Net entry behaviour in Greek manufacturing: consumer, intermediate and capital goods industries

This research explores the nature and causes of net entry of firms in three groups of Greek manufacturing industries–consumer, intermediate and capital goods. The research questions whether or not the determinants of net entry rates across sectors are different. Econometric analyses reveal that, indeed, there are significant differences in the determinants of net entry rates across industry groups, but also there is strong within-group correlation across sectors.     

反行政性垄断与促进竞争政策研究新进展——“转轨经济中的反行政性垄断与促进竞争政策”国际研讨会观点综述

行政性垄断由于造成资源配置扭曲、社会福利损失、收入分配不均以及地方保护和区域市场分割等问题而日益成为社会各界关注的焦点。2007年11月19日在山东大学召开的“转轨经济中的反行政性垄断与促进竞争政策”国际研讨会对反行政性垄断的理论与政策问题进行了集中交流与探讨。本文介绍了与会专家学者对于该问题的主要学术观点．综述了反行政性垄断研究的新进展以及该领域亟待解决的理论和实践问题。     

Regulation and the Development of Competition in the U.K. Gas Supply Industry

When the U.K. gas supply industry was privatised, it retained its monopoly vertically integrated structure. We discuss the forces which led to the deregulation of the U.K. gas supply industry. Important factors in the process include a number of critical reports by the regulatory authorities, the growth of alternative gas supplies including the development of the spot-market, and the success of independents in gaining market share in markets opened up to competition. We also present surveys of gas users and independent gas suppliers and find that price advantage has been the critical factor in the increase in market share gained by the independent gas suppliers.     

Fiber vs. vectoring: Limiting technology choices in broadband expansion

The upgrade of legacy infrastructure is a challenging undertaking in general. The underlying issues are especially prominent for telecommunications networks outside of urban areas. Using German micro-level data, we identify the structural determinants for fiber optics deployment and its extent. We also measure the role of technology competition from the existing infrastructures, VDSL-Vectoring and TV-Cable. In this setting and exploiting a natural experiment, a technologically restrictive policy as proposed by the European Commission is found to be ineffective in promoting fiber deployment. Policy interventions in the form of subsidies targeted at specific local infrastructure projects, however, raise the likelihood of fiber deployment by a substantial margin. A targeted, proactive policy approach is therefore needed to overcome structural and geographical disadvantages.     

Do managerial ties in China always produce value? Competition,uncertainty, and domestic vs. foreign firms

While most advocate that foreign firms should utilize managerial ties to conduct business in China, recent literature cautions that such ties may offer only conditional value. This study examines three sources of heterogeneity that may condition the value of ties: firm ownership (foreign vs. domestic), competition, and structural uncertainty. Results from a survey of 280 firms in China indicate that though foreign and domestic firms utilize ties at a similar level, their performance gains from tie utilization differ. Managerial ties have a monotonic, positive effect on performance for domestic firms, whereas the effect is curvilinear (i.e., inverted U-shaped) for foreign firms. Therefore, compared with domestic firms, foreign firms have a competitive disadvantage from tie utilization. Furthermore, managerial ties are less effective for fostering performance when competition becomes more intense. However, ties lead to higher levels of firm performance when structural uncertainty increases. Overall, these results support the contingency view of managerial ties and caution companies about the unconditional use of ties as the market becomes more heterogeneous. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.