Market leadership through technology – Backward compatibility in the U.S. Handheld Video Game Industry

The introduction of a new product generation forces incumbents in network industries to rebuild their installed base to maintain an advantage over potential entrants. We study if backward compatibility moderates this process of rebuilding an installed base. Using a structural model of the U.S. market for handheld game consoles, we show that backward compatibility lets incumbents transfer network effects from the old generation to the new to some extent but that it also reduces supply of new software. We examine the tradeoff between technological progress and backward compatibility and find that backward compatibility matters less if there is a large technological leap between two generations. We subsequently use our results to assess the role of backward compatibility as a strategy to sustain market leadership

Backward Compatibility to Sustain Market Dominance – Evidence from the US Handheld Video Game Industry

The introduction of a new product generation forces incumbents in network industries to rebuild their installed base to maintain an advantage over potential entrants. We study if backward compatibility can help moderate this process of rebuilding an installed base. Using a structural model of the US market for handheld game consoles, we show that backward compatibility lets incumbents transfer network effects from the old generation to the new to some extent but that it also reduces supply of new software. We also find that backward compatibility matters most shortly after the introduction of a new generation. Finally, we examine the tradeoff between technological progress and backward compatibility and find that backward compatibility matters less if there is a large technological leap between two generations. We subsequently use our results to assess the role of backward compatibility as a strategy to sustain a dominant market position

Market Leadership Through Technology - Backward Compatibility in the U.S. Handheld Video Game Industry

The introduction of a new product generation forces incumbents in network industries to rebuild their installed base to maintain an advantage over potential entrants. We study if backward compatibility moderates this process of rebuilding an installed base. Using a structural model of the U.S. market for handheld game consoles, we show that backward compatibility lets incumbents transfer network effects from the old generation to the new to some extent but that it also reduces supply of new software. We examine the tradeoff between technological progress and backward compatibility and find that backward compatibility matters less if there is a large technological leap between two generations. We subsequently use our results to assess the role of backward compatibility as a strategy to sustain market leadership.backward compatibility, market leadership, network effects, video games, two-sided markets

Backward Compatibility to Sustain Market Dominance – Evidence from the US Handheld Video Game Industry

The introduction of a new product generation forces incumbents in network industries to rebuild their installed base to maintain an advantage over potential entrants. We study if backward compatibility can help moderate this process of rebuilding an installed base. Using a structural model of the US market for handheld game consoles, we show that backward compatibility lets incumbents transfer network effects from the old generation to the new to some extent but that it also reduces supply of new software. We also find that backward compatibility matters most shortly after the introduction of a new generation. Finally, we examine the tradeoff between technological progress and backward compatibility and find that backward compatibility matters less if there is a large technological leap between two generations. We subsequently use our results to assess the role of backward compatibility as a strategy to sustain a dominant market position.backward compatibility market dominance network effects two-sided markets

Vielfalt auf dem Arbeitsmarkt: Personalplanerische und arbeitsmarkttheoretische Überlegungen zur “Erosion” des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses

Die Erkenntnis, dass Humankapitalinvestitionen (u.a. durch die Auslösung von Lohn- und Lohnnebenkosten) zum einen erfolgsschmälernde Wirkungen haben und zum anderen positive Wirkungen auf den Unternehmenserfolg hervorrufen, hat sich in Wissenschaft und Wirtschaftspraxis bereits in der Vollbeschäftigungsphase der 1960er Jahre durchgesetzt und führt dazu, dass die Betriebe permanent ökonomisch legitimierbare Entscheidungen über das Humankapital zu treffen haben. Die korrespondierenden Entscheidungsfelder gestalten sich mittlerweile jedoch im Vergleich zu früheren Jahren (wie bereits oben skizziert) durch tiefgreifende Wandlungen ökonomischer, politischrechtlicher, sozio-kultureller und allgemein-technologischer Rahmenbedingungen komplexer und dynamischer. Die vorliegende Arbeit ist den Auswirkungen solcher Wandlungen auf die Alternativen gewidmet, den Betrieb mit Personal auszustatten. Dabei wollen wir nicht der Frage nachgehen, ob die Rede von der sog. Erosion des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses tatsächlich gerechtfertigt ist, sondern wir wollen die Vielfalt der Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten von Beschäftigungsverhältnissen aufzeigen und diese systematisch und modellgestützt analysieren. Wir werden uns deshalb zunächst in der gebotenen Kürze mit arbeitsrechtlichen und empirischen Grundtatbeständen sowie mit arbeitsmarkttheoretischen (speziell: segmentationstheoretischen) Grundlagen auseinandersetzen. Darauf aufbauend werden dann betriebswirtschaftliche (speziell: personalplanerische) Überlegungen zur Strukturierung der Personalausstattung angestellt. Das Ziel der Überlegungen liegt in der Skizzierung eines Entscheidungsmodells, das u.a. Entscheidungen über die Zahl der einzustellenden, der zu entlassenden, der zu schulenden, der “outgesourcten” sowie der freien Mitarbeiter unterstützt.Normalarbeitsverhältnis, atypische Beschäftigung, Personalplanung, Segmentationstheorien

Diabatic Heating as a Pathway for Cyclone Clustering Encompassing the Extreme Storm Dagmar

Contrary to the general notion that extratropical cyclones reduce baroclinicity, the baroclinicity is found to be enhanced in the wake of the extreme winter storm Dagmar. Thus, individual storms can increase baroclinicity, yielding a pathway to secondary cyclogenesis and cyclone clustering. We use a recently introduced diagnostic for baroclinicity—the tendency equation for the isentropic slope—and found that strong diabatic heating due to moisture supply from the subtropical Atlantic led to the enhanced baroclinicity in the rear of Dagmar. Storms ensuing Dagmar benefited from this increased baroclinicity. In contrast to previous studies on the mechanisms of cyclone clustering, we only find weak evidence for Rossby wave breaking and thus propose diabatic heating as an alternative pathway to cyclone clustering.publishedVersio

Feature-Based Jet Variability in the Upper Troposphere

Jets in the upper troposphere constitute a cornerstone of both synoptic meteorology and climate dynamics, providing a direct link between weather and midlatitude climate variability. Conventionally, jet variability is often inferred indirectly through the variability of geopotential or sea level pressure. As recent findings pointed to physical discrepancies of this interpretation for the Southern Hemisphere, this study presents a global overview of jet variability based on automated jet detections in the upper troposphere. Consistent with previous studies, most ocean basins are dominated by variability patterns comprising either a latitudinal shift of the jet or a so-called pulsing, a broadening/narrowing of the jet distribution without a change in the mean position. Whereas previous studies generally associate a mode of storm track variability with either shifting or pulsing, jet-based variability patterns frequently represent a transition from shifting to pulsing, or vice versa, across the respective ocean basin. In the Northern Hemisphere, jet variability is consistent with geopotential variability, confirming earlier analyses. In the Southern Hemisphere, however, the variability of geopotential and jets often indicates different modes of variability. Notable exceptions are the consistent dominant modes of jet and geopotential variability in the South Pacific and, to a lesser extent, the south Indian Ocean during winter, as well as the dominant modes in the South Atlantic and south Indian Ocean during summer. Finally, tropical variability is shown to modulate the jet distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, which is in line with previous results. The response in the Southern Hemispheric, however, is shown to be markedly different.publishedVersio

Prevailing Surface Wind Direction during Air-Sea Heat Exchange

While the climatological-mean sensible and latent heat fluxes are remarkably well described using climatological-mean fields in the bulk flux formulas, this study shows that a significant fraction of the climatological-mean wind speed in the midlatitudes is associated with wind variations on synoptic time scales. Hence, the prevailing wind direction associated with the most intense air–sea heat exchange can differ from the mean wind direction. To pinpoint these striking differences between the climatological and synoptic viewpoint, this study presents a global climatology of the prevailing surface wind direction during air–sea heat exchanges calculated for instantaneous and time-averaged reanalysis data. The interpretation of the fluxes in the lower latitudes is basically unaffected by the different time averages, highlighting the time-mean nature of the circulation in the lower latitudes. In the midlatitudes, however, the prevailing wind direction features a significant equatorward component for subweekly time averages and reverts to pure westerlies for longer time averages. These findings pinpoint the necessity to consider subweekly time scales, in particular along the midlatitude SST fronts, to describe the air–sea heat exchange in a physically consistent way.publishedVersio

Sensitivity of Air-Sea Heat Exchange in Cold-Air Outbreaks to Model Resolution and Sea-Ice Distribution

Modeling air-sea interactions during cold air outbreaks poses a major challenge because of the vast range of scales and physical processes involved. Using the Polar WRF model, we investigate the sensitivity of downstream air mass properties to (a) model resolution, (b) the sharpness of the marginal-ice zone (MIZ), and (c) the geometry of the sea ice edge. The resolved sharpness of the MIZ strongly affects peak heat fluxes and the atmospheric water cycle. For sharper MIZs, roll convection is initiated closer to the sea ice edge, increasing both evaporation and precipitation. This yields an increased heat transfer into the atmosphere while the net effect on the atmospheric moisture budget is small. Overall, higher atmospheric resolution increases both the peak and net heat extracted from the ocean. The geometry of the sea ice edge can induce convergence or divergence zones that affect the air-sea exchange.publishedVersio