition in which health problems are highly concentrated on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In light of this, the region faces two main challenges: (1) develop cost-effective policies to prevent NCD risk factors, and (2) increase access to quality healthcare in a scenario in which a large share of the labor force is employed in the informal sector. This paper describes both alternative interventions to expand health insurance coverage and their tradeoff with labor informality and moral hazard problems. The paper also focuses on obesity as a case example of a NCD, and emphasizes how lack of knowledge along with self-control problems would lead people to make suboptimal decisions related to food consumption, which may later manifest in obesity problems.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS

The rise of noncommunicable diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean: challenges for public health policies

The health landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean is changing quickly. The region is undergoing a demographic and epidemiological transition in which health problems are highly concentrated on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In light of this, the region faces two main challenges: (1) develop cost-effective policies to prevent NCD risk factors, and (2) increase access to quality healthcare in a scenario in which a large share of the labor force is employed in the informal sector. This paper describes both alternative interventions to expand health insurance coverage and their trade-off with labor informality and moral hazard problems. The paper also focuses on obesity as a case example of an NCD, and emphasizes how lack of knowledge along with self-control problems would lead people to make suboptimal decisions related to food consumption, which may later manifest in obesity problems.Fil: Anauati, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; ArgentinaFil: Galiani, Sebastian. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Weinschelbaum, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentin

Business model responses to digital piracy

Digital piracy challenges firms by reducing revenues and shifting consumption habits. Recently, some firms have successfully leveraged business models against piracy, but the understanding about this phenomenon still lacks depth and structure. This study examines the characteristics of digital piracy in some of the most affected industries, presents comparative case studies of two iconic firms, Spotify and Netflix, and analyzes their digital business model responses. We generalize their adoption to generic digital content distributors and explain how they contribute to generate and capture value. Theoretical and practical implications for technological innovation, firm diversification, and network competition are also discussed