Competition in two‐sided markets

Many markets involve two groups of agents who interact via “platforms,“ where one group's benefit from joining a platform depends on the size of the other group that joins the platform. I present three models of such markets: a monopoly platform; a model of competing platforms where agents join a single platform; and a model of “competitive bottlenecks” where one group joins all platforms. The determinants of equilibrium prices are (i) the magnitude of the cross‐group externalities, (ii) whether fees are levied on a lump‐sum or per‐transaction basis, and (iii) whether agents join one platform or several platforms.     

User groups in action: The management of user inputs in the NPD process

This paper describes, through a case study of a small software company, an instance of the successful employment of user groups as a medium of design. Our work indicates that effective user groups require the product development manager to accomplish a number of relatively distinct social processes. These include establishing trust and credibility, managing expressions of user need, and involving users in the new product development process by enlisting them as designers. The implications of the findings are that participative models of the design process make demands on the social skills of product development managers which need to be addressed in their education and subsequent career development.     

The relationship between culture and perception of ethical problems in international Marketing

This research study sought to identify whether there is a relationship between ethical perceptions and culture. An examination of the cultural variables suggests that there is a relationship between two of Hofstede's cultural dimensions (i.e., Uncertainty Avoidance and Individualism) and ethical perceptions. This finding supports the hypothetical linkage between the cultural environment and the perceived ethical problem variables posited in Hunt and Vitell's General Theory of Marketing Ethics (1986).Robert Armstrong is Professor of Marketing and Research Associate of the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University, Programme Chair for the MBA and Marketing and Media degree programmes. Professor Armstrong has been in Australia for six years, he spent two years at the University of Western Australia and the last four years at Murdoch University. To date, he has published over 20 journal articles and an Australian Marketing Research textbook.     

Principles involving marketing policies: An empirical assessment

We examined nine marketing textbooks, published since 1927, to see if they contained useful marketing principles. Four doctoral students found 566 normative statements about pricing, product, place, or promotion in these texts. None of these statements were supported by empirical evidence. Four raters agreed on only twenty of these 566 statements as providing meaningful principles. Twenty marketing professors rated whether the twenty meaningful principles were correct, supported by empirical evidence, useful, or surprising. None met all the criteria. Nine were judged to be nearly as correct when their wording was reversed.The authors thank the many people who commented on early drafts, including Eileen Bridges, Fred Collopy, Douglas Dalrymple, Alan Dubinsky, Andrew Ehrenberg, Jonathan Freeman, Raymond Hubbard, William Perreault, William Ross, Steven Schnaars, and Gerald Zaltman. Jennifer L. Armstrong, Gina Bloom, and Phan Lam provided editorial assistance.     

What impact does the choice of formula have on international comparisons?

In this paper an empirical comparison of a number of alternative multilateral index‐number formulae is undertaken. The magnitude of the effect of choosing one formula over another is ascertained using an appropriate cross‐sectional data set constructed under the auspices of the Eurostat‐OECD Purchasing Power Parity Programme. To this end, a new indicator is proposed that facilitates the measurement of the difference between two sets of bloc consumption shares, each computed using a different multilateral comparison method. JEL Classification: C31, C43, C81, E31, F31, O57 Quel impact est‐ce que le choix des formules a sur les comparaisons internationales? Ce mémoire propose une comparaison empirique d'un certain nombre de formules de nombres‐indices multilatéraux. On tente de jauger la magnitude de l'impact du choix d'une formule plutôt qu'une autre en utilisant une base de données transversales appropriée construite sous l'égide du Programme de parité du pouvoir d'achat Eurostat‐OCDE. On propose un nouvel indicateur qui facilite la mesure de la différence entre deux ensembles de patterns de consommation, chacun calculéà l'aide d'une méthode de comparaison multilatérale différente.     

An empirical investigation of international marketing ethics: Problems encountered by Australian firms

This study identifies and categorises ethical problems in terms of frequency of occurrence and importance to a sample of Australian international business managers. The study determined that the most frequently cited ethical problem is gifts/favours/entertainment and that this problem may be related to the culture where the international business is being conducted. The most important ethical problem is large-scale bribery. When the frequency of occurrence and importance means are compared in a scatter plot, cultural differences, pricing practices and questionable commissions were catagorised in the high frequency/high importance quadrant. The Australian general managers stated that managerial action will be taken to control unethical behavior among their international marketing managers. It was conjectured that managers were not as firm in their attitudes concerning the necessity to compromise one's ethics to succeed in international business.Dr. Robert Armstrong is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Murdoch University. He has concentrated his research activities toward international and service marketing. He has published several papers in both subject areas. Currently, he is studying: International Marketing Ethics in the Asia-Pacific region. The long-range study seeks to make cross-cultural comparisons of Southeast Asian and Australian business executives perceptions of the international marketing environments. He is also doing research for an international marketing text for Australia and Southeast Asia.I would like to thank Jane Seman for her assistance in the collection of data and references for this study. I would also like to thank the reviewer(s) for insightful recommendations and suggestions on the draft of the article.     

Conspicuous anticonsumption: When green demarketing brands restore symbolic benefits to anticonsumers

This article introduces the concept of conspicuous anticonsumption and provides evidence that it can be an effective means for green demarketing brands to encourage anticonsumption. Conspicuous anticonsumption refers to practices whereby brands provide visible signals imbued with meaning that consumers use to convey environmental motivations for consumption reduction activities. Two experiments suggest that without a signal, observers perceive anticonsumers to have lower socioeconomic status. However, when a visible signal communicates environmental motivations for anticonsumption actions, negative status inferences are mitigated and perceptions of the associated brand become more favorable. These visible signals confer status and restore the symbolic benefits that are often lost when consumption is forgone. Because symbolic benefits are powerful drivers of consumption choices, conspicuous anticonsumption can appeal to a broader base of moderate consumers. This practice has the potential to reduce negative environmental impact on a societal level as well as have positive outcomes for the brand. Counter to the prosocial perspective taken in most anticonsumption literature and activist thinking, This study highlights the importance of focusing on the personal symbolic benefits and costs of anticonsumption at the individual level.     

Estimating the impact of investing in a resource efficient,resilient global energy-intensive manufacturing industry

To examine the prospects of creating a resource efficient, low-carbon economy, this paper focuses on the impacts of investing in energy, water and waste. The broader industrial sector, as well as six energy-intensive manufacturing industries is studied. A system dynamics model is developed for each selected sub-sector, which is embedded in a broader integrated framework to fully appreciate the linkages within the industries and across the economy, environment and society. This study further simulates and analyzes the key factors affecting the economic performance and environmental impacts of these industries in a resource efficient scenario compared to a business-as-usual (BAU) case. Our analysis indicates that with no additional resource-efficiency and conservation actions taken, these industries – highly exposed to rising fuel prices under BAU – will suffer from declined profitability over time. Under the alternative scenario however, an incremental investment in efficiency will not only substantially curb energy demand and emissions, but will also effectively reduce energy expenditures in all analyzed industries yielding an overall positive return on investment after nine years. Though the extent of cost saving varies across the sub-sectors due to the variation in energy mix, they will all see considerable reduction in unit production costs and increase in operating margins and profits in the medium to longer term.     

Exchange risk and universal returns: A test of international arbitrage pricing theory

According to the international arbitrage pricing theory (IAPT) posited by Solnik (1983), currency movements affect assets' factor loadings and associated risk premiums. Based on a novel universal return decomposition, we propose an empirical model to test this proposition and perform tests using U.S. stock returns in the period 1975–2008. Our results confirm that currency movements significantly affect the market betas of a large proportion of stocks. Further cross-sectional tests indicate that currency movements affecting the market factor are significantly priced in stock returns. Based on these and other findings, we conclude that Solnik's IAPT is supported. An important implication of our findings is that exchange rate risk can broadly affect stock returns through both factor loading and residual factor channels.