The role of the distribution platform in price formation of paid apps

In this paper we study the role of the distribution platform as an important determinant of price of paid apps. We also examine how the distribution platform influences the price implications of important developers' app-level decisions. To these purposes, we construct a hierarchical model of price formation by using an ad-hoc panel dataset consisting of top paid apps from the two major app stores, namely Apple's App Store and Google Play. Our findings show that prices of paid apps strongly depend on the platform where the apps are marketed. Specifically, the App Store is associated with lower prices for paid apps than Google Play. We find evidence that this is because the impact of cross-store differences in developer competition prevails over the impact of cross-store differences in average consumer willingness to pay. We also find that the price premiums as a return to trialability are more likely to emerge in Google Play than in the App Store, and that developers are more likely to adopt a penetration price policy in Google Play, thus implying an influence of the distribution platform on the price implications of these app-level decisions. Finally, our evidence does not confirm the argument that a more marked price reduction for paid apps embedding ads or generating revenues from other interested third parties should be observed in Google Play

An empirical analysis of online price dispersion in the Italian airline industry

Firms operating in the electronic marketplace set and adjust prices to affect demand and profitability. In service markets, such as airline markets, different prices are commonly offered by diverse firms to accommodate to a variety of market segments having particular sets of consumer attitudes. This variation in prices is the price dispersion and is based on market distinctiveness deriving from customer heterogeneity as well as the peculiar competition in the specific market arena. In this paper we use a panel dataset from the Italian airline market to investigate the role of competition and different online channels in the emergence of price dispersion. Specifically, we examine the unclear role of competition in price dispersion with novel data collected from different online channels, namely direct and Online Travel Agency (OTA) channels. We find that price dispersion is higher in routes where competition is higher even in presence of only one segment, namely the business segment. Our results also show that price dispersion significantly differs across different types of online channels

Alliance portfolio diversity, organizational slack, and firm performance

In this paper we analyze whether and how the availability of internal resources in the form of slack influences a firm ability to deal with partner diversity in its alliance portfolio. Alliances with diverse partners provide access to a broader pool of complementary resources, but they also entail significant coordination costs. In this context, we argue that slack acts as a doubleedged sword that can either facilitate or hinder the management of interdependencies among different alliance projects. Accordingly, we further argue that the net impact of slack will depend on the firm’s experience in dealing with the challenges posed by portfolio diversity. Empirical analysis on a sample of firms from the automobile industry provides support for these arguments and confirms that slack critically moderates the relationship between alliance portfolio partner diversity and firm financial performance. In particular, our findings reveal that while at low moderate levels of partner diversity slack negatively moderates this relation, at higher levels of partner diversity this effect reverses and the moderating effect of slack turns out to be positive. These findings suggest that organizational slack is an important factor to consider in the study of alliance portfolio management

Capital structure decisions in the biotechnology industry: the role of R&D collaborations with pharmaceutical incumbents

This study focuses on the importance of collaborative R&D attitudes of biotech firms in the capital structure determination. Specifically, we investigate the short term impact of R&D agreements on financial leverage and we analyze whether this relationship depends on alliances’ features and the type and characteristics of the partners involved. Our results suggest that agreements with established pharmaceutical incumbents are followed by a reduction in the level of debt, while collaborations with biotech firms do not play a significant role, at least in the short term. However, different explanations are plausible. Our findings could be consistent with an “extension” of the pecking order theory that takes into account the role of financial resources coming from partners. Alternatively, they could be in line with previous works that stressed the importance of financial slack in innovative environments or with papers that discussed the impact of the relationships with customers and suppliers in capital structure decisions