Value chain envy: explaining new entry and vertical integration in popular music

The desirability of establishing a value chain at a particular stage in a value system can be considered to depend on the relation between the value that can be created and the value that can be captured at that particular stage. Value chain envy motivates firms to invade the more desirable stages of the value system, either through new entry or vertical integration. The feasibility of establishing a value chain, however, can be considered to depend on the efficacy of the means to value protection at that particular stage. The concepts of value creation, capture, and protection within value systems are employed to analyze recent developments in the recorded music industries, particularly those affecting the stage of music publishing. Over the course of the 20th century the value created at the stage of music publishing diminished steadily, while the value captured remained high, thereby giving rise to value chain envy. On the basis of the proposed theoretical framework one could expect these developments to trigger strategic responses to remedy this value chain envy. However, most actors, except the major record companies, were unable to do so until new information communication technologies were introduced. Industry level data do indeed corroborate that vertical integration by major record companies was followed, from the mid-1990’s onwards, by a significant increase in the prevalence rate of newly founded SMEs in the music publishing industry in the Netherlands. These newly founded firms are testimony to new entry or vertical integration by musician-entrepreneurs, thereby providing support for the advanced arguments.

Art and technology: A comparative study of policy legitimation

The legitimation of technology policy is discussed from the point of view of the neoclassical and of the dynamic, Schumpeterian, approach. The results are presented, using the traditional categories of policy legitimation in welfare theory: public goods, externalities, and merit goods. Art policy legitimation is discussed within the same conceptual framework. The application of the dynamic approach to art policy leads to conclusions similar to the general conclusions about technology policy. A review of the postwar development of (Dutch) art policy supports the impression that art policy may be on its way to become a subspecies of technology policy

Design sea levels for Southern Africa : a probabilistic approach

Includes bibliographical references.This thesis describes the development of a methodology for the quantitative assessment of design sea levels for southern Africa. In order to achieve this objective it was necessary to establish which ocean processes affected sea level in the sub-continent and develop a probabilistic model for the combination thereof. The methodology, is used to characterize regional design sea levels in terms of the west, south and east coasts. A site specific application is undertaken to demonstrate the model's capabilities with regard to the design of depth limited structures. The ultimate objective of this study is to provide a practical approach to the quantification of the sea level component of loading in the full probabilistic design assessment. Data analysis considers all available sea level and wave data for three ports around the coast. A three parameter threshold analysis technique is used to define independent identically distributed events. The distinction between the major processes affecting sea levels in southern Africa may be related to the differences in both the time and space scales of their response to the forcing mechanisms. The data analysis procedure is used to defined the primary statistical characteristics of the observed events in each data set as they relate to sea level. A stochastic simulation model is developed which reproduces a synthetic hourly sea level record displaying the same statistical characteristics as the observed data. Annual maximum values are extracted from the model output with a view to estimating extreme sea levels. The model may be run over any number of periods until satisfactory convergence in the results is obtained. The theoretical basis of the model is described and the results compared with the Gumbel method. A regional assessment of design sea levels for southern Africa indicated that the south coast experienced larger fluctuations in the stochastic component of sea level than the east and west coasts. Sea levels throughout the sub continent are primarily affected by tide, shelf waves, wind waves and edge waves. These processes were found to be statistically independent of one another for the areas evaluated. Design sea level would appear to be determined by a combination of a number of moderate magnitude events rather than one single process. The application of the model illustrates the importance of considering both wave height and sea level conditions as stochastic variables for the design of depth limited structures. The relative influence of stochastic sea level is shown to increase from deep to shallow water