The Relationship Between Competition and Incumbent’s Innovation

A static model is developed to analyse the incumbent’s innovation strategy under monopoly and duopoly. A number of potential objectives for the incumbent are modelled here, including the maximization of revenue, profit, and welfare (which are common among the network industries). Its marginal cost depends upon investment in new technologies and processes. The incumbent chooses its price and its level of investment in innovation. The incumbent’s elasticity of demand under both market structures and the incumbent’s market share under duopoly determine which market structure creates more incentives to innovate. For certain values of these variables, duopoly provides more incentives to innovate than monopoly. As expected, the incentives to innovate increase when the incumbent places greater weight on social welfare.     

纵向溢出效应供应链企业间的协同创新研究

由供应商、制造商和销售商组成的供应链,在具有纵向创新溢出效应的情况下,三方能否协同创新对供应链总收益、创新投入以及产品产量均有影响。研究结果表明,在三方协同创新情形下,供应链总收益、创新投入以及产品产量均大于三方非协同创新的情形。并且纵向溢出效应越大、创新系数越小,供应链总收益、创新投入以及产品产量越大,反之亦然。     

Privatisation and the unusual case of Belarusian accession to the WTO

The accession negotiations of Belarus to the WTO are unusual since, due to its obligations in the Eurasian Economic Union, WTO accession is not expected to impact its tariffs or formerly substantial trade‐distorting agricultural subsidies. Nonetheless, we estimate that WTO accession will increase welfare by 9.9% of consumption in Belarus. We show that inclusion of: (i) foreign direct investment; (ii) reduction in non‐discriminatory barriers against services providers; and (iii) our model with imperfect competition and endogenous productivity effects together produce estimated gains eleven times larger than a model of perfect competition with only cross‐border trade in services. Our analysis is enabled by our production of a data set on both discriminatory and non‐discriminatory barriers in services and their ad valorem equivalents. Based on a new data set on labour productivity by sector and type of ownership, in our central model, we estimate that privatisation will increase welfare by 35.8% of consumption. We find substantial variance in the estimated gains from privatisation depending on model assumptions, but all the estimates of the impacts of privatisation indicate substantial welfare gains.     

Parallel imports,drug innovation and international patent protection: A policy game

We consider a policy game between a high-income country hosting a drug innovator and a low-income country hosting a drug imitator. The low-income country chooses whether to enforce an International Patent Regime (strict IPR) or not (weak IPR), and the high-income country chooses whether to allow parallel imports (PI) of on-patent drugs or market-based discrimination (MBD). We show that, for a moderately high imitation cost, both (strict IPR, PI) and (weak IPR, MBD) emerge as the subgame prfect Nash equilibrium (SPNE) policy choices. For relatively smaller imitation costs, (weak IPR, MBD) is the unique SPNE policy choice. The welfare properties reveal that although innovation may be higher at the (strict IPR, PI) policy regime, the market coverage and national welfare of the low-income country, and the total welfare are all lower. This opens up the efficiency issue of implementing TRIPS and at the same time allowing international exhaustion of patent rights.     

Competitive sustainable processes and pricing decisions in omnichannel closed-up supply chains under different channel power structures

In recent years, omnichannel retailing and remanufacturing issues have rapidly emerged in the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). The omnichannel is a combination of online and in-store retailing, and it affects supply chain relationships and channel power structures by changing value creation processes. It allows consumers a hybrid shopping experience where they can order products online and pick them up in the store or test in-store and buy online (TSBO). Despite this practice, no studies exist on CLSC considering omnichannel retailing under different channel power structures. We investigate the TSBO retailing strategy and its impact on CLSC profit considering price competition between manufacturer and remanufacturer under Manufacturer Stackelberg (MS), Retailer Stackelberg (RS), Vertical Nash (VN), and cooperation (CO) models game settings. In this paper, mathematical models are developed to drive the optimal solution. A two-part tariff coordination mechanism (i.e., IS model) is also used to integrate all supply chain members. The proposed models examine the environmental and social welfare benefits of adopting green innovation products and remanufacturing processes in omnichannel retailing. A numerical study is carried out to illustrate the proposed models' application. The results show that the IS model can synchronize the economic, environmental, and social aspects leading to significant increases in performance. Total supply chain profit under the CO model is the highest. The manufacturer and remanufacturer generate higher profits in the MS model, whereas the retailer makes higher profits in the RS and VN models. When a manufacturer only wants to increase profit with green processes and is not concerned about omnichannel processes, more resources must be allocated for green innovation.     

双渠道供应链环境下企业创新投入研究

电子商务环境下渠道冲突与和谐并存问题受到越来越多关注,利用Stackelberg博弈,在价格竞争与价格敏感需求条件下,构建零售商以创新投入降低其分销成本、制造商对其创新投入实施策略性补偿激励的双渠道供应链模型,研究发现策略性创新激励补偿能实现制造商与零售商收益的Pareto改进、实现消费者福利改进。     

Category management,product assortment,and consumer welfare

In this article, we endogenize product assortment decisions under a category management (CM) framework in a channel setup. We find that (1) product assortment is polarized more under CM than under a non-CM regime; (2) the price of a high-end (low-end) product in an assortment increases (decreases) under CM than under a non-CM regime; and (3) a high-quality manufacturer makes more profit than a low-quality manufacturer. In our model, the manufacturer’s choice of quality and its polarization is driven by the existence and the decisions of the retailer (CM or non-CM). Finally, we have an interesting result on consumer welfare. We find that the total consumer welfare, as measured by consumer surplus, worsens under CM only when there is sufficient heterogeneity in consumers’ tastes.     

Estimating Direct Gains in Consumer Welfare in Telecommunications Sector

This paper discusses the benefits of product and process innovation as well as deregulation in consumer telecommunication products markets. The twin trends of price reduction and new features have benefited consumers. These major changes have taken place alongside deregulation. Using the data from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development telecommunication reports, the paper provides estimates of gains in consumer welfare over the years. These direct gains are significant (hundreds of billions of dollars) and thus justify the public investment that goes into the telecommunication infrastructure improvement.     

Manufacturer Mergers and Product Variety in Vertically Related Markets

We study the incentives of final product manufacturers to introduce new products into the market and the impact of a manufacturer merger on them. We show that when manufacturers distribute their products through multi-product retailers, a manufacturer merger, although it leads to an increase in the wholesale prices, it can enhance product variety. The merger induced product variety enhancement though arises only when vertical relations are present: when manufacturers sell directly their products to consumers, a merger never results in more product variety. Still, both with or without vertical relations, a manufacturer merger hurts consumers and decreases welfare.     

The Effect of Product Innovation,Promotion, and Price on Consumer Switching to Private Labels

The channel conflict that exists between retailers and manufacturers of branded products has dynamically shifted as large retailers have expanded their offerings of private label products. This study investigates the ability of consumer packaged goods companies to exert influence in the channel by testing which marketing initiatives implemented by manufacturer brands are more efficient in preventing consumer switching to private labels. We use a hazard model to simultaneously measure the effects due to product innovation, promotion, and price on consumer switching and how strong those effects are. We find that as expected product innovation, promotion, and price exert a negative effect on the consumer likelihood of switching to private labels. However, we find the strongest effect on promotion suggesting the importance of understanding how consumers perceive value in the national brands offer.     

RISK‐AVERSION,OPTIMAL LEVERAGE AND THE INVESTMENT–UNCERTAINTY RELATION

We develop a partial equilibrium dynamic model in which firms are risk‐averse. We analyse the determinants of the investment–uncertainty relationship by means of numerical techniques. When firms can borrow ‘outside’ resources at the riskless rate, an increase in price volatility depresses investment for realistic parameter values. In our model, portfolio considerations play an important role. When the marginal revenue of capital becomes more uncertain, the risk‐averse firm's owners reduce their ‘short position’ in the risk‐free asset, thus diminishing the firm's debt level. The contraction in leverage reduces the expected returns on investment because the expected marginal revenue product is higher than the user cost of capital. In turn, the reduction in expected yields tends to depress investment.     

产品创新如何影响我国企业对外直接投资速度？——基于微观层面数据的实证检验

在国际投资理论中,传统观点认为具有产品创新的优势企业有更大的动机进行对外直接投资,而近年来发展中国家的实践则表明劣势企业出于获取创新资源的目的也有较大的动机进行对外直接投资,文章从产品创新和企业对外直接投资速度视角对此进行检验。文章匹配《中国工业企业数据库》和《境外投资企业（机构）名录》构建微观实证研究数据库,并对企业对外直接投资速度和产品创新进行度量。在此基础上,文章的实证研究发现,一方面在产品创新倾向维度,无产品创新的企业比有产品创新企业有更快的对外直接投资速度;另一方面,在有产品创新企业内部,创新程度的提升则能加快企业对外直接投资速度。进一步地,文章利用倾向得分匹配对产品创新倾向如何影响企业对外直接投资速度进行反事实估计,验证了实证研究结果的稳健性。     

供应商创新能力有利于企业创新能力提升吗？——基于技术距离视角的实证研究

供应商是企业创新的重要来源。然而,供应商创新能力是否差异化影响了企业利用式和探索式创新能力呢？并且上述影响是否随着双方技术距离变化而发生改变呢？基于制造业上市公司数据,文章研究了供应商创新能力和技术距离对于企业不同类型创新能力的影响。结果显示,与创新能力强的供应商合作可以显著提升企业利用式创新能力,但抑制了企业探索式创新能力。企业供应商间技术距离和企业探索式创新能力正相关,和企业利用式创新能力负相关。进一步的研究发现：技术距离负向调节了供应商创新能力和企业利用式创新能力之间的关系。随着技术距离的增加,技术距离将逐渐消弱并最终逆转供应商创新能力对于企业利用式创新能力的正面影响;技术距离正向调节了供应商创新能力和企业探索式创新能力之间的关系。技术距离较大时,供应商创新能力和企业探索式创新能力正相关。技术距离较小时,供应商创新能力和企业探索式创新能力负相关。文章深化了现有理论对供应商知识整合的认识,为企业通过供应商选择提升自身创新能力提供了有益启示。     

How does the added new online channel impact the supporting advertising expenditure?

This research addresses the strategic effect of a newly added online channel on a manufacturer’s supportive advertising expenditure once a manufacturer opts to open an online channel to compete with its retailer. We first study the manufacturer–traditional retailer supply chain and consider three different scenarios: (1) product is less compatible with the online channel than with the traditional channel; (2) product is more compatible with the online channel than with the traditional channel; (3) product has the same compatibility with the online channel as with the traditional channel. Our results show that the added online channel significantly impacts the manufacturer’s investment in supportive advertising. Depending on the different product categories, the impact of the newly added online channel on the supportive advertising expenditure also will be different. Furthermore, we extend our model to study the manufacturer–online retailer supply chain and investigate the effect of that added online channel on the manufacturer’s supportive advertising to the online retailer. Based on our results, the manufacturer can utilize our findings to improve its decision-making when it plans to open an online channel to improve its product distribution.     

Retailer Heterogeneity,Intra-Brand Competition and Social Welfare

This paper considers a model where a manufacturer sells its product to consumers through competitive retailers who are heterogeneous in marginal distribution costs and geographic locations. We study the welfare implications of resale price maintenance (RPM), which eliminates the intra-brand competition. We show that with RPM, the manufacturer can make more profit at the cost of the consumers. RPM helps the high-cost retailers to stay competitive in the market, and therefore increases the total distribution cost of the society. We suggest that antitrust authorities should be concerned when intra-brand competition is lessened.     

Inflation,R&D and growth in an open economy

This study explores the long-run effects of inflation in a two-country Schumpeterian growth model with cash-in-advance constraints on consumption and R&D investment. We find that increasing domestic inflation reduces domestic R&D investment and the growth rate of domestic technology. Given that economic growth in a country depends on both domestic and foreign technologies, increasing foreign inflation also affects the domestic economy. When each government conducts its monetary policy unilaterally to maximize the welfare of domestic households, the Nash-equilibrium inflation rates are generally higher than the optimal inflation rates chosen by cooperative governments who maximize the welfare of both domestic and foreign households. Under the CIA constraint on R&D (consumption), a larger market power of firms amplifies (mitigates) this inflationary bias. We use cross-country panel data to estimate the effects of inflation on R&D and also calibrate the two-country model to data in the Euro Area and the US to quantify the welfare effects of decreasing the inflation rates from the Nash equilibrium to the optimal level.     

Retailer voluntary investment against a threat of manufacturer encroachment

To elucidate supply chain cooperation between a manufacturer and a retailer, this study examines a model in which the retailer makes voluntary investments to reduce the marginal production cost of the manufacturer. The manufacturer is allowed to introduce a direct selling channel in addition to the indirect channel through the retailer (i.e., manufacturer encroachment), which however dampens the retailers’ investment incentives. The retailer can leverage its voluntary investments as a means of deterring manufacturer encroachment. We demonstrate that manufacturer encroachment is strategically deterred when the retailer’s cost-reduction technology is sufficiently effective. This strategic encroachment deterrence encourages the retailer to invest more, but it narrows the variety of channels from which consumers can select. When the latter effect dominates the former effect, consumer surplus declines with strategic encroachment deterrence.

     

家族企业代际传承推动还是抑制了创新

文章将家族企业传承进程分为参与管理、共同管理和接收管理三个阶段,研究传承进程的不同阶段推动还是抑制了家族企业创新。本文利用2012-2014年A股主板上市家族企业的404个代际传承数据进行实证研究,发现家族企业代际传承会导致企业创新活动的减少。具体而言,二代进入家族企业管理层参与管理或者二代与一代共同管理企业日常经营活动抑制了创新,即参与管理降低了研发资金和研发人员的投入,共同管理也减少了研发投入强度;二代接任董事长职位完成接收管理后,可能会重新推动家族企业创新,使之逐渐恢复到未传承前的创新水平。因此,传承进程的三阶段划分可以作为家族企业代际传承研究的理论基础,需要充分认识到传承进程不同阶段的差异性,家族企业不能一味保护社会情感财富而忽视企业创新,进而影响企业的可持续发展。     

Investigating a three-way interaction of manufacturer control,retail control and dependence on salesforce performance. Does the role of frontline employees matters ?

Dependence and retailer control on manufacturer's salesforce imply several challenges in retail channels. This research addresses how they affect the relationship between manufacturer control and salesforce performance due to the high level of salesforce investment. We conduct a moderated-moderation analysis.We investigate the moderating roles of retailer control and dependence on the relationship between manufacturer control and salesforce performance. To take into account the importance of the store frontline employee, we next studied the influence of his perception of the salesforce on the sales control systems in retailing. First, our results show that salesforce performance is influenced directly by manufacturer process control and, retail control and dependence moderate this relationship in two-way and three-way interactions. The salesforce subject to process control by manufacturer improves his performance under strong retailer outcome control while the manufacturer is in a low relative dependence. Second, employee perception of the salespeople mediates the link between manufacturer process and retailer outcome controls. We test our model in two studies and theoretically integrate retailer control, dependence, and employee perception of the salesforce, in the sales control literature. In the end, we provide practical implications to further improve salesforce performance and employee perception of the salespeople and future research suggestions.     

Endogenous financial intermediation and real effects of capital account liberalization

We consider lending and investment under asymmetric information in a small, developing economy. We allow different forms of financial contracts to arise endogenously. Financial intermediaries mitigate a moral hazard problem in investment choice through costly monitoring. We then examine the impact of opening the capital account on both welfare and the structure of lending contracts. Liberalizing the capital account may improve or worsen the efficiency of financial intermediaries, leading to an improvement or worsening of the aggregate composition of investment projects. We show that efficient financial intermediaries in the closed economy are neither necessary nor sufficient for a capital account liberalization to improve welfare.