Co-management of purchasing and marketing: Why,when and how?

This article discusses the theoretical and conceptual foundations for the co-management of purchasing and marketing and thereby provides some answers to the questions, why, when and how purchasing and marketing should be co-managed. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing between internal and external co-management of purchasing and marketing. Improving value creation and value capture is identified as a necessary “pull factor” driving the co-management of purchasing and marketing. Based on resource dependence theory (RDT), we argue that dependence on critical resources is another important “push factor” for the emergence of external co-management. We present a RDT-based typology of co-management constellations showing that co-management is not a one-size-fits-all approach and summarize our findings in five propositions on the co-management of purchasing and marketing. In sum, we conceptualize co-management of marketing and purchasing as a bridging strategy that allows a focal firm to accommodate dependence on critical upstream and/or downstream resources and improves value creation within the supply chain.     

Convergence and proceduralisation: Generalisation vs contextualisation?

This paper presents some remarks regarding the hypothesis of proceduralisation of law in the field of telecommunications convergence, theme of a conference held at the university of Louvain, 16-17 October 1997 and specially of the paper of Colin Scott published in this issue. The paper addresses the issues of a new model of legal theory beyond both the classic regulatory model and the competition law model. It presents an analysis of how an apparent dilemma between generalisation and contextualisation may be solved by a proceduralised paradigm and how this new paradigm may reconcile the complexity of convergence and the democratic requirements in a rational way.     

Governance and capabilities: Asia’s entrepreneurial performance and stock of venture forms

Asian economies display large evident differences in their entrepreneurial capabilities and performance. While existing explanations of these differences have largely focused on formal and informal background institutions, we instead emphasize differences in national stocks of venture forms. We suggest that alternate venture forms, because of their different governance characteristics, possess unique entrepreneurial capabilities and pursue distinct opportunities. Consequently, nations must possess a diverse and balanced stock of venture forms and have such forms engaged in the unique and complementary activities for which they are best suited. Viewed in this light, addressing national limitations in entrepreneurial performance requires changes in stocks of venture forms. In developing the policy implications of our analysis, we highlight the past successes and current development challenges of Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China.     

Canadian consumers and telephone pricing: From luxury to necessity and back again?

Changes are being sought in Canada's telecommunications services which would deregulate the industry and result in reduced long-distance telephone rates and increased local charges. This article examines historical data on telephone rates and penetration, and contemporary evidence on the results of telephone industry changes in both Canada and the USA. The authors argue that such changes would benefit business users and harm residential users. They would challenge Canada's long-term commitment to universal telephone services — an ironic development in an information age where access to electronic technology is becoming essential for daily life.     

Private contracting with externalities: Divide and conquer?

This paper considers the efficacy of divide-and-conquer strategies in principal-agent games involving contracting with externalities. We find that whereas divide-and-conquer offers can arise in equilibrium under some conditions when the principal’s offers are publicly observable, they cannot arise in equilibrium when the principal’s offers are privately observable and the agents hold passive out-of-equilibrium beliefs. This insight applies to technology and platform adoption decisions with network effects, labor relations, settlement negotiations, and input licensing, among others.     

China and Africa:Expect More Communication on Cotton

From November 4th to 5th, heads of 48 African countries and the People's Re- public of China met in Beijing for the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, under the theme of ‘Friendship, Peace, cooperation and development’. The Declaration of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation, and the China-Af- rica Cooperation Action Plan (2007- 2009) were adopted at the summit, to an- nounce the establishment of a new type of strategic partnership, featuring “…     

Shareholders and stakeholders: How do directors decide?

This study examines how directors make decisions that involve shareholders and other stakeholders. Using vignettes derived from seminal court cases, we construct an index of directors' shareholderism as a general orientation on this issue. In a survey of the entire population of directors and CEOs in public corporations in one country, we find that directors' personal values and roles play an important part in their decisions. Directors and CEOs are more pro‐shareholder the more they endorse entrepreneurial values—specifically, higher achievement, power, and self‐direction values and lower universalism values. While employee representative directors exhibit a lower baseline level of shareholder orientation, they nonetheless often side with shareholders. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pay and Working Time: Towards Organization-based Systems?

The decentralization of pay and working-time determination has widely been seen as marking a shift to organization-based arrangements. Empirical investigation has been limited, however. This paper examines the process and outcomes of pay and working time through a survey of over three hundred workplaces in four important sectors: printing, engineering, retail and health. It finds that a strong sector effect is demonstrated whether or not there are national arrangements in place, and that employers tend to move like ships in a convoy when managing change. It is argued that the convergence and durability of existing arrangements is associated first with the structural boundaries provided by markets, technology and labour; second with the increased importance of legitimacy in a context of growing uncertainty; and third as a result of shared information sources and networks. The strength of the sectoral reference raises significant questions for much of current organizational research, notably its focus on levels of pay and the relevance of the analytical distinction between the internal and external labour markets. The research also has a number of important policy implications, drawing attention to the pros as well as cons of co-ordination in pay and working-time.     

Network effects and merger analysis: instant messaging and the AOL–Time Warner case

The AOL–Time Warner merger, announced in January 2000, was and still is the largest merger ever consummated. The merger plan was submitted to the FTC for antitrust review and to the FCC for license transfer review. The FTC approved the merger with conditions relating to open access. The FCC approved the merger subject to a condition (among others) that mandated interoperability for future (but not present) generations of AOL's popular instant messaging (IM) service, based on the potential leveraging of merger assets together with current IM network effects into market power in next-generation IM services. This condition was controversial and represents a new departure in antitrust analysis for industries imbued with network effects. This paper analyzes AOL's IM service and the ability to leverage merger assets into future market power in the context of the FCC condition; counter-arguments are considered and larger lessons for “new economy” antitrust are drawn from this experience and analysis.     

“Open access:” the ideal and the real

“Open access” would allow ISPs to use a cable operator's broadband connection under regulated terms and conditions. Advocates stress the desirability of an “end-to-end” architecture for the Internet and the danger that cable operators will use their control over the last mile to limit consumer choice and stifle innovation. Opponents contend that wholesale price controls and other regulatory burdens under what they term “forced access” would in fact slow down the deployment of broadband, stifle innovation and harm consumers. The fears of “open access” advocates seem largely speculative at this point. Evidence from related policies also favors the opponents. “Closed” cable systems are beating their “open” DSL competitors in the market place; analogous regulation of cable TV did not serve consumers well; and forced “unbundling” of local service has been controversial and largely ineffective. In addition, relevant technology stocks declined in price with political and legal victories for “open access” and increased when it suffered setbacks.     

Service productivity and service quality: A necessary trade-off?

This paper is about service productivity and perceived service quality. Both a high service productivity and a high customer perceived quality are two main drivers of good performances in service companies and they simultaneously occur as a consequence of a synergy of several drivers such as employees' competences and motivation, organizational efficiency, technical devices availability, information technologies employment, etc. In scientific literature a trade-off between productivity and perceived service quality is asserted and several cases derived both by market observations and academic research could bear such trade-off out. But, is it possible to state that, under some circumstances, such a trade-off between productivity and perceived service quality could be avoided? And if yes, why such certified substitution should not work?In this paper, in order to trace some theoretical answer to the above questions, a managerial model based both on service science and production economics will be proposed. The model aims to find out some key causes that allow to explain the foundations of the mentioned trade-off and the potential conditions for its overcoming; moreover, such model will be employed in order to integrate services' productivity function with new variables and to provide some managerial guidelines for improving service management.     

5G networks: Will technology and policy collide?

Despite being still under development, it is envisaged that 5G networks will provide a ‘fibre-like’ experience to mobile users. As such, they are expected to accommodate services with very different requirements in terms of latency, bandwidth and reliability, among others, for the vertical sectors. However, the European Union has just approved the Telecommunications Single Market Regulation, which enshrines the network neutrality principle and guarantees that ‘all traffic through the Internet is treated equally’. This article explores the potential conflict between net neutrality regulation and future 5G services, particularly regarding network virtualisation. We present a discussion on the challenges of building net neutrality upon judgements on whether traffic optimisation is objectively necessary. This proves complex in a technological environment that envisions network ‘slices’ created and priced on-demand according to the Quality of Service (QoS) required by specific applications at any given time. In addition, we argue that the ‘anything-as-a-service’ paradigm might turn into an important source of innovation for the future Internet infrastructure layer, and thus for the ecosystem as a whole.     

General Editor’s Note: Antitrust and Regulatory Update

Review of Industrial Organization -     

General Editor’s Note: Antitrust and Regulatory Update

Review of Industrial Organization -     

Personalized pricing and advertising: Who are the winners?

This paper investigates who wins and who loses when firms depart from a mass advertising/uniform pricing strategy (benchmark model) to a targeted advertising/price discrimination one. Considering a duopoly market in which firms simultaneously compete in prices and advertising decisions, we examine the competitive and welfare effects of personalized pricing with targeted advertising by comparing equilibrium outcomes under customized advertising/ pricing decisions to the results arising under mass advertising and uniform pricing. We show that, when both firms compete in both market segments, all segment consumers are expected to pay higher average prices under the personalized advertising/pricing strategy. We also show that, in the context of our simultaneous game, targeted advertising with price discrimination might boost firms’ profits in comparison to the case of mass advertising and uniform prices. The overall welfare effects of the personalized strategy are ambiguous. However, even when the personalized strategy boosts overall welfare, consumers might all be worse-off. Thus the paper gives support to concerns that have been raised regarding the firms’ ability to adopt personalized strategies to boost profits at the expense of consumers.     

Certifying catfish in Vietnam and Bangladesh: Who will make the grade and will it matter?

Certification is an increasingly pervasive form of market governance through which retailers and NGOs are able to exert control over producers of primary products in order to secure their commercial and institutional interests. This paper assesses the likely outcomes of emerging certification standards intended to govern production of a new global commodity, Pangasius catfish. This evaluation focuses on Pangasius producers in Vietnam and Bangladesh, and one of the key areas which standards seek to regulate; the environment. We conclude that certification is likely to result in greater differentiation and polarisation between larger and smaller farm operators and will increasingly act to exclude of the latter from access to Western European and North American markets, and that any local environmental gains produced may be of relatively minor significance.     

Change and diversity in smallholder rice–fish systems: Recent evidence and policy lessons from Bangladesh

Efforts to unlock the genetic potential of both rice and fish, when combined with improvements in the management of rice–fish systems, can potentially increase agricultural productivity and food security in some of the poorest and most populous countries in Asia. In Bangladesh, estimates suggest that the country’s potential rice–fish production system encompasses 2–3 million hectares of land. But despite three decades of research on biophysical and technical aspects of rice–fish systems, this potential has not been fully realized due to insufficient attention given to the social, economic, and policy dimensions of rice–fish system improvement. This paper provides a characterization of the diverse and changing nature of rice–fish systems in Bangladesh to shed new light on the economic viability of different rice–fish systems and recommend policy and investment options to accelerate the development of appropriate rice–fish technologies. Data are drawn from a novel subdistrict-level survey of fishery officers, a household/enterprise survey, focus group discussions, and a meta-review of the literature on aquaculture in the country, all of which were conducted in 2010–2011. Findings indicate that concurrent rice–fish systems, alternating rice–fish systems, and collectively managed systems offer considerable potential for increasing productivity and farm incomes in Bangladesh. Findings also suggest that while innovation in these rice–fish systems is being driven by households and communities, there is need for more supportive government policies and investments to enable further innovation. Policymakers need to develop effective regulations to promote feed and fish quality and quantity, for example. More rigorous analysis of the intended and unintended impacts of these policies and investments is also necessary.