Royalties vs. upfront lump-sum fees in data communication environments

Mobile communications markets worldwide, today, are saturated, the number of mobile network operators (MNOs) in market is declining, mobile revenues are stagnant or falling, MNOs are becoming wireless Internet service providers, and economies of scope are strengthening. This paper challenges existing dominant views on spectrum assignment and license fee payments, estimates spectrum fees that MNOs would have paid under royalties and then compares them with upfront lump-sum fees actually paid by 3G licensees. This paper further proposes that governments need to consider assigning additional spectrum to incumbents as needs arise without using auctions and adopting royalties as a way of collecting spectrum fees should they collect them.     

Licensing Innovations with Exclusive Contracts

We analyze licensing contracts specifying an exclusive territory clause and a fixed fee as a form of payment. While commonly observed, the effects of such licensing contracts have not been investigated in the licensing literature. We find that they can generate revenues for an innovator equal to those that would be obtained by a monopolist using the cost-reducing innovation that is being licensed. This result, however, depends on three factors: The size of the market relative to the pre-innovation marginal cost, the quality of the innovation, and the degree of substitutability between the goods being produced in the market.      

新建住宅区供电工程建设收费管理有关问题探讨

随着经济快速发展和居民生活水平的提高,城市住宅的发展十分迅速,政府通过出台相关政策来规范新建住宅建设标准。采用新的建设模式维护城市住宅的供电工程投资、建设和维护管理的秩序。为更好地理顺新建住宅区建设与管理方式,结合近年来政策实施过程存在的主要矛盾,从供电工程产权及维护责任、供电工程建设费测算、负荷标准配置、电网规划等几个方面进行分析,以期为下一步更好地完善新建住宅区供电设施建设管理提供参考。     

Smallholder market participation under transactions costs: Maize supply and fertilizer demand in Kenya

This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts for the effects of transactions costs, assets, technology, and support services in promoting input use and generating a marketable surplus. Output supply and input demand responses to changes in transactions costs and price and non-price factors were estimated and decomposed into market entry and intensity. The results showed that while transactions costs indeed have significant negative effects on market participation, institutional innovations—such as group marketing—are also emerging to mitigate the costs of accessing markets. Output price has no effect on output market entry and only provides incentives for increased supply by sellers. On the other hand, both price and non-price factors have significant influence on adoption and intensity of input use. Overall, the findings suggest that policy options are available other than price policies to promote input use and marketed surplus. The paper concludes with implications for policy to induce greater input–output market participation among smallholders in Africa.     

Payment Systems and Interchange Fees

In a typical bank credit card transaction, the merchant's bank pays an interchange fee , collectively determined by all participating banks, to the cardholder's bank. This paper shows how the interchange fee balances charges between cardholders and merchants under imperfect competition. The privately optimal fee depends mainly on differences between cardholders' and merchants' banks, not their collective market power. In a non-extreme case, the profit-maximizing interchange fee also maximizes total output and producers' plus consumers' surplus. There is no economic basis for favoring proprietary payment systems, which do not need interchange fees to balance charges, over the cooperative bank card systems.     

Market orientation and quasi-integration: Adding value through relationships

This study explores and describes the rationales and approaches of a market orientated supply chain — labeled the “demand chain”. The objective is to develop theory by providing grounded insights into how and why managers design and implement a market orientated supply chain. Analysis of twenty field interviews uncovered three main rationales for demand chain configuration. Further, a continuum of integration typologies is presented and three key responses explored and described. These findings are discussed and implications for theory and practice are offered.     

The Determinants of Optimal Interchange Fees in Payment Systems

This paper presents a model of a card payment system as a two-sided market that allows for partial participation by heterogeneous consumers and merchants. Taking into account the strategic effects arising from competition between merchants, the model is used to characterize the optimal structure of fees between those charged to cardholders and those charged to merchants and, more specifically, the level of the interchange fee that banks charge each other. The results modify the existing characterizations of the interchange fee, and explain the source of potential deviations between the privately and socially optimal level of the fee.     

Spectrum auctions in a thin market: The Korean case

In 2010, the Korean government adopted spectrum auctions and introduced a market mechanism into spectrum management. However, the government has often been confronted with conflicts between diverse policy goals of spectrum auctions. A thin spectrum market, where only three incumbent MNOs bid for spectrum, has led to concerns that the government may fail to maximize revenues.Based on the past experiences in Korea, this paper examines the Korean government's choice of auction rules in the face of conflicting policy goals. This paper also recommends that the government implement the following regulatory reforms and consider the auction related measures to deepen its spectrum market or increase the number of bidders: (i) relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions, (ii) introduction of regional or site-specific spectrum licenses, and (iii) modification of auction formats. Spectrum markets tend to be thin in many countries, and the Korean experience may offer implications for those countries when they implement spectrum auctions.     

Spectrum limits and competition in mobile markets: the role of licence fees

The paper discusses the impact of scarcity of frequency spectrum on the performance of the mobile telecommunications industry. An oligopoly model with endogenous sunk costs illustrates the trade off between ex ante extraction of oligopoly rents and market entry of firms. The determination of the licence fee through an auction provides scope for setting market structure endogenously: the higher the licence fee, the lower the number of firms sustained by the market. High licence fees may be a signal for post-entry collusion. Differences across national regulatory frameworks with respect to the conditions for allocation of spectrum licenses may induce problems of fair competition in an integrated market.     

Government Supply of Land in a Dual Market

A dual land market is one in which the government owns a significant portion of developable land while real estate development is done primarily by the private sector. This article examines Singapore's experience with its system of government land supply in a dual market, focusing on its response to market signals as well as the interaction with the significant private supply of land. The example is relevant to the general problem of government sales of valuable assets. The private supply of developable land behaves in line with expectations. The government response to price signals differs only modestly from that of private landowners.     

论我国房地产市场供需价格差异的原因及对策

指出当前房屋供需价格差异原因在于开发商、购房者、政府三方利益不均衡;提出为解决矛盾,开发商应进行销售定位并努力降低成本,购房者应明确购房效用,政府应统一制定住宅性能评定指标体系、完善房地产市场等观点.     

国外审计定价研究综述及其启示

审计定价是审计研究领域的热门话题。自1980年以来,西方学者从不同角度对审计定价的影响因素进行了研究。在我国,自2001年上市公司须公开披露审计费用信息以来,学者们开始借鉴西方模型对我国审计定价的影响因素进行研究,但现有研究在研究方法、研究深度等方面尚需进一步拓展,且许多因素对审计定价的影响尚未取得一致的结论。     

Payment choice of M&As: Financial crisis and social innovation

The payment choice of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) influences firm performance and facilitates wealth transfer to shareholders and realises synergy through stakeholders' implicit contract. This study examines the choice of payment methods and firm-level characteristics of UK M&As during the financial crisis referring to the business-to-business (B2B) market in a broader sense. Further, conceptualising social innovation as a process-outcome-value construct, this study evaluates the choice of payment methods and firm-level characteristics of M&As through the lens of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings suggest that a stock payment method is favoured well over a cash payment method by the acquirers of M&A firms and firms that are pursuing social innovation through CSR activities. The results further document that a volatile market affected by the financial crisis reacts to the financing choice of M&As, making a sizable impact on firms' capital structure, ownership concentration, and asymmetric information. Acquiring firms that opt for stock payment methods register a significant increase in their firm-level characteristics, such as market-to-book-value, deal value, growth, and CARs compared to the cash payment method deals.     

Supply-chain pricing—A new perspective on pricing in industrial markets

There is growing recognition that collaborative business relationships within the supply chain provide interesting opportunities for mutually increased benefit. However, while efforts on improving collaboration within the supply chain are indeed already widespread in some aspects of goods and services—for example, many manufacturers integrate their logistics function with those of their suppliers—such efforts are lacking when it comes to pricing. In contrast to the predominant position of pricing in most industries, the following article will investigate the opportunities for suppliers and customers to collaborate on pricing in order to establish mutually beneficial relationships. The article will demonstrate that this goal can only be attained when price is no longer regarded as an ex ante distributive parameter between market partners, but as a joint tool for outcome optimization within the overall supply chain process. We will clarify this new perspective with a calculation example and point out managerial implications for practical implementation.     

Aligning technology,business and regulatory scenarios for cognitive radio

The amount of wireless and mobile applications and devices is rapidly growing. This exponential growth might be hindered by a scarcity of suitable radio spectrum, a necessary but limited natural resource required for all wireless communications. Spectrum scarcity does not only slow down data growth, but may also disrupt existing communications. Cognitive radio may provide a solution to these issues, but although the concept seems promising, few products making use of CR have been brought to the market. This is due to significant uncertainties surrounding the appropriate economic scenario for CR, the regulatory framework and the technology enablers needed for such CR scenario. As business, regulatory and technical constraints are largely co-determined by each other, this paper proposes to align them, paving the road for the implementation of specific economic scenarios with appropriate regulation. First, from the business perspective, a taxonomy of possible economic scenarios for CR is proposed. Second, for each scenario a number of regulatory requirements – based on a European context – and characteristics are given. In doing so, it is argued that the economic scenarios are inherently distinct so that CR regulation should be customized for the type of scenario envisaged. Third, from the technology perspective, this article reviews the possible CR enablers, showing that spectrum sensing, CPC and geolocation database all have their strengths and weaknesses, and receive varying support from business and regulators. Based on the analysis it can be concluded that, although the introduction of CR does not seem problematic for the unlicensed scenario and the flexible operator scenario, more complex measures are required to enable CR to contribute to the implementation of spectrum pool—and spectrum market scenarios. It can also be concluded that, out of the three proposed alternatives, the geolocation database is the most likely candidate to be used for CR purposes. However, although this database is a clear favorite for applications within the TV White Spaces, spectrum sensing should not be discarded as a potential CR enabler for highly sensitive applications in high-density radio environments.     

Aligning the sustainable supply chain to green marketing needs: A case study

The research explores the challenges facing organisations in aligning sustainable procurement requirements and marketing needs and the attendant shifts in supply chain management practices. Whilst external influences are readily understood (e.g. regulation and customer demand), less is understood about the implications for suppliers trying to meet sustainable procurement requirements and the organisational challenges of aligning marketing with sustainable supply chain management. An exploratory case study of a UK University catering department has been undertaken, to explore the strategies, processes and relationships associated with synthesising sustainable supply chain and green marketing needs. The empirical findings illustrate the divergence between organisational perspectives on sustainability and procuring sustainable products with marketing demands. Thus, the findings extend the theoretical discussion on sustainable supply chains by providing empirical data based on real-life implementation and from this an emergent aligned supply chain model is proposed, which confirms two drivers for alignment, ‘lean and resource efficient’ and ‘local and seasonal’ — contingent on market demand. The findings emphasise the benefits of a reverse information flow, the importance of intermediaries, and relationships in its fulfilment, while indicating the resurgence of a supply ‘push’ of sustainable products into core markets. Future research directions are also posited.     

Net Neutrality and internet fragmentation: The role of online advertising

We investigate the relation between Net Neutrality regulation and Internet fragmentation. We model a two-sided market, where Content Providers (CPs) and consumers interact through Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and CPs sell consumers' attention to advertisers. Under Net Neutrality, a zero-price rule is enforced. By contrast, in the Unregulated Regime, ISPs make access to their subscribers for CPs conditional on payment of a termination fee. Multiple impressions of an ad on the same consumer are partially wasteful. Thus, equilibrium ad rates decrease when audiences overlap. We show that ISPs may strategically set termination fees to induce fragmentation. This takes place when advertising revenues are potentially large but strongly diminished by competition among CPs, and when consumers are not highly sensitive to content availability. We therefore identify an important link between termination fees, the online advertising market and Internet fragmentation. We extend the model to account for multi-homing consumers, vertically integrated ISPs, third-party advertising platforms and heterogeneous CPs.     

Government Policies Supporting Open Source Software for the Mass Market

This paper analyzes the impact on social welfare of government policies supporting open source software (OSS). Mass-market consumers can be divided between those who are informed about the existence of OSS and those who are uninformed. Since OSS producers have little incentive to advertise, there may be a substantial mass of uniformed consumers, leading to market failures that may justify government intervention. We study three government policies: (a) mandated adoption, whereby the government forces public agencies, schools, and universities to adopt OSS, (b) information provision, whereby the government informs the uninformed users about the existence and the characteristics of OSS, and (c) subsidy, whereby the government makes a payment to consumers if they adopt OSS. We show that mandated adoption and information provision may increase social welfare, but the subsidy always reduces it. When network externalities are added to the model, we show that mandated adoption and information provision may increase social welfare if they help the market to tip towards standardization. The web site www.opensource.org provides further details on the open source software movement     

The impact of firm cost and market size asymmetries on national mergers in a three-country model

This paper studies the impact of firm cost and market size asymmetries on merger decisions. I consider a model where a small and a large country compete in a third (world) market. Each of the two countries has two firms (with potentially different costs) that supply the domestic market and export to the third market. Merger decisions in the two countries are modeled as a simultaneously move game. The paper finds that firms in the large country have more incentives to merge than firms in the small country. In contrast, the government of the large country has more incentives to block a merger than the government of the small country. Thus, the model predicts that conflicts of interest between governments and firms concerning national mergers are more likely in large countries than in small ones.     

Enhancing the business-to-business supply chain: Insights from partitioning the supply-side

A market orientation has long been established as the key to success in supply chain management. A central concept of this orientation is market segmentation. The concept of market segmentation, however, has primarily been focused on the demand side of the supply chain; its potential application on the supply side has not thoroughly been addressed. This paper extends the purview of the concept behind segmentation by presenting the concept of “supply-side partitioning” to refer to the management of heterogeneities on the supplier side of the supply chain. Further, the concept of “transvectional alignment” is proposed for the purpose of simultaneously aligning market segments with appropriate suppliers at all levels of the supply chain by identifying, evaluating, and selecting supply groups that satisfy the demand function(s) of each segment. This paper discusses supply-side partitioning, includes a model for the supply chain utilizing transvectional alignment, and offers implications for the application of supply-side partitioning in the business-to-business marketspace.