Strategic complementarities between different types of ICT-expenditures

Multivariate Tobit models are estimated using German cross?sectional data to test whether strategic complementarities exist between expenditures in four different types of ICT?components. If two ICT?components are complements, they are correlated (provided that agents act rationally). Significant correlations between all four types of ICT?expenditures are found and can neither be removed by ?standard? firm heterogeneity control variables such as firm size, firms? workforce qualification structure nor by firms? ICT?structure so that indication for the presence of complementarities is provided. --strategic complementarity,ICT-investment,multivariate Tobit model

The impact of political announcements on expectations concerning the starting date of the EMU - A microeconometric approach to the detection of event-dependent answering patterns in business surveys

This paper examines German business survey data to uncover the influence of political news on expectations concerning the starting date of the European Monetary Union (EMU). In this survey the participants were asked to indicate whether they expect a punctual or a delayed start of the EMU. Alternatively, they could also tick a don't know category. It is shown that political news actually influence answering patterns. While good news have a negative impact on the probability to cross don't know, they do not influence the probability to expect a delayed EMU start. Bad news, such as the heated debate about the convergence criteria at the Amsterdam EU summit, have a positive impact on the probability to expect a delayed start. The empirical results show that survey results generally have to be carefully interpreted if news about the topic which is investigated in the survey occur. If answering patterns are actually influenced by such news, the usual way to interprete survey responses - treating them as if they were sent back at the very same day - can lead to severe misunderstandings. In this paper a simple microeconometric technique is suggested which makes it possible to detect if survey responses are affected by news. --Binomial probit model,Expectations,European Monetary Union,Event-dependent answering patterns,Survey data

A Note on Pricing and Efficiency in Print Media Industries

Actors on print media markets face two different (and interrelated) demand curves: the demand for copies and the demand for advertising space. This paper develops a realistic, yet simple, model of print media industries. In contrast to earlier studies, it takes into account that print media firms can neither set advertising space nor its price. A main finding of this paper is that competitive concerns regarding recent concentrations in print media industries are likely to be overstated since a print media firms? cover pricing is limited by its feedback on advertising demand. --print media,advertising,product pricing

The determinants of BUND-future price changes: An ordered probit analysis using DTB and LIFFE data

This paper investigates the determinants of transaction price changes during BUND-future trading at Deutsche Terminbörse (DTB) and London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE). The analysis uses the ordered probit model, which is an econometric tool that is comparatively new to the econometrics of financial markets. It is especially valuable with respect to high frequency data which are used for the empirical analysis of this paper. Although the ordered probit model is nonstructural, it allows to test the validity of market microstructure literature. A comparison of BUND-futures trading at DTB and LIFFE is also conducted. ; In dieser Arbeit werden die Determinanten von Transaktionspreisveränderungen während des BUND-Future Handels an der Deutschen Terminbörse (DTB) und der London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) untersucht. Die Analyse wird mit Hilfe eines geordneten Probitmodells durchgeführt, das bisher kaum für Finanzmarktdaten verwendet wurde. Obwohl das geordnete Probitmodell nichtstrukturell ist, erlaubt es, einige mikroökonomische Ansätze zur Erklärung bestimmter Marktphänomena auf ihre Richtigkeit hin zu Überprüfen. Die Untersuchung verwendet dabei Hochfrequenzdaten, deren Eigenschaften das geordnete Probitmodell in besonderem Maße Rechnung trägt. Außerdem wird ein Vergleich zwischen den beiden Börsen DTB und LIFFE angestellt. --

When Pricing Below Marginal Cost Pays Off: Optimal Price Choice in a Media Market with Upfront Pricing

I derive a model of profit maximization for a print media firm with upfront advertising pricing. The model is estimated using detailed quarterly data on German women's magazines observed between I/1994 and IV/2004. Main empirical results are that (i) cover price increases lead to substantial reductions in advertising revenue, thereby offsetting possible corresponding gains in magazine sales revenue, (ii) magazines with particularly large advertising revenues per copy set cover prices well below marginal cost and (iii) marginal production cost are decreasing in a magazine's own circulation but are unaffected by the own publishers' total printing volume which does not provide evidence for an efficiency defense in print media mergers.magazines; cost estimation; twosided markets

Product innovation and product innovation marketing: theory and microeconometric evidence

This paper derives a three stage Cournot?oligopoly game for product innovation, expenditure on introducing the product and competition on the product market. Product innovation is assumed to increase consumer utility but is effective only if the innovating firm invests in marketing, so that consumers become aware of the newly developed product. Firms first decide whether or not to conduct product innovation and then determine their expenditure for bringing the new product to the market. In the final stage of the game, they are involved in competition on the product market. Key findings of the theoretical model are that both the marketing of a product innovation and a firm?s propensity to introduce an innovation decrease with an increase in the number of competitors and the degree of product substitutability. An increase in market demand has a positive effect on product innovation and marketing effort. These findings are tested empirically using survey data from 519 German service sector firms which mainly produce consumer goods. A simultaneous sequential Tobit model is applied in the empirical part of this paper. It turns out that the predictions of the theoretical model are supported by the empirical findings. --econometric models,game theory,new product research

A simple game-theoretical framework for studying R&D expenditures and R&D cooperation

This paper derives a three stage Cournot duopoly game for research collaboration, research expenditures and product market competition. The amount of knowledge firms can absorb is made dependent on their own research efforts, e.g. firms? absorptive capacity is treated as an endogenous variable. It is shown that cooperating firms invest more in R&D than non?cooperating firms if spillovers are sufficiently large. The degree of market competition is a key determinant of the effects of research cooperation on research efforts, implying that existing models which assume perfect competition might be too restrictive. --research cooperation,research expenditures,knowledge spillovers

Do Media Consumers Really Dislike Advertising? An Empirical Assessment of a Popular Assumption in Economic Theory

This paper uses data on the population of German magazines for the period 1973 to 2004 to show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is little evidence for magazine readers disliking advertising. Many magazines in fact have readers who appreciate advertising. The degree of appreciation increases in reader age and decreases with income as well as with education.two-sided markets; advertising; Mean Group Estimation; media markets; nuisance

The effects of website provision on the demand for German women's magazines

What happens to demand if a magazine launches a website? This question is empirically analyzed for the German women?s magazine market, a particularly large segment of the German magazine where fierce competition is reigning. Models for differentiated product demand are estimated on panel data covering the period 1990 to 2000, showing that website provision does not significantly affect magazines? market shares. Magazines that launched a website face a significantly lower price elasticity of demand than competitors that did not go online. Descriptive evidence on the magazines? website contents shows that websites are used to provide supplementary information and to advertise current print issues. --differentiated product demand models,magazines,instrumentalvariables estimation,panel data

The Effects of Website Provision on the Demand for German Women's Magazines

The effect of website provision on the demand for German women's magazines is analyzed using differentiated product demand models estimated on panel data that cover the period 1990 2000. Descriptive evidence on the magazines' website contents suggests that websites are used to provide supplementary information and to advertise the current print issue. Website provision does not significantly affect magazines' market shares. This result is robust with respect to the application of alternative econometric approaches to identify the demand model. A counter-factual analysis shows, however, that online magazines would loose around 0.3 per cent in market shares if they went back offline. Likewise, magazines that are currently offline may gain market shares of between 0.07 and 0.37 per cent if they launched a website. Interestingly, some of the potential winners' from going online actually launched a website in 2001.