Software Design Strategies in Markets with Open Source Competitors

There is a growing body of literature investigating the strategic interaction between proprietary software vendors (PRVs) and their open source (OS) counterparts. Most prior studies focus on software market where PRVs’ revenue comes mostly from software license. Nevertheless, open source software (OSS) is prominent in software markets where both software license and software service contract (for the purpose of maintenance, technical support, upgrade, etc) constitute some considerable portion of PRVs’ revenue. This paper aims to underline the difference between software characterized by high demand for service and by low demand for service in studying how OSS shapes PRV’s software design strategy. The analysis of an economic model implies a magnetic phenomenon in the design of proprietary software with high demand for service, which is not observed in the design of software with low demand for service. The findings imply that in software markets characterized by high demand for service, when OSS is not very sophisticated PRV could introduce more basic version of their software in response to the growth of the OS counterparts. This implication is found to be very much inline with industry practice

R&D offshoring and technology learning in emerging economies: Firm-level evidence from the ICT industry

This paper studies the impact of the R&D offshoring of multinational enterprises on the firms in host emerging economies. We develop a two-stage non-cooperative game to analyze the strategic interaction between multinational and host country enterprises engaged in R&D investment. An empirical analysis of 12,309 manufacturing firms in the ICT industry in China shows that R&D offshoring has a positive effect on the intensity of the R&D of host country firms. However, the magnitude of the impact depends on both the technological and geographical distance between the multinational and host country firms. The policy implications of these findings are that the governments of host country should be cautious about allowing advanced multinational R&D investment in under-developed sectors, but they should encourage such investment in developed sectors; and that local governments should be involved in R&D policy making because the positive impact of multinational R&D offshoring diminishes as the geographical distance between the multinational and host country firms increases.Research and Development, Offshoring, Spillovers, Emerging Economies

Understanding health information technology adoption: A synthesis of literature from an activity perspective

The vast body of literature on health information technology (HIT) adoption features considerably heterogeneous factors and demands for a synthesis of the knowledge in the field. This study employs text mining and network analysis techniques to identify the important concepts and their relationships in the abstracts of 979 articles of HIT adoption. Through the lens of Activity Theory, the revealed concept map of HIT adoption can be viewed as a complex activity system involving different users, technologies and tasks at both the individual level and the social level. Such a synthesis not only discloses the current knowledge domain of HIT adoption, but also provides guidance for future research on HIT adoption

Complex electronic states in double layered ruthenates (Sr1-xCax)3Ru2O7

The magnetic ground state of (Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$)$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ (0 $\leq x \leq$ 1) is complex, ranging from an itinerant metamagnetic state (0 $\leq x <$ 0.08), to an unusual heavy-mass, nearly ferromagnetic (FM) state (0.08 $< x <$ 0.4), and finally to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state (0.4 $\leq x \leq$ 1). In this report we elucidate the electronic properties for these magnetic states, and show that the electronic and magnetic properties are strongly coupled in this system. The electronic ground state evolves from an AFM quasi-two-dimensional metal for $x =$ 1.0, to an Anderson localized state for $0.4 \leq x < 1.0$ (the AFM region). When the magnetic state undergoes a transition from the AFM to the nearly FM state, the electronic ground state switches to a weakly localized state induced by magnetic scattering for $0.25 \leq x < 0.4$, and then to a magnetic metallic state with the in-plane resistivity $\rho_{ab} \propto T^\alpha$ ($\alpha >$ 2) for $0.08 < x < 0.25$. The system eventually transforms into a Fermi liquid ground state when the magnetic ground state enters the itinerant metamagnetic state for $x < 0.08$. When $x$ approaches the critical composition ($x \sim$ 0.08), the Fermi liquid temperature is suppressed to zero Kelvin, and non-Fermi liquid behavior is observed. These results demonstrate the strong interplay between charge and spin degrees of freedom in the double layered ruthenates.Comment: 10 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Competitive Action in Diffusing of Internet Technology: Implications for Local Vendors Defending their Turf against Multinational Incursion

This paper explores the extent to which diffusing Internet technology products is a function of the competitive actions of local online vendors and their respective multinational challengers in emerging electronic markets. Drawing on the perspectives of competitive technology diffusion and Austrian firms’ market process, we developed a set of hypothesis concerning the characteristics of competitive actions that local vendors implemented and the impact of these actions on the dominance of Internet technology products in electronic markets. We then validate the model with longitudinal field data from two pairs of Internet technology products in the search engine and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) electronic market. Our findings suggest that diffusing Internet products can be predicted by the dynamics of specific market-oriented actions. Such a pattern supports the conclusion that local online vendors have significant local advantage in fast-growing emerging markets. We also examine the policy implications of our results, especially with respect to how competitive action can help local online vendors defend their turf against multinational incursion

DIRECT TORQUE CONTROL OF AC ELECTRIC MACHINES

This disclosure features an apparatus including a motor controller to generate control signals to control an electric motor. The motor controller includes a first saturation controller to generate a first saturation controller output based on feedback signals associated with the electric motor. The motor controller further includes a duty ratio modulator coupled to the first saturation controller. The duty ratio modulator is configured to determine activation times for a set of voltage vectors based on the first saturation controller output. The motor controller is configured to generate, at each switching cycle, a control signal based on the set of voltage vectors and the activation times for the set of voltage vectors, and provide the control signal for controlling the electric motor

Photoemission Studies of Electronic Dispersion in Metals and Thin Film Systems.

We have studied the electronic dispersion of Cu and the Cu/Ru(0001) bimetallic system using photoelectron spectroscopy. Images of electron emission from Cu(100), Cu(111), and Cu/Ru(0001) have been obtained using an ellipsoidal-mirror analyzer (EMA). This energy analyzer collects photoemitted electrons over a large solid angle, preserving their angular information and providing an image of intensity versus emission angle. The images provide direct information on band dispersion. The surface state of Cu(111) was measured using the EMA at different binding energies. By combining these images, we have obtained the surface state dispersion in three dimensional E vs k space. Our results are in excellent agreement with previous studies and provide a new perspective on studies of surface electronic structures. The Fermi surface of Cu was measured in both (111) and (100) directions. From these images, we have obtained the Fermi surface of Cu in three dimensional k-space by using the free electron final state assumption. The Cu/Ru(0001) bimetallic system with one monolayer Cu coverage was studied. We have obtained the first observation of the complete Brillouin zone of the Fermi surface of a two dimensional Cu(111) monolayer. Our result is in excellent agreement with the calculations of single-layer Cu(111). We have also studied the interface state of the Cu/Ru(0001) system located at 1.5 eV binding energy. Our data provide a complete mapping of this state throughout the Brillouin zone