Trade in data services : The international context

This article explores the importance of data services within the service sector, and particularly with regard to international trade in services. International economic agreements have traditionally only dealt with trade in manufactured products and ignored the services, which now make up the largest economic sector. Some international organizations, encouraged particularly by the USA, are beginning to confront the problem of defining an open international framework covering foreign direct investment and trade in services. The national interests of different countries are explored, in the light of their existing data resources and their desire to build them up or be able to access foreign databases.     

Telecommunications, trade and TDF

Trade in telecommuncations and computing services, particularly trade in data-related services, offers potential for economic growth in all sectors. This article raises a number of issues which need to be settled in international fora before the greatest benefits can be reaped. Differing national regulations, international competition, treatment of data as a commodity, the role of trade in the services economy and legal questions are explored. The author suggests that international agreement on trade in telecommunications and computing services could provide the basis for a ‘core’ agreement on trade in services.     

TDF: the hardy perennial

By its very nature, transborder data flow is international in scope, since it involves the transfer of data and information across national boundaries. The problems and issues it raises are complex and often sensitive. Many are without precedent and highly protean in character, as the pace of technological change continues without abatement and the technologies spread to ever-widening spheres of application. New concepts will need to be developed and new approaches to international cooperation may become necessary.     

Quality-adjusted international price comparisons of mobile telecommunications services

Many countries' policymakers have conducted international price comparisons of mobile telecommunications services to prevent service operators from overcharging subscribers. However, those comparisons have become more complicated because of the escalation in service usage and telecommunications expenditures spurred by the proliferation of smartphones and broadband LTE wireless internet service networks. The basket-based methodologies that have been widely used for international price comparisons are also limited—first, because the baskets for comparison may not be representative of actual service usage patterns in some countries; second, because they are difficult to apply to highly differentiated service plans due to the significant increase in wireless internet service usage and widely used plans with unlimited voice call service and SMS/MMS; and third, because they cannot consider the quality of service, such as upload and download speed in various service environments, at all. As an alternative, this paper proposes a hedonic pricing model that accounts for service quality and its variation in potentially disruptive environments, as well as fixed charge for a mobile phone additional to the price of service plans. The model was used to derive quality-adjusted price indices of mobile telecommunications services for twelve cities in ten countries with broadband LTE wireless internet service. The empirical results confirmed that the price index of each city varied significantly across the specifications,—both within the United States and internationally—depending on whether the model was constructed to reflect service quality and its variation on roads, in buildings, and in subways. The price index of each city also varied depending on whether the subsidized price of a mobile phone was considered part of the monthly price of a service plan. These results have important implications for policymakers seeking to understand the ultimate level of mobile telecommunication service prices for their country in a global context.     

Factors influencing shippers to use multiple country consolidation services in international distribution centers

Multiple country consolidation (MCC) combines cargos from different countries into same destinations by implementing logistics services including assembling, simple processes, packing, and labeling to increase cargos’ added value. Facing such an opportunity in global supply chain, international distribution centers (IDCs) need to examine internal resources and their external environment to create more competitive advantages. From the shippers’ perspective, this study uses structural equation modeling to examine the causal effect relationship of key factors affecting the use of MCC provided in IDCs. Results show logistics cost advantage, logistics operation efficiency, and logistics information technology service could positively influence the shippers to use MCC provided in IDCs. Several managerial implications were included and could be useful for the decision makers of IDCs and the government.     

Technological change and multinational growth in international telecommunications services

Revolutionary technological and institutional changes, introduced since mid-seventies, are drastically altering the quiet functioning of international telecommunications markets, traditionally characterized by a strong multilateral oligopoly. In such multilateral oligopoly firms had little scope and opportunity for any form of international growth. Since the early eighties the scope for international growth of telecommunications carriers is emerging as a critical issue in international telecommunications. The economics of multinational firms and international trade make it possible to assess the role of technology gaps in the modernization process, international telecommunications tariff asymmetries and global outsourcing as the determinants of multinational growth of telecommunications carriers and their international strategies.     

Property rights and international investment in information technology services

Many modern information technology services are increasingly being produced in a host country to serve clients in an offshore location. As a result, the internationalization of service functions is beginning to resemble that of their more traditional manufacturing counterparts. This paper examines the role of formal and de facto property rights protection in the offshore location choice of information technology services. I also explore the role of a firm's global subsidiary network and its experience with similar property rights regimes. Using investment data based on 152 firms and their international information service investments between 2002–2006, the empirical results highlight the role of de facto property rights protection and related experience in location choice.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nationwide information services using data broadcasting

Data broadcasting offers significant advantages over conventional computer and communications networks, as a nationwide, low cost, high speed system of data distribution. Focusing on the UK, this article highlights these advantages, with particular reference to the BBC's Datacast service. Future developments in data broadcasting, such as the introduction of satellite-compatible systems, are discussed. Finally, the article analyses policy considerations on a national and international scale.     

From products to services and back again: Towards a new service procurement logic

This paper explores patterns in the process of buying complex services. While there is currently hype about a service-dominant logic, there are also indications of a diametrically opposed logic implying the objectification of services; a goods-dominant logic. This paper investigates how buyers of different kinds of services relate to these logics and how the degree of objectification of services varies during different stages of the procurement process. By highlighting the buyers' perspectives and how services are transformed over time, the paper expands on the current knowledge of service-dominant logic. The paper is based on individual and focus group interviews with buyers at eighteen large industrial firms.     

Accounting for ARPU: New evidence from international panel data

Average revenue per user (ARPU) is commonly used by regulators and industry observers to compare the performance of mobile telephony markets. Under the new EU electronic communications regulatory framework, some national regulatory authorities (NRAs) have linked higher ARPU with ‘significant market power’. This paper empirically examines the determinants of ARPU in a systematic way, taking account of service quality, market environment, regulation and quantity of service. The robust results suggest that concentration may not be a reliable indicator of competition in mobile markets; there are economies of density in mobile markets; and higher GDP per capita increases ARPU.     

从创业到创新从竞争到竞合——东营供电公司建设竞合共赢文化实践

企业不同的环境和形态,决定了企业文化具有鲜明的个性特征。真正实用的企业文化,必须符合企业实际,能够体现并引导企业发展趋势。山东省东营供电公司自1990年成立以来,在激烈的市场竞争中顽强生存下来,迅速崛起于黄河三角洲这块充满生机与活力的土地上,并荣获全国企业文化实践创新奖,根本原因就在于坚持从创业到创新,从竞争到竞合,逐步形成了独具特色的竞合共赢文化。东营供电公司的竞合共赢文化,是指企业在市场竞争条件下,坚持以人为本,在竞争和发展的过程中,实现与竞争伙伴合作共赢,与服务对象合作共赢,与员工发展共赢,与社会和谐共赢。市…     

Managing service quality in high customer contact B2B services across domestic and international markets

This research aims to examine the nature of the moderating influence of empowerment on the effect of service training and internal marketing on service quality in a high customer contact B2B setting, and to investigate the differential effects of internal marketing, service training, and empowerment on service quality across domestic and international operations. Data from 880 customer-contact employees show several direct and interaction effects. Our analysis shows that the three focal variables, internal marketing, service training and empowerment positively relate to service quality. Our results support a positive moderating influence of empowerment on the relationship between internal marketing and service quality, and between service training and service quality. Finally, our hypotheses for the moderating influence of type of service operations (domestic/international) on the effect of internal marketing and service training on service quality were also supported. Our results suggest that offering service employees the skills, ability and power to do their job is essential in both domestic and international operations, and also helps maximize the effects of a firm's internal marketing efforts and service training. Overall, the findings inform managers as to how their employee focused strategies for service quality can be managed effectively across domestic and international markets.     

Cost allocation of WCDMA and wholesale pricing for mVoIP and data services

This study estimates cost-based prices for wholesale voice and data services provided to 3G (WCDMA) MVNOs according to their distinct types. For estimation, 3G MVNOs are classified into different types, and the overall cost of WCDMA facilities are separated into voice and data components based on their subscriber rates, actual traffic rates, as well as efficiency consideration of traffic rates. The study then calculates cost-based wholesale prices of voice and data services for each of the 3G MVNO types. The result of this study shows that a cost-plus pricing scheme can help achieve the policy goals of the regulator, namely, lowering telecommunications tariffs and facilitating the introduction of new convergent-type services, far more effectively than the current retail-minus pricing scheme. The findings of this study may assist firms in developing business models based on 3G networks and telecom regulators in designing policies related to interconnection, mVoIP, prepaid calls, wholesale services, and network neutrality.     

Impact of data trade restrictions on IT services export: A cross-country analysis

Trade in digital goods and services have witnessed increasing growth in recent years, accompanied by a corresponding increase in data flows across national boundaries. At the same time, governments around the world have enacted data policies that restrict such cross border data flows in their effort to claim sovereignty over data generated from within their countries. However, scholars have long proclaimed that any restrictions to the Internet and associated digital trade will have serious economic consequences. Given this context, we analyze the impact of data policies that impose restrictions on digital trade, specifically on cross border data flows. We construct Market Data Restrictions Index (MDRI), that measures the data restrictions faced by an exporting country from their trade partners. We use a variation of random effect model on a panel data set consisting of 60 countries that contribute to more than 50 percent of IT services export during the period 2006–2017. The results indicate that apart from variables such as Foreign Direct Investment, and Service Value Added, the MDRI of partner countries has a moderate negative effect on IT services export. If countries move from liberal policies to stringent data restrictions, the economies of the country that exports its ICT services to these partner countries is affected substantially. Hence government regulators shall be cautious in imposing stringent data restrictions as it affects global digital trade.     

由"金装"走向内敛

如果把服饰形象也看作是一种投资的话，如今的私营企业主可以说经历了三个阶段。当然．这也可以被看作是他们从注重物质到注重精神的一种过渡．而从审美的角度呢．我想甚至可以称之为从共性到个性的升华了……不难看出，这里有客观的原因．更有主观的驿动，但无论如何．我们应当承认．人们越来越意识到：服饰可以传达信息．它是一种比语言更古老和更世界性地建立彼此沟通的方式。     

An equilibrium approach to international merger policy

I treat international merger policy as a repeated veto game. I show that there exists a unique efficient equilibrium within a particular class of trigger strategy equilibria. I then consider a series of comparative statics and extensions: (a) if for some exogenous reason one of the countries becomes more lenient towards mergers, than the other country becomes more lenient as well; (b) merger remedies increase the probability that a merger is approved and increase total welfare; (c) the effects of a merger wave are magnified by the equilibrium approval policy.     

创新经营理念加快国际化发展

当今时代，经济全球化已成为不可逆转的潮流。对于一些已初步具备国际竞争能力的优势企业来讲，国际化的战略举措不仅顺应当今世界经济发展的趋势，而且是优势企业所肩负的历史使命，因为中华民族的伟大复兴需要它，中国的繁荣富强需要它。国际化就是开拓国际市场和利用境外资源，从而提高我国企业的国际竞争力，