TWO ESSAYS ON STRATEGIC CHANNEL MANAGEMENT IN A MULTI-CHANNEL RETAILING ENVIRONMENT

The primary objective of this study is to understand the underlying forces driving retailers’ strategic decisions and customers’ shopping behaviors in a multi-channel retailing environment. To this end, we develop theoretical models that capture important characteristics of customers as well as offline and online retailers. This study consists of two chapters. The first chapter investigates strategic product assortment decisions for a multi-channel retailer in a competitive market. More specifically, we investigate a multi-channel retailer’s coordinated product assortment decision between its online and offline outlets by analyzing a game-theoretic model. Intrigued by the practice of online- and offline-exclusive offerings by many multi-channel retailers, we compare equilibrium prices and profits across four alternative product assortment strategies (full, separate, offline-exclusive, and online-exclusive) within a model of a multi- channel distribution system. The results provide insights into the economic incentives and underlying strategic forces for such practices. We find that online-exclusive or offline-exclusive strategies can be an equilibrium policy for a multi-channel retailer in a competitive retail market and that its effectiveness depends on the degree and type of retail competition (against an e-tailer or a brick-and-mortar retailer) as well as the level of product differentiation. The asymmetry resulting from such exclusive assortment strategies leads to asymmetric prices across the individual product offerings, reflecting their different strategic roles in the multi-channel retailer’s effort to achieve the optimal balance of economic incentives such as market coverage, price discrimination, double marginalization, and protection from price competition. The second chapter investigates the impact of consumers’ opportunistic behavior in a multi-channel retail market such as showrooming and webrooming as well as how the emergence of mobile technology (e.g., smartphones) affects consumer search behavior and online vs. offline retail competition. We develop a dynamic consumer decision model, which captures customers’ channel switching and additional information search at offline and online retailers to deal with uncertainties regarding product fit and quality. The analysis of the model allows us to explore the impact of customers’ showrooming and webrooming behavior on the equilibrium prices and the profitability of the retailers in a multi-channel environment, and assess how such impact is moderated by the degree of fit uncertainty, quality uncertainty, return cost, search cost, and other costs related to online and offline purchase. Considering the proliferation of smartphone- equipped shoppers and the resultant increase in the ease of online information search, this paper studies how such a trend affects a brick-and-mortar retailer and an online retailer in different ways. The results suggest that, despite the widely known concerns of offline retailers, the rapid penetration of smartphones can increase physical stores’ profits under certain conditions. Moreover, the growth of mobile search and shopping can negatively affect the Internet retailer’s profit, depending on the costs of online search and purchase, as well as the degrees of fit and quality uncertainties

Manufacturing and Performance of Carbon Short Fiber Reinforced Composite Using Various Aluminum Matrix

A new fabrication process without preform manufacturing has been developed for carbon short fiber (CSF) reinforced various aluminum matrix composites. And their mechanical and thermal properties were evaluated. Electroless Ni plating was conducted on the CSF for improving wettability between the carbon fiber (CF) and aluminum. It was confirmed that pores in Ni plated CSF/Al and Al alloy matrix composites prepared by applied pressure, 0.8 MPa, had some imperfect infiltration regions between the CF/CF and CF/matrix in all composites. However, pores size in the region between the CF/CF and CF/matrix to use the A336 matrix was about 1 µm. This size is smaller than that of other aluminum-based composites. Vickers hardness of Ni plated CSF/A1070, A356 alloy, and A336 alloy composites were higher as compared to matrix. However, the A1070 pure aluminum matrix composite had the highest hardness improvement. The Ultimate tensile strength of the A1070 and A356 aluminum matrix composite was increased due to carbon fiber compared to only aluminum, but the Ultimate tensile strength of the A336 aluminum matrix composite was rather lowered due to the highest content of Si precipitate and large size of Al3Ni compounds. The Thermal Conductivity of Ni plated CSF/A1070 composite has the highest value (167.1 W·m−1·K−1) as compared to composites

The role of a large competitor’s entry and level of innovativeness in consumer adoption of new products: A comparison between market uncertainty and technological uncertainty

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the role of a large competitor’s entry and level of innovativeness in consumer adoption of new products. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is based on a comparison between market uncertainty and technological uncertainty. This paper henceforth defines and analyzes the following key factors affecting the purchase intention of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) new products: type of new products and entry of large competitors. The study further verifies mediator variables that exert impacts: uncertainties regarding both technology and market. Findings - The findings are as follows: purchase intention of SME new products does vary according primarily to the product types and entry of large competitors. More specifically, the entry of large competitors reduces uncertainties about really new products, thereby positively affecting SME new products. Originality/value - There was no causal relationship found, however, on incrementally new products. Further findings clarify that the mediator variables affecting reciprocal interactions between purchase intention of SME new products and the entry of large competitors hold valid only for market uncertainties and not for technological uncertainties

Development of VGCF/MP Reinforced Al Matrix Composite by Low Pressure Infiltration Method and Their Thermal Property

To fabricate vapor grown carbon fibers and mesophase pitch reinforced Al matrix (VGCF/MP/Al) composites, porous VGCF/MP with high porosity was fabricated using the spacer method. Carbonization and electroless Ni plating were carried out on porous VGCF/MP to improve its thermal conductivity (TC) and wettability with Al matrix, respectively. In addition, VGCF/MP/Al composites were manufactured using a low pressure infiltration method at 0.1 MPa. The effect of volume fraction of VGCFs on the interface between VGCF/MP and Al matrix, and the reactivity of the Al matrix to the Ni plating were investigated. The composites with 0.5 vol% of VGCFs showed a bonded interface between VGCF/MP and Al matrix. The bonded interface can be attributed to the improved wettability between VGCF/MP and Al matrix from Ni plating, resulting in the good bonding seen between VGCF/MP and Al matrix. At the interface of this sample, an intermetallic compound, Al3Ni, formed from the reaction between Ni and Al. Furthermore, the thermal conductivities of the fabricated porous VGCF/MP and VGCF/MP/Al composites were determined

Manufacturing and Performance of Carbon Short Fiber Reinforced Composite Using Various Aluminum Matrix

A new fabrication process without preform manufacturing has been developed for carbon short fiber (CSF) reinforced various aluminum matrix composites. And their mechanical and thermal properties were evaluated. Electroless Ni plating was conducted on the CSF for improving wettability between the carbon fiber (CF) and aluminum. It was confirmed that pores in Ni plated CSF/Al and Al alloy matrix composites prepared by applied pressure, 0.8 MPa, had some imperfect infiltration regions between the CF/CF and CF/matrix in all composites. However, pores size in the region between the CF/CF and CF/matrix to use the A336 matrix was about 1 µm. This size is smaller than that of other aluminum-based composites. Vickers hardness of Ni plated CSF/A1070, A356 alloy, and A336 alloy composites were higher as compared to matrix. However, the A1070 pure aluminum matrix composite had the highest hardness improvement. The Ultimate tensile strength of the A1070 and A356 aluminum matrix composite was increased due to carbon fiber compared to only aluminum, but the Ultimate tensile strength of the A336 aluminum matrix composite was rather lowered due to the highest content of Si precipitate and large size of Al3Ni compounds. The Thermal Conductivity of Ni plated CSF/A1070 composite has the highest value (167.1 W·m−1·K−1) as compared to composites

Physisorption and Chemisorption of SF6 by Transition Metal-Porphyrin Structure Embedded on Graphene Surface with Different Hapticities

The adsorption of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) by a transition metal-porphyrin structure embedded on the surface of graphene (MN4-graphene) was evaluated using first-principles density functional theory calculations by constructing the adsorption energy profile. The mutual balance between physisorption and chemisorption was assessed by analyzing the characteristics of the interaction
 between each central metal atom as an adsorption center and the SF6 molecule. CaN4- and CrN4- graphene had moderate adsorption energies of about -1.5 eV. The results indicate the feasibility of these species as reusable SF6 adsorbents, even under ambient conditions. This study provides deeper insight into the adsorption of SF6 and the potential of transition metal-porphyrin structures as SF6 capture materials for mitigating global warming