Some Patterns of Market Shares of Brands Within and Across Product Categories

This paper: (i) reports an empirical regularity in the market shares of brands; (ii) presents a theoretical framework for understanding the observed regularity; (iii) adduces additional empirical consequences of the framework, which are some counterintuitive relationships among market shares of brands across different product categories; and (iv) presents empirical evidence for these consequences, thus providing additional support for the theoretical framework. Our cross-sectional data on market shares consists of 1171 brands in 91 product categories of foods and sporting goods sold in the US. If we assign a lower rank to a brand with a higher market share, then the key empirical regularity is that, in each category, the ratio of market shares between two successively-ranked brands becomes smaller as one progresses from higher-ranked to lower-ranked brands. The power law represents these patterns well, in an absolute sense, and better than an alternative model, namely, the exponential form, which has been studied in the literature but without having been compared to any alternative. The latter form predicts that the ratio of the market shares of any two successively ranked brands is a constant. We present some potential implications of our findings for marketing practice and research. We also offer an interpretation of the previously known square-root relationship between market share and the order of entry of firms into an industry. The theoretical framework that we present for understanding the patterns reported here shares its foundation with that of the familiar Dirichlet-multinomial paradigm of brand purchases. This framework has some intuitive interpretations; it accommodates multiple product categories; and it allows for the entry and exit of brands over time.

Organized Retailing in India: Issues and Outlook

Domestic and multinational corporations have begun to enter retailing in India, raising concerns that they will destroy the millions of small stores and street vendor businesses that presently dominate retailing in the country. Policymakers know that corporate retailers can improve the efficiency and productivity of retailing and distribution in India, but they are also concerned about possible harm to small businesses and loss of jobs among those who might not have the skills and training needed to find alternative employment. We examine whether corporate retailing has already harmed small retail businesses in India (and to what extent if so) and how much damage might occur in the future. We discuss how corporate retailing might benefit small retailers and consumers and consider how small and large retailers might coexist in a country where, in the next twenty years, 40% of the population and 70% of gross domestic product may be concentrated in urban areas. We consider problems that may arise if organized retailing grows and suggest ways in which such problems could be addressed by policymakers

Routines, Reconfiguration and the Contribution of Business Analytics to Organisational Performance

Availability of large volumes of data in the firms has given a rise in interest in the potential use of business analytics applications. Research has investigated the potential of business analytics to deliver improved performance and competitive advantage at the firm level. However, a theoretical framework identifying the organisational factors which enables the firms to realise those performance gains and competitive advantage has not been clearly articulated. This paper proposes a theoretical framework identifying the organisational factors involved in realising performance gains and competitive advantage from business analytics. This paper draws on the foundational works of dynamic capabilities, routines and effective use to develop a research model. The data collected to test the research model is described along with the analytical strategies to test the model. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Who kicks whom?\u3csup\u3e1\u3c/sup\u3e Contextual and Temporal Effects in the IT Use - Performance Relationship

This research extends extant literature examining the relationship between IS use and performance. While prior theory has predominantly treated IS use as an antecedent of performance and hypothesized a positive effect of use on performance, this research provides an alternative perspective. Specifically, this paper theorizes that under certain contexts performance can be an antecedent of use and that the effect can be in the opposite direction. In contrast to non-contingent models, this paper proposes a contingent model in which the IS use-performance relationship is contingent on organizational performance and varies over time. The model proposed here is tested on longitudinal data. Distributed lag model was employed for data analysis. The results support our hypotheses that performance is an antecedent of IS use and that the effect is negative, i.e. when organizational performance declines, IS use increases but after a period of increased use, the effect declines to non-significant levels

How Organizational Performance Influences Managerial Search? – Towards ‘Informating Search’ Theory

Although we expect managers to use the capabilities of business analytics systems to search for solutions and improve firm performance, we do not have a good understanding of the factors that motivate managers to undertake such search. Drawing on attribution and control theories, we propose a theory that explicates the performance conditions under which managers undertake search activities. Specifically, we theorize that managers are motivated to search for knowledge when both, operational performance and overall organizational performance, are declining. Further, we propose that managers’ search response to sustained organizational performance failure is faster (low search latency) when the magnitude of sustained failure is larger. We tested our hypotheses with longitudinal data collected monthly over a period of four years from seven hospitals. Distributed lag model analysis of the data supports our hypotheses. We conclude with implications for research and practice, and plans for future research

Blastoid Variant of Mantle Cell Lymphoma-a Rare Case Report

Abstract Mantle cell lymphoma is now recognised as a rare but distinct entity in the revised WHO classification. It is now well recognised that MCL represent a broad spectrum of different histopathological subtypes. The term blastic or blastoid variant is generally used to describe cases with a homogeneous population of cells displaying lymphoblastic morphology. The blastic form of MCL may be difficult to diagnose however immunophenotyping and molecular analysis show typical mantle cell lymphoma pattern. We present a case of 30 year old male presenting with inguinal mass which was diagnosed as blastic transformation of mantle cell lymphoma based on routine histopathology and immunohistochemistry