The Max-Min Principle of Product Differentiation: An Experimental Analysis

Theoretical models of multidimensional product differentiation predict that in duopoly firms differentiate maximally along one dimension and minimally along the other dimensions. We experimentally reproduce a market in which firms can differentiate their products along two horizontal dimensions. The main result is that subjects do not differentiate their products and locate near the center consumers' distribution.-

Trademarks, Product Variety, and Economic Activity in Italy and Europe

This paper studies the relationship between trademarks and economic activity. We compare the distribution of product classes across national, EU, and international trademarks deposited by Italian firms. In relation to EU trademarks, we analyze some characteristics of the deposits of major European countries. In particular, we compare "trademark specialization" to export specialization. A trademark is interpreted as a means to differentiate products, thus a greater number of trademarks deposited is associated with a higher degree of product differentiation. Our findings highlight that trademark protection "follows" quite closely the structure of the real economy, with some exceptions. Thus, those economic sectors where countries exhibit economic specialization also present a higher degree of product differentiation.Trademarks, Intellectual property rights, Specialization, Product variety

Social networking websites: who survives?

This article studies the relationship between the characteristics of social networking sites (SNSs) and their probability of survival. The data sample includes 224 SNSs launched throughout the world from 1995 to 2015 and that can be described by focus strategy, business financing methods and interactions with external companies, such as partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. Three factors are systematically associated with closure hazard rates. First, compared with SNSs that address a specialized audience, generalist SNSs have a three times higher probability of closing. Second, being the target of a merger or acquisition more than doubles the probability of closure. Third, new entrants have higher probability to survive if compared with SNSs with experience in the industry

Next-Generation Computational Methods for Enhanced Multiphase Flow Processes - WP2

Next-Generation Computational Methods for Enhanced Multiphase Flow Processes - WP

GLOCALIZATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Esai ini mengkaji konsep mana: globalisasi atau glokalisasi yang lebih berkontribusi pada pembangunan berkelanjutan di abad XXI. Pengertian globalisasi adalah internasionalisasi ekonomi sebagai proses deterministik dari universalisasi yang bersifat top-down. Beberapa ahli menjelaskan bahwa proses globalisasi memiliki dampak yang luas. Oleh karena itu, agar globalisasi semakin meluas dan meminimalkan dampak negatifnya, proses top-down dalam globalisasi perlu dipadukan dengan proses bottom-up, yaitu dengan memperhatikan konteks lokalnya, atau disebut glokalisasi. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa glokalisasi akan lebih dapat diterima dan berkelanjutan

Social pluralism in public and private television broadcasting

This paper measures social pluralism in the most popular free-to-air TV groups in Italy (Rai, a state-controlled company, and Mediaset, owned by Berlusconi’s family) between 2008 and 2014. Media social pluralism is the ability of the mass media to describe and take into account the different categories of citizens in a society. The Italian Authority for Telecommunications regularly collects data on the airtime devoted to 22 “social actors” during newscasts. Our findings show that the public TV broadcaster shows a wider internal social pluralism than Mediaset. The data also reveal significant inter-group differences (external pluralism). The degree of internal and external pluralism decreased when Silvio Berlusconi served as Prime Minister

Media coverage of large countries at the 2015 Milan EXPO

An inertial bias or status quo bias in media industries, as in other markets, means the perpetuation of a certain behaviour or attitude. If mass media frequently address certain issues, an inertial bias means that such issues will be treated again independently of their absolute or relative newsworthiness. This paper studies the inertial media bias in relation to the Milan Expo 2015, an event where, in theory, all participant countries ought to have been considered equal. The empirical analysis considers the articles and reports on the Expo of the two most important online Italian newspapers, Repubblica and Corriere della Sera between May and October 2015. The estimates show that the newspapers devoted more articles and words to the largest countries, while the slant towards the richest countries was less evident. In addition, the tone of the media reports regarding large and rich countries was more positive