Keiretsu centrality — profits and profit stability: A power dependence perspective

Prior studies compare keiretsu member firm and independent firm performance. Here, we use historical and power dependence perspectives to theorize that the Japanese keiretsu system primarily benefits the most central firms. We test this by examining the performance of two types of keiretsu firms (central firms and other member firms) within two types of keiretsu (horizontal and vertical). We hypothesize and find that: (1) central vertical keiretsu firms are more profitable than central horizontal keiretsu firms; (2) central horizontal keiretsu firms have greater profit stability than central vertical keiretsu firms; (3) central vertical keiretsu firms are more profitable than non-central vertical keiretsu firms; and (4) central horizontal keiretsu firms have greater profit stability than non-central horizontal keiretsu firms. Implications for managers and future research directions are discussed.     

Industrial groupings and foreign direct investment

We explore worldwide foreign direct investment (FDI) location decisions by Japanese manufacturing firms from 1985 through 1991. Our conditional logit estimates provide evidence that firms' location decisions are affected by membership in either vertical or horizontal keiretsu. Consistent with previous studies that stress agglomeration effects on firms' location decisions, we find that the stock of investment in a region by a firm's vertical keiretsu partners increases the probability of location. Further, we find that the recent flow of investment into a region by a firm's horizontal keiretsu partners increases the probability of investment to the region, providing evidence of networking effects.     

Joint Optimization of Product Price, Display Orientation and Shelf-Space Allocation in Retail Category Management

We develop a model that jointly optimizes a retailer's decisions for product prices, display facing areas, display orientations and shelf-space locations in a product category. Unlike the existing shelf-space allocation models that typically consider only the width of display shelves, our model considers both the width and height of each shelf, allowing products to be stacked. Furthermore, as demand is influenced by each product's two-dimensional facing area, we consider multiple product orientations that capture three-dimensional product packaging characteristics. That enables our model to not only treat shelf locations as decision variables, but also retailers’ stacking patterns in terms of product display areas and multiple display orientations. Further, unlike the existing studies which consider a retailer's shelf-space allocation decisions independent of its product pricing decisions, our model allows joint decisions on both and captures cross-product interactions in demand through prices. We show how a branch-and-bound based MINLP algorithm can be used to implement our optimization model in a fast and practical way.     

Integrated planning for product selection,shelf-space allocation,and replenishment decision with elasticity and positioning effects

As the retail industry is growing larger and more diversified, retailers' decisions about product selection, shelf-space-allocation, and replenishment become more important and challenging. This paper is to present a model for shelf-space allocation with product selection and replenishment decisions to maximize the retailer's profit. The model is based on a two-dimensional display space in which all shelves and products have widths and heights and includes factors that influence demand for each product, such as space and cross-space elasticities and positioning effects. The integrated model presented is mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) because the demand function is non-convex. This research proposes two heuristic algorithms (tabu search and genetic) to solve the MINLP problem. The results show the effectiveness and efficiency of these algorithms by comparing the outputs to the MINLP optimal solution for small data sets and comparing the algorithm performances for large data sets. The solution methodologies expect to support a simultaneous decision-making process for retailers to maximize their revenue.     

管理咨询业跨国公司对东道国客户的垂直约束行为研究

管理咨询业跨国公司为获取更大的市场份额和超额利润,往往会通过自己在知识信息、客户资源等方面的优势地位,对客户实施垂直约束行为。相比水平垄断而言,通过对客户的垂直约束行为来获得更强有力的市场地位,管理咨询业跨国公司付出的成本代价更小,方式上更加灵活隐蔽。但目前这类活动在我国并未受到足够的重视,为此,文章针对管理咨询服务业在客户服务中的特殊性,在研究管理咨询业跨国公司的垂直约束途径及其行为发展模式的基础上,提出了我国客户企业应对垂直约束和实现良性健康发展的相应建议。     

Incorporating sales and marketing considerations into a competitive multi-echelon distribution network design problem with pricing strategy in a stochastic environment

This paper presents a multi-echelon distribution network design problem with pricing strategy in a stochastic environment, where location, inventory, and pricing decisions in retail and wholesale channels are made simultaneously. The considered network is comprised of a central warehouse, a set of distribution centers, and a set of retailers and wholesalers. The objective of the problem is to maximize the supply chain profit. The decisions include the location of distribution centers and the allocation of retailers and wholesalers to them, order-size for each distribution center and product price at retail and wholesale channels for different payment conditions. A mixed-integer nonlinear mathematical model was formulated and solved using the Lagrangian relaxation method and a Genetic algorithm. Computational results indicate that Lagrangian relaxation algorithm has good performance in terms of objective function value and runtime, even in large sized problems.     

The merits of horizontal versus vertical FDI in the presence of uncertainty

We examine the impact of uncertainty on vertical and horizontal FDI. Our model shows that greater supply uncertainty reduces the expected income from vertical FDI but increases the expected income from horizontal FDI. Greater demand uncertainty adversely affects the expected income under both production modes. Uncertainty about predatory actions by the host country is more costly to the multinational under vertical than under the horizontal mode. We examine sales by foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies. Conditioning on host-country characteristics thought to influence FDI, we find evidence that volatility and sovereign risk have a greater negative impact on vertical FDI than on horizontal FDI.     

Organizational Trust and Interfirm Cooperation: An Examination of Horizontal Versus Vertical Alliances

Over the past decade, trust has emerged as the central means of achieving cooperation in interorganizational relationships. Past empirical inquiries have largely focused on the role of trust within the context of vertical relations between channel members or service providers and their clients. Thus, little is known about the nature or the role of trust in horizontal relations. A number of interorganizational scholars suggest that the nature and the effect of behavioral norms such as trust may be widely different in horizontal versus vertical relationships. This study examines the effect of relationship form on organizational trust using data from a survey of 106 U.S. firms who have recently participated in either horizontal or vertical R&D alliances. The results of this survey indicate that participants in vertical alliances display higher levels of organizational trust than participants in horizontal alliances. In addition, while organizational trust enhances cooperation in vertical alliances, trust is unrelated to cooperation in horizontal alliances.     

The impact of horizontal and vertical FDI on host's country economic growth

In this paper, we contribute to the literature investigating the impact of FDI on host country economic growth by distinguishing between the growth effects of horizontal (market seeking) FDI and vertical (efficiency seeking) FDI. Using a new database, we estimate the growth effects of vertical and horizontal US MNE activity into 44 host countries over the period 1983–2003, also using traditional total FDI figures as a benchmark. Controlling for endogeneity and absorptive capacity effects, we find that horizontal and vertical FDI have positive and significant growth effects in developed countries. Moreover, our results indicate a superior growth effect of horizontal FDI over vertical FDI. In line with existing literature, we find no significant effects of horizontal or vertical FDI in developing countries.     

税收纵向公平原则与个人所得税制度优化

税收纵向公平是横向公平的进一步延伸,税收只有做到纵向公平才能真正保证横向公平的实现,税收公平最终体现为纵向公平。纵向公平要求解决税收负担的分配依据、税收负担的分配权数问题。以及面临社会福利函数的选择问题。将纵向公平原则用于个人所得税制度的优化,主要解决税基的选择和累进税率的累进程度问题。税基应在香兹、黑格、西蒙斯提出的综合所得的基础上加以调整,解决个人拥有不同的效用函数情况下的真实福利水平的确定、闲暇问题、非福利方面的考虑(诺兹克和森的公平理念)等。累进税率的累进程度取决于社会福利函数的类型和劳动供给弹性的大小。     

制造企业创新网络与双元性学习——基于垂直、水平创新网络的比较研究

文章将制造企业创新网络分为垂直创新网络和水平创新网络，构建有调节的中介效应模型，探索了两类创新网络对双元性学习的差异化影响机制，揭示了有效提升企业双元性学习的相关创新网络特征。实证研究发现，网络强度主要通过提升网络质量，间接促进双元性学习，且垂直网络的效果优于水平网络。垂直网络规模对双元性学习有正向的直接和间接效应，而水平网络规模对双元性学习的效应均不显著。网络管理能力强化了垂直网络强度对双元性学习的积极影响，弱化了水平网络规模对双元性学习的消极影响。     

Horizontal mergers under uniform resource constraints

Resource constraints have a vertical influence on a firm's competition and it is important to address the issue of horizontal mergers with scarce resources. This article highlights the effects of uniform resource constraints on horizontal mergers with game theory methods. First, the threshold values for the firms to accept the merger, increasing consumer surplus, and increasing social welfare are presented and compared. Second, the threshold value to merge for consumer surplus maximization is larger than that for profit incentive mergers without resource constraints. Thus, under unbinding resource industries, mergers reduce consumer surplus and it is necessary to implement antitrust. Third, resource constraints deter mergers. Finally, under binding capacity (or resource) constraints, the threshold value for firms to merge is larger than that for the social optimality. Therefore, industries with scare resource should avoid antitrust.     

不同类型的FDI对我国收入差距的影响分析

本文将中国划分为八大经济区,通过实证分析研究不同类型的FDI(水平型和垂直型1)对中国收入差距的影响。首先,选取泰尔指数作为衡量收入差距的指标。其次,将流入中国的FDI按流入国不同,分为水平型FDI与垂直型FDI。通过回归发现,水平型FDI促进中国收入差距的缩小,而垂直型FDI则会促进中国收入差距的扩大。由此得出结论,中国应当在不影响垂直型FDI流入的同时,促进水平型FDI的引入。     

Extremity in horizontal and vertical Likert scale format responses. Some evidence on how visual distance between response categories influences extreme responding

In four survey experiments we show that people generally answer more extremely to survey items presented in vertical versus horizontal Likert formats. Our findings suggest that this effect may be at least partly driven by differences in the visual range spanned by the response scale (i.e. the visual distance between endpoint response categories is larger in horizontal than in a vertical format). In addition, compared to traditional horizontal Likert data, vertical Likert data contain more variance, which is mainly non-substantive. As a result, data obtained with scale formats that have different distances between response categories (as is typically the case for vertical vs. horizontal formats) may lead to differences in measurement model parameter estimates like residual terms, and in some cases factor loadings and construct correlations. Based on these results, we provide recommendations on the use of response scale formats in online surveys, bearing in mind that several online survey tool providers promote the use of vertical Likert formats and even automatically change traditional horizontal formats of Likert-type items to vertical Likert formats when viewed on small screens (e.g., on mobile phones).     

Industry relatedness in trade sales and venture capital investment returns

We investigate relationships between the industry relatedness of venture capital-backed companies and their strategic acquirer in trade sales and the achieved investment returns of venture capitalists. Using a proprietary data set of 716 trade sales, we analyze return differences between lateral and synergetic trade sales, as well as between horizontal and vertical trade sales. We find that venture capitalists achieve higher returns with lateral rather than synergetic trade sales, and that the difference is greater for deals involving early stage companies characterized by strong information asymmetries. In addition, horizontal trade sales yield higher returns than vertical trade sales; however, in boom phases of the venture capital market, this effect reverses. Finally, we find that experienced venture capitalists are able to overcome disadvantageous situations in trade sales, resulting in comparable returns across all trade sale categories.     

Networked FDI: Sales and Sourcing Patterns of Japanese Foreign Affiliates

This paper applies a novel empirical approach to characterising the horizontal‐ness and vertical‐ness of affiliates based on Yeaple's complex FDI concept. In its simplest form, horizontal‐ness is measured as affiliates’ local sales share while their vertical‐ness is measures as their share of non‐local sourcing of intermediates. Japanese affiliates in most sectors and nations are partly vertical and partly horizontal, but those in North American are far more ‘horizontal’ than those in the EU and Asia. Affiliates became more vertical between 1996 and 2005. A four‐way sales and sourcing split (host, home, regional and RoW) suggests that affiliates act as nodes in regional production networks – especially in Asia. We posit several hypotheses that could be tested with our empirical approach.     

The Advertising–price Relationship: Theory and Evidence

The relationship between advertising and price is important because the welfare effect of advertising depends upon the price effect of advertising. We attempt to provide a better understanding of the theoretical relationship between advertising and price. We establish theoretical conditions sufficient for advertising to raise prices. This will occur, for example, when firms play a supermodular game – a structure that considers the type of advertising (i.e., persuasive, image creating, or informative) and the effect that advertising has on a firm’s demand and costs. We also compare results from two simple duopoly models, one with horizontal and the other with vertical differentiation, and find that only the model with horizontal differentiation is supermodular for the forms of advertising that are thought to raise price (e.g., persuasive advertising). In consideration of these theoretical issues, we then develop an empirical model to determine whether advertising raises prices in the US brewing and cigarette industries.     

The performance effects of vertical and horizontal subsidiary knowledge outflows in multinational corporations

Horizontal and vertical subsidiary knowledge outflows in multinational corporations (MNCs) are argued to be central to effective MNC performance. Building on the knowledge-based view of the firm, we develop a conceptual model to investigate the performance consequences, determinants and interaction effects due to coordination and control mechanisms, of horizontal and vertical MNC subsidiary knowledge outflows. The hypotheses are empirically tested with a dataset comprised of survey and archival data from over 200 MNC subsidiaries. Results indicate that explicitness and communication positively influence vertical and horizontal subsidiary knowledge outflows and that national cultural distance, centralization, formalization, and specialized resources moderate these influences. We also find that knowledge outflows to headquarters and to peer subsidiaries enhance an MNC's financial performance (i.e., return on assets). The results provide substantive evidence as to how vertical and horizontal knowledge operate within MNCs.     

Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity

This paper explores the relationship between FDI spillovers and productivity in manufacturing firms in five European transition countries. The novelty of our approach lies in exploring different mechanisms of horizontal spillovers and disentangling the impact of backward and forward vertical spillovers from services and manufacturing sectors. We rely on firm level data obtained from the Amadeus database and annual input-output tables. The results from dynamic panel model estimations reveal that local manufacturing firms benefit from the presence of foreign firms in upstream services, especially in the knowledge intensive services, and in downstream manufacturing sector. Demonstration effect is found to be negatively associated with domestic firms’ productivity, while worker mobility and increased competition appear to be the main channels of horizontal knowledge diffusion. The firms’ productivity is also influenced positively by human capital and intangible assets. Finally, we show that the direction and intensity of both vertical and horizontal spillovers depend on the absorptive capacity of domestic firms.     

一种三站时差定位的布站优化算法

测量站的布站直接影响时差定位目标的定位精度。针对一定区域目标整体定位精度 的优化,提出了一种三站时差定位的布站优化算法。以水平定位精度因子(HDOP)为定位精度 的 度量准则,建立布站优化问题的多目标规划数学模型,通过构造最小最大评价函数,求解模 型的最优解,从而得到三站时差定位的最优布站。仿真给出了该布站优化算法对某种初始布 站进行优化前后两种布站的HDOP分布图。由仿真结果可以看出,相对于初始布站,最优布站 对目标区定位精度的提高较为明显,验证了这种布站优化算法的有效性。