Strategic Intrafirm Innovation Adoption and Diffusion

A theory of oligopolistic innovation adoption is developed in which intrafirm diffusions occur because the marginal cost of adoption is increasing in the rate of adoption. The equilibrium intrafirm diffusion curve is S-shaped or concave, as are empirically observed ones. This diffusion curve is more likely to be S-shaped the more competitive the industry, the larger the marginal cost of adoption or the pre-innovation unit cost of production, or the smaller the demand. The diffusion is longer, and so the extent of adoption at any date is lower the more competitive the industry, the larger the marginal cost of adoption or the pre-innovation unit cost of production, or the smaller the demand. A surprising result is that an increase in the unit cost reduction from the innovation has an ambiguous effect on diffusion. Obviously, a larger cost reduction allows each firm to earn a larger flow profit at every date from the same rate of adoption. However, a more subtle effect is that it also allows the firm to earn the same flow of profit with a slower rate of adoption, and so lower adoption costs. That is, the firms also have an incentive to spread out the diffusion over a longer period of time to save on adoption costs.     

Trade and competition policies: concordia discors>

In a simple model of trade and competition policies we showthat the abolition of trade restrictions may lead to governmentsindependently choosing more competitive competition policies.Subsequent co-ordination of competition policy involves encouragingless competitive behaviour than when such policies are not co-ordinatedand may involve disharmonisation, in a sense made clear in thepaper. Adding a third country, simulation results indicate thatnon-member concerns about customs union formation may be well-founded,particularly when the union goes beyond mere trade policy co-ordination(which may be needed to make it attractive to members in thefirst place).     

小企业向大公司演化的机理

传统的对企业家精神内涵的研究主要是基于熊彼特提出的创新精神.文章通过企业家精神要素、创新、竞争优势三个维度及其相互关系来构建新型企业家精神理论：企业家精神要素是四种能力的集合体;创新不仅仅是企业家精神的本质特征,更是企业家精神要素下四种能力动态发展的重要手段;企业家以精神要素为基础,通过创新,最终追求的是企业的持续竞争优势和可持续成长.通过文章提出的新企业家精神理论可以用来解释小企业向大公司演化的基本机理.     

小企业向大公司演化的机理——一种新企业家精神视角

传统的对企业家精神内涵的研究主要是基于熊彼特提出的创新精神。文章通过企业家精神要素、创新、竞争优势三个维度及其相互关系来构建新型企业家精神理论:企业家精神要素是四种能力的集合体;创新不仅仅是企业家精神的本质特征,更是企业家精神要素下四种能力动态发展的重要手     

城市的特色及其建设——兼谈合肥城市规划

当今最具有发展潜力和竞争力的城市都具有鲜明的城市特色。一个有特色的城市规划和建设,应在认识城市本质前提下,涉及城市所处地域环境、历史文化、经济特点,摒弃麻木克隆的陋习,注重传统与现代的完美结合。     

以资源为基础的企业竞争优势理论的演进与发展趋势

文章以企业＂异质性＂的根源为主线,认为企业异质性的根源存在一个由物质资本资源到人力资本资源,再到组织资本资源的演进过程。那么相应地,由于企业竞争优势源自企业＂异质性＂,论述企业＂异质性＂根源的过程,就同时也是描述以资源为基础的企业竞争优势理论的演进过程。以此为基础,本文认为企业能力理论与企业知识理论是在探索企业竞争优势源泉的过程中形成和发展起来的,是以资源为基础的企业竞争优势理论的发展阶段,而不是一般所认为的是与以资源为基础的企业竞争优势理论并行的两个理论。     

More on tariffs,import quotas,and customs unions

It is known that the welfare of a small, quota-imposing country will always increase after it joins a customs union because the trade diversion effect of a customs union never arises. However, this paper shows that the welfare of a large, quota-imposing country may increase, decrease, or remain the same after it joins a customs union even though the trade diversion effect of a customs union also never arises. The offer curve approach is used in this study.     

Resource allocation: A hayekian paradigm for maritime conglomerates

Conclusion This article provides a new synthesis between the strategic management literature and Austrian capital theory. The resource allocation process plays out in the context of differing subunit preferences, potentially resulting in tension and periodic conflict that may lead to dysfunctional relationships over time. Absent clearly understood and effective operational rules, the potential for heightened dysfunctional internal relationships will lead a conglomerate organization to have a diminished resource base for achieving its future strategic goals. This article presents a set of resource-allocation rules based on the Hayekian theory of production. By developing an effective resource-allocation paradigm based on economic theory, the organization can gain market share resulting in increased profitability and continued success in the marketplace. The Hayekian triangle offers firms an objective measure reflecting environmental shifts by tracking interest-rate changes that affect consumer and production demand. Organizations can gain “first-mover advantages” essential to provide the competitive advantage vis-à-vis their rivals while maintaining harmonious relationships among subunits. Entrepreneurial innovation can also be exercised by “second movers” who imitate the “first movers,” perhaps taking advantage of lessons learned. This kind of innovative imitation may well provide the greatest scope for entrepreneurial activity. The authors remain responsible for any errors or omissions.     

European trade liberalisation and the stillborn Nordic customs union in the 1950s

Abstract

Historical research on the aborted Nordic customs union of the 1950s has emphasised the conflicting commercial interests of the countries involved. This study identifies the common commercial interests that from 1954 committed governments to further progress in the customs union issue. It argues that increased frustration over the ‘hardening’ of the European commercial regime made the governments opt for a customs union to develop Nordic manufacturing industries.     

转换型领导与新创企业绩效：一个跨层次的研究

实践表明，新创企业的绩效提升离不开内部团队的内嵌式网络关系构建，但现有研究缺乏对"转换型领导如何有效管理团队运作过程以实现新企业绩效增长"这一问题的深入分析。鉴于此，文章基于高阶理论和社会网络理论构建了一个跨层次中介作用模型，深入挖掘了网络关系和集体效能在转换型领导和新创企业绩效之间的并列中介作用，并通过Bootstrapping方法对432家新企业CEO以及企业不同团队成员的两阶段的跨期配对数据进行了实证分析。研究结果显示：转换型领导正向促进新企业绩效，网络关系和集体效能在转换型领导和新创企业绩效之间发挥了并列中介作用和链式中介作用，且在多条中介路径中，集体效能发挥的中介作用最大。上述研究结论不仅基于社会网络理论的视角揭开了转换型领导促进新企业绩效的作用机制，还有助于新企业领导者有效管理团队互动行为以实现企业持续成长。同时，文章丰富了创业理论和社会网络理论的研究结论。     

Elasticities of derived demand under different objectives of the firm

Conclusions We have reconciled and generalized earlier comparisons of input demand elasticities under different objective functions of the firm. In general little can be said of the relative magnitudes of the elasticities under different objectives, since different goals usually imply different levels of production and input demand. With some simplifying assumptions about the technology we can conclude that a profit-constrained, utility-maximizing firm tends to have higher input demand elasticities than a profit-maximizing firm facing the same cost and demand functions. This tendency is reinforced by a high profit requirement, decreasing returns to scale and slowly falling demand elasticity for the output. The results may help to explain differences in the stability of employment between industries,. Scherer [1980, pp. 365–67] reports that some studies have found an inverse relation between market concentration and stability of employment, which is contrary to the expected result. One may argue that in concentrated industries the firms are likely to have organizational slack or to face an inelastic product demand curve. Hence demand for factors of production should be less elastic than in more competitive industries. We have shown, however, that deviations from profit maximization may lead to higher input demand elasticities. Since non-profit-maximizing goals are likely to be more common in concentrated industries, the observed instability of employment may be partly due to the high elasticity of derived demand. Although the type of alternative goals studied in this paper may not be realistic in practice, the analysis shows nevertheless that goals of the firm may be one factor in explaining differences in the stability of employment.     

Labor markets and innovation

We examine the effects on the comparative R&D performance of firms of the different labor market conditions they face. The conditions we consider are the bargaining strength of the unions firms face and the contents of the bargain they negotiate. In particular we consider whether unions can bargain over when new technology is introduced. In the theoretical part of the paper we show that increased union strength can sometimes increase the possibility that a firm will successfully innovate, but that allowing a union to delay the introduction of new technology generally reduces a firm's R&D success. Empirical evidence from the United Kingdom shows that both union strength and the type of bargain that unions undertake have significant impacts on R&D spending.     

The Southern African customs union: A reappraisal

The paper attempts to evaluate, as far as possible quantitatively, the costs and benefits to the countries of the ‘Southern African periphery’ (Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland) of participation with South Africa in the current customs union agreement. On balancing the agreement's measurable effects (on industrial development, exports, government revenue and the cost of living) against one another, it appears that on sanguine assumptions only, there would be a substantial benefit to Botswana and a much more moderate benefit to Lesotho if the customs union were dismantled and replaced by separately protected national markets. Such a calculation, however, neglects what may be the most important benefit and cost to the ‘peripheral’ countries of leaving the customs union, namely the increase of ‘economic independence’ and the risk of South African retaliation respectively: themes which are explored in the final section.     

Consumer discrimination,duopoly, and black firm entry: The welfare effect of subsidies

Consumer discrimination, to the extent that it lowers expected profit for black owned firms, discourages the entry of new black firms. From a social welfare perspective, consumer discrimination may be welfare reducing, since market output is lower than otherwise. If so, a policy intervention that subsidizes new black firms may improve social welfare. This article presents a simple model of duopoly where consumer discrimination exists with uncertainty, and the only cost of production is a “loss of sales” cost. Given the Nash equilibrium, in which a black and white firm must select a price to charge, conditions are derived for which a profit subsidy to a new black firm increases, decreases, or has no effect on social welfare.     

Trade creation,trade diversion,and the general equilibrium effects of regional trade agreements: a study of the European Community–Turkey customs union

This paper presents an industry-level analysis of trade flows in order to estimate the trade effects of Turkey’s customs union with the European Community (EC). The paper is able to distinguish between trade creation and trade diversion by employing tariff data on each good to measure the impact of not only the tariff level but also the difference between tariffs applied to imports from Europe and the most-favored nation tariffs applied to imports from other non-preferential trading partners. The paper estimates the general equilibrium effects of the customs union in addition to the effects of eliminating tariffs on the EC’s exports to Turkey. It concludes that the customs union has generated more than twice as much trade creation as trade diversion but that the overall impact of the customs union has been relatively small.     

Production theory under uncertain inflation

Summary and Conclusions This paper examines Chen's [1980] model of asset valuation under uncertain inflation in order to derive a static and comparative static theory of production by a competitive firm. Given the value maximizing and the price taking assumptions, the firm behaves as a profit-maximizer. The sole effect of uncertain inflation is to distort the price structure. that is, the firm adjusts the expected price of an input or output to reflect the systematic risk of that price. Because a change in circumstances can affect the systematic risk of a given price, assessing the effects of a specific policy or event solely in terms of its effect on expected price can be misleading. Parametric variations affect the structure of certainty equivalent prices. Therefore, the comparative static derivatives of the value maximizing firm emerge as extensions of the comparative static derivatives of the profit maximizing firm under certainty. Many of these comparative static derivatives are of determinant sign. The effects of changes in market uncertainty and in inflation uncertainty, while they can be characterized mathematically, cannot be signed in the general case. Cross-sectional studies indicate wide variation in the effects of inflation, so that the preceding theoretical results appear plausible. Finally, in view of the wealth of static and comparative static results which can be derived from Chen's model, that model provides a convenient benchmark against which to judge other models. Precisely because of its simple nature, Chen's model is ideal for establishing limits of analysis.     

On Input Market Frictions and Estimation of Factors' Demand

In this article, we explore the impact of imperfectly competitive input markets on production function estimation. First‐order profit‐maximizing conditions are altered when frictions in input markets cause the elasticity of input supply to the firm to be finite. A consequence of this is that the standard econometric model used for production function estimation will be misspecified. We prove that, in all nontrivial cases, finite elasticities of supply to the firm will lead to inconsistent estimates of production function parameters. Monte Carlo simulations show that the resulting bias can be economically significant.     

Regional currency arrangements: insights from Europe

This paper focuses on the requirements and features of a successful monetary union on the basis of the optimum currency area theory, the “logical roadmap” for integration as proposed by Balassa as well as the economic and institutional framework of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The analysis suggests that monetary union is contingent upon high economic integration and strong political commitment. However, political union is not an ex-ante requirement. Outside factors such as systemic shocks and globalization seem to speed up the pooling of sovereignty in the economic domain. A firm commitment to stability-oriented monetary and fiscal policies is a precondition for gaining credibility and trust within and outside a monetary union. Last, but not least, convergence criteria, fiscal rules and strong institutions are necessary to help ensure and monitor the participants’ compliance. However, the European experience is not a blueprint for regional integration that can be directly and entirely applied to other regions.     

A note on customs unions vs. non-preferential tariffs

It has been shown by Cooper and Massell [1965] that making a non-preferential tariff reduction is always superior to joining a customs union. The purpose of this paper is to show that if the country concerned is a large country, then joining a customs union is not necessarily inferior to making a non-preferential tariff reduction.     

Denmark and the OEEC, 1948–1959

Abstract

By the late 1940s, the Danish economy was dependent on competitive and specialised agricultural exports to the British and German markets, In the 1930s and 1940s, protective barriers had given rise to a home-market-oriented industry that secured the main part of urban employment. As a small country with low tariffs and a high foreign trade dependency Denmark embraced the Marshall Plan and the OEEC. However, due to its particular structure of foreign trade and the protectionist measures the Danish economy was vulnerable to the imbalances of the OEEC's Trade Liberalisation Programme, The Danish response was to commit the large economies to the legal framework within the OEEC. In the mid-1950s the Danish government turned to a more aggressive strategy combining the advocacy for liberalisation and freer agricultural trade with a deliberate delay of the liberalisation of industrial protection, While the Nordic customs union had little chance of seeing the light of day in the 1940s and early 1950s, inter-Nordic consultations remained a valuable tactical asset in the OEEC. However, in the mid-1950s the plans for a Nordic customs union became an important part of the Danish effort to bolster the country's bargaining position and to modernise and industrialise the economy.