Characterizing and comparing the evolution of the major global economies in information and communication technologies

In this paper, we characterise and compare status and evolution of the ICT industry of the six major global economies in ICT: China, the EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the USA. For this, we employ official data covering the period 2006–2009. Our analysis shows that although the EU is the largest economy of the world, it is the least ICT-specialised economy of all six major ICT economies. The USA is clearly the top global player in ICT in many respects. In both ICT Manufacturing and ICT Services it has the largest Value Added, BERD, BERD intensity and labour productivity. We further observe that China has, by far, the largest number of employees in both ICT Manufacturing and Services, while its level of ICT BERD remains low. China is however an emerging economy and economic indicators of its ICT sector have strongly grown from 2006 to 2009. Japan׳s ICT sector has a larger weight in the national economy than those of the USA, EU, and China. Moreover, it is the country from which the highest number of ICT patent applications originate. We also find that, of all six major global economies in ICT, Taiwan and Korea have the most ICT-specialised economies, with a strong orientation towards Manufacturing. Finally, we discuss selected results of our analysis and conclude the paper with tentative policy implications for the EU.     

Estimating scale economies of the wireless telecommunications industry using EVA data

This paper proposes a new estimation method of total cost and average cost curves and applies it to the telecommunications industry. The method is more flexible and entails less hassle for data collection than traditional methods. The results show that the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve is downward sloping, revealing the presence of economies of scale in production. The two largest Korean mobile network operators are realizing full economies of scale, while the smallest operator is not. Finally, the paper recommends three policy alternatives that the Ministry of Information and Communication of Korea can draw on to increase efficiency in the Korean mobile telecommunications market.     

Industrial life cycles and learning curves: Interaction of marketing and production

The price-oriented experience curve has been widely utilized as a model to design marketing strategies. Yet, it is cost over which many firms exercise the most control. This article explores the cost-oriented learning curve in conjunction with the product life cycle model as joint strategy constructs. Implications of variations in the learning curve parameters are examined.     

Marketing in underdeveloped economies

This paper by Professor Eid attempts to show that marketing, as an economic institution, is neglected in underdeveloped countries. The author argues that marketing can play a greater role in the development of these countries; specifically he writes on the status of marketing and the indigenous obstacles to the inception of distributive and marketing systems.     

Fixed and mobile competition in transition economies

The main aim of this paper is to explore the competition between traditional fixed line and mobile services across Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Whilst there have been some pioneer studies in the US, empirical evidence for other regions is very limited. Transition countries witnessed important trends in the mobile segment of the market. First, mobile penetration rates have been growing at exponential rates, whereas fixed line penetration rates have at best stagnated. The present analysis is based on empirical evidence based on country level data and case studies, as well as enterprise level data based on major surveys that the EBRD and the World Bank undertook in 2002 across all transition economies. Econometric analysis at the enterprise level shows some interesting results, including evidence of strong network externalities and fixed to mobile substitution effects at the country level.     

Problem based learning: application to technology education in three countries

An increasing variety of professional educational and training disciplines are now problem based (eg, medicine, nursing, engineering, community health), and they may have a corresponding variety of educational objectives. However, they all have in common the use of problems in the instructional sequence. The problems may be as diverse as a mechanical predicament, an unexplained phenomena, or patient symptoms. Technology education in secondary schools is undergoing a period of significant change in many countries. It is therefore imperative that technology teacher education adopt not only the technologies that have been identified as being important, but also incorporate appropriate methodologies for the instruction of these technologies. PBL offers a number of relevant features to technology education and it is because of these that the project outlined in this paper has been developed.     

Media substitution and economies of scale in advertising

Two important issues in the economics of advertising are media substitutability in generating sales and scale economies in advertising. If media are substitutes then partial bans, e.g., broadcast bans on cigarettes or alcoholic beverages, may be ineffective; and mergers among radio and TV firms, currently widespread in the U.S. and Mexico, are unlikely to result in market power in setting advertising rates. If there are scale diseconomies in advertising, concerns that advertising increases entry barriers may be unfounded. Using U.S. beer firm data over 1983:Q1–1993:Q4 for three media categories, we find evidence of high substitutability and diseconomies of scale.     

On scale economies and exhaustible resource markets

This paper considers an exhaustible resource market where firms realize economies of scale in the production of the resource, and may augment reserves through exploration. With the non-convexities inherent in this model, the typical firm's optimal decisions are corner solutions. It either operates at full intensity or not at all. Firms with larger current reserves have a greater incentive to produce today; firms with smaller reserves will tend to hold their reserves for production at a later date. It follows that the market supply curve in any given period is a step function. As price rises, production increases discontinuously: at discrete intervals, the marginal firm will change from not producing today to producing all of its reserves. With such a supply curve, the market may or may not clear. Simulation of this model suggests: (i) the chance of market clearing in any period is near 1/2; (ii) such an industry is unlikely to exhibit a significant increase in concentration over time.     

Government corruption and foreign stakes in international joint ventures in emerging economies

This paper analyzes the relationship between government corruption and the changes in the equity stake of foreign partners in international joint ventures (IJVs) formed with local firms in emerging Asian economies. This relationship is defined according to transaction cost theory. This relationship is complemented by the introduction of a moderating variable derived from organizational learning theory: the country experience of foreign partners. This article is based on a sample of 171 European firms, which formed IJVs in emerging Asian economies during the year 1996. Using an event history analysis, the evolution of each European equity stake was followed-up from year 1996 to the end of the period at risk on January 2007. From the empirical results presented in this article, some findings have been drawn on the attitudes of foreign firms toward government corruption in emerging Asian economies. First, we showed that the government corruption is significantly related to the likelihood of foreign partners to terminate the IJV. However, the nature of this relationship is differentiated according to the score used to measure government corruption. The relationship is positive when using the Transparency International score and negative with the Political Risk Services score. Second, we put into evidence that the country experience of foreign partners moderates the relationship between government corruption and the changes in the equity stake of foreign partners in IJVs in emerging Asian economies.

Export intensity and marketing in transition economies: Evidence from China

Firms in transition economies face a common adaptation problem of having to compete within increasingly marketized environments. This creates a need for managers to learn skills associated with marketing, such as those pertaining to the development of new and better products. Although distance is usually a barrier to learning, we propose that in exchange situations involving transition economy firms, the benefits of long-distance trade may outweigh the costs of knowledge acquisition. We find support for this proposition in this study by establishing a link between the export intensity of Chinese exporters and their acquisition of marketing know-how. We also find evidence that the marketing knowledge of transition economy firms has a positive effect on overall performance.     

Cellular economies of scale and why disparities in spectrum holdings are detrimental

Now that traffic volumes are increasing rapidly, the cost of expanding capacity has become a large portion of expenditures for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). This paper uses an engineering-economic model to show that there are strong economies of scale when expanding capacity, because an MNO with more spectrum benefits more from every new cell tower, and an MNO with more towers benefits more from every new MHz of spectrum. While it is technically possible to expand capacity by increasing either towers or spectrum holdings, we find that the cost-effective approach is to increase both types of assets at a similar rate. In the absence of countervailing policies, the big MNOs are well positioned to get bigger, in terms of spectrum holdings, towers, and ultimately market share. For policymakers, this economy of scale creates a trade-off between two important objectives: reducing the cost of cellular capacity, and increasing competition. This paper derives the Pareto optimal division of spectrum with respect to these two competing objectives, and shows that any Pareto optimal assignment will split the spectrum fairly evenly among competing MNOs. This is not simply a method of ensuring that there are many competitors; spectrum should be divided fairly evenly regardless of whether the number of competitors is large or small. A large disparity in spectrum holdings may yield poor results with respect to both objectives, i.e. the lower cost-effectiveness of a larger number of MNOs, and the lower competitive pressure of a smaller number of MNOs. One effective way to achieve a division of spectrum that is close to Pareto optimal is a spectrum cap, provided that this cap is set at a level consistent with other policies and policy objectives, including antitrust policy.     

Business groups and institutional upheaval in emerging economies: Corporate venturing in Korea

In this paper we detail the nature of market-oriented institutional upheaval and its implications for business groups in Korea during the late 1990s. Employing case study methodology we identify four projects that were nurtured under corporate venture programs in response to this upheaval: two internal incubating projects and two new venture investment projects. We analyze these cases employing the concepts of resource fit and organizational misfit. Based upon these in-depth case analyses we generate a conceptual framework that managers can rely on for the choice of organizing mode of corporate venture projects. We conclude by discussing managerial implications and future research directions.     

Experience curves and industrial policy

Experience curves purport to show that average real price or costs of a product decrease with its cumulative output and are used to justify increases in industrial concentration on efficiency grounds. But the published evidence for their existence is not always convincing. Even if they do exist, they are merely mongrel relationships reflecting many economic forces including technical progress and economies of scale in addition to ‘learning’ or ‘experience’. They should not be generalised to all products or be used to underpin industrial policy.     

Exploratory learning and exploitative learning in different organizational structures

Although the significant performance implications of exploratory learning and exploitative learning have been well documented, the issue of whether they are complementarities or substitutes still remains a puzzle. This study investigates the relationship between exploratory learning and exploitative learning in different organizational structures. Based on a survey of Chinese firms, we find that exploratory learning and exploitative learning are substitutes when the organizational structure is mechanistic, and they are complementarities when the organizational structure is organic. Overall, this study joins the debate on the relationship between exploratory learning and exploitative learning by connecting different perspectives with the characteristics of organizational structure to offer a more comprehensive understanding on such an issue.     

周边典型国家和地区成品油市场化改革及其启示

从上世纪80年代起,中国周边典型国家和地区逐步实施成品油市场化改革。除印度外,台湾地区、日本和韩国的改革总体上比较成功,未对经济体内经济产生剧烈影响,基本实现了成品油的内外市场接轨。周边经济体的实践表明,成品油市场化改革必须具备一定的前提条件——区域内炼油能力大于需求、市场避险体系趋于完善、油品税收体系逐渐成熟、市场定价体系基本完整。目前,中国成品油市场供需基本平衡,并将转向供过于求;成品油税收体系逐步完善。未来中国成品油市场化改革需要在以下几个方面推动：1）择机快速启动价格机制市场化改革;2）积极打造成品油现货交易中心;3）着力推动自建或共建成品油期货市场;4）稳步推进成品油进出口市场放开;5）推动建立与对外依存度相匹配的、具有一定规模和法制完备的石油金融体系。     

Scale and scope economies of Australian permanent building societies in a dynamic framework

In this paper we examine the interrelationship between technological change, branching, and the multi-product cost structure of Australian Permanent Building Societies within a dynamic specification of the cost function. The results strongly support this dynamic formulation, though the speed of adjustment of costs to long-run levels is quite fast. We also find evidence of economies of scale for small societies, suggesting some potential for smaller societies to benefit from increased scale through mergers.     

Knowledge management and innovation strategy: The challenge for latecomers in emerging economies

The success of latecomer firms from the emerging economies challenges the conventional wisdom on entry timing and resource-based competence. Building on research on institutions in emerging economies and the resource-based perspective in strategic management, we propose a model to explain how resource poor latecomer firms in emerging economies catch up with the multinational incumbents. We classify latecomers based on their strategic learning intent as either emulators or blind imitators. The strategic learning intent depends on a firm’s complementary assets and its absorptive capacity. Firms that choose emulation develop flexible routines, while firms that choose blind imitation end up with rigid routines. Over time, when there is a need for resource renewal, firms that have flexible routines are better positioned to respond. We take the Chinese mobile phone industry as an exemplar to illustrate the core issues in latecomer catching up of emerging economy firms.