Losing by winning: The danger zone of adverse competitor replacement

Research Summary: We use a formal model, motivated by a case study from the airline industry, to consider an industry structure wherein a firm may find that improving its competitiveness hurts its performance. Specifically, we examine the possibility that a superior incumbent may, by getting stronger, drive a weak rival from the market, and thereby allow a stronger rival to enter in its place. Such “adverse competitor replacement” reduces the profit of the superior incumbent and may even, in an extreme case, cause the superior incumbent to be driven from the market as well. We show that adverse competitor replacement can arise under a rational equilibrium and may become more likely if a firm improves its capability for self‐improvement. Managerial Summary: Managers are consistently advised to improve the competitiveness of their firms and beat the competition. We examine the possibility that beating out the competition may have adverse consequences. Specifically, a strong incumbent may, by getting stronger, outcompete a weaker rival to such an extent that the weaker rival exits the market, thereby creating an open market niche for a stronger rival to enter, in effect, a form of adverse competitor replacement. Competing with this stronger rival may in turn reduce the strong incumbent's profits below what they had been before driving the weak rival out. We illustrate adverse competitor replacement with a case study from the airline industry and discuss implications for a firm's investment in its own competitiveness.     

Rational conjectures in the theory of oligopoly

The paper employs the notion of rational conjectural equilibrium to remove the arbitrary nature of conjectures about rivals' reactions which characterises the traditional non-cooperative theory of oligopoly. A general definition of these equilibria is given, and the concept is then applied to a simple duopoly model. The standard models of perfect competition, monopoly, limit-price dominant firms are shown to emerge as special cases of rational conjectural equilibria.     

The use of stock market returns in antitrust analysis of mergers

One of the most promising recent innovations in merger analysis has been the attempt to predict the effects of horizontal mergers by examining the share prices of the rivals to the merging firms. In this paper we describe the standard procedure, discuss some of the major criticisms of that procedure, and propose a modification, apply it to a sample of recent mergers, contrast the results with those from the standard procedure, and discuss the appropriate uses and remaining limitations of the model for antitrust analysis.The views expressed in this paper reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of their employer. We wish to thank the referees and Mary Streitwieser for helpful comments, and Becky Carr for excellent typing services.     

2008年中国沥青市场回顾与2009年展望

2008年,中国沥青总产量约为848万吨,同比减少88万吨,降幅为9.4%;净进口量为320万吨,同比降低10%;表观消费量为1168万吨,同比减少124万吨,降幅为9.6%.2008年国内沥青价格和进口沥青价格随着国际原油价格大起大落,下半年价格急剧下滑.2009年,在国家为拉动内需大力支持交通基础设施建设的利好政策推动下,我国的公路建设将迎来新一轮的发展高潮,预计2009年国内沥青市场需求量同比将有较大幅度的增长,需求总量约为1428万～1596万吨.沥青的销售价格在经过第一季度的低位盘整期后,有望在二、三季度回升到一定高度,四季度可能有所回落或维持在相对合理的位置.     

The EEC green paper : A faltering step in the right direction

This paper comments on the EEC Green Paper on the Development of the Common Market for Telecommunications Services and Equipment. Jonathan Solomon argues that only a radical change in European political thinking about telecommunications can prevent Europe from being left behind in the information race. The Green Paper represents a step in a long process of readjustment, though perhaps somewhat lacking in potency.     

中国燃料油市场2008年回顾及2009年展望

2008年国内燃料油产量为2229万吨,同比减少8.4%;净进口量为1435万吨,同比下降低29.4%;表观消费量为3664万吨,同比减少804万吨.2008年国内外燃料油市场价格前高后低,波动剧烈.新加坡180cSt高硫燃料油市场平均价格为511美元/吨,同比上涨35.5%:国内燃料油市场价格整体高于上年水平.预计2009年国内燃料油产量将有较大幅度的下降,进口量继续回落,供应量比2008年进一步减少.除船用燃料油需求量同比基本持平或略有下降外,发电、再加工以及炼钢、建筑等高能耗制造业的燃料油需求均将明显下降.预计2009年国内燃料油需求量为3250万～3350万吨,较2008年减少300万～400万吨.     

2008年中国化工轻油市场回顾及2009年展望

2008年,受金融危机的影响,新加坡石脑油现货价格跟随国际油价大涨大跌,从年中的136美元/桶下跌到年末的30～40美元/桶。2008年中国化工轻油需求由之前的高速增长转为较上年小幅下降4%,全年化工轻油表观消费量仅为3300万吨。受国内炼厂增产成品油的影响,2008年化工轻油产量下降到3371万吨,收率也下跌到9.0%。石脑油进口量虽然从2008年上半年的持续低迷转为下半年的大幅反弹,但全年同比仍下降27.7%,至77.3万吨。东南沿海地区仍然是石脑油进口的主要目的地,其中山东省进口份额达66%。石脑油出口保持连续下跌的势头,2008年为151.4万吨,同比下降13.0%。国内石脑油依旧保持净出口状态。随着2009年国内新扩建乙烯裂解装置和PX装置的陆续投产,化工轻油的需求将大幅度增加,预计2009年需求量约为3800万～3850万吨。成品油价税费改革将有效抑制国内以一般贸易和进料加工出口为主的石脑油出口,刺激国内用于乙烯裂解和芳烃生产的石脑油进口,预计2009年石脑油进口量将达到140万～180万吨。     

创意思维在服装设计中的运用

在服装设计过程中,必须掌握和运用全方位、全新的视角去构思的方法,善于观察生活、积累素材,可以通过偶发性思维,如仿生构思法、移植借鉴法、心理构思法等获得灵感,利用发散思维、辐合思维、侧向思维、逆向思维等技法产生创意思维,并将灵感和创意思维用于指导服装设计,完成好的作品。     

Dasein Versus Design: The Problematics of Turning Making Into Thinking

Building on suggestions from the work of Martin Heidegger, a distinction is made between two ways of being in the world. One is associated with the unplanned particularity and care of Dasein, another with the planning and thinking-out of design; the former is characteristic of a more traditional way of life, the latter of contemporary life. Included are brief etymologies of `Dasein' and `design', along with some reflections on the two-fold history of design of internal structure and surface appearance (that is, of engineering and aesthetic design, respectively). The conclusion sketches out a problematics of engineering design as involving a disengagement from fundamental human experience, and suggests the need to discriminate between authenticity and inauthenticity in the world of design.     

印刷工业发展新思路

根据党的十六届三中全会通过的<中共中央关于完善社会主义市场经济体制若干问题的决定>,我国将以不断改革、不断完善、更加开放的姿态面向全世界,预期印刷行业也将在进一步的改革浪潮中发生重大的变化与发展.当前各行业都在根据党中央决定的精神,根据建设小康社会任务发展的要求,根据各行业自身的实际,结合制订第十一个五年计划,都在探讨与调整今后发展的思路,开阔自己的新视野,进而达到发展的新境界.我认为印刷工业应着重考虑以下几个问题.     

Telecommunications companies: One meeting with any competitor is enough to violate the EU's competition laws and result in fines

This commentary's purpose is to review how Telfort, T-Mobile, Vodafone, and others discovered that one “meeting” of any type with any telecommunications competitor could result in fines up to 10 percent of total “turnover” under EU competition law Regulation no. 1/2003, Article 23(2)(a), and to provide planning tips on how to eliminate the potential for those adverse consequences. While competition laws do not apply solely to the telecommunications industry, they do seem to affect it disproportionately. Telecommunications companies have global reach, and some of the most stringent competition law exists in Europe. Thus, all should review the most recent telecommunications ruling from the European Court of Justice, T-Mobile Netherlands BV v. Raad van bestuur van der Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit C-8/08 (2009). ¹ The ruling deals with whether the one meeting was “concerted activity” in violation of Article 81(1) EC.     

在企业推广系统工程方法的思考

系统工程作为促进企业创新的一种较为成熟有效的方法,相对于我国创新方法体系中的其它成熟方法,其普及程度较低。本文介绍了系统工程方法的概念内涵,通过与TRIZ等方法的比较,分析了系统工程方法的独特之处,以及该方法在整个创新方法体系中的地位与作用,指出了我国企业对系统工程认知程度较低的主要原因,从战略层面提出了相关建议。     

Exercising power in asymmetric relationships: The use of private rules

This study investigates the use of private rules in exercising power in asymmetric business relationships. In asymmetric business relationships, the stronger party is likely to be able to dominate and exercise power over the conclusion of contracts and, thereby determine the processes and outcomes of the relationship. The study demonstrates how companies exercise their power in asymmetric relationships through private rules. Private rules are typically expressed in the General Terms and Conditions of Trade (GTCT) of the more powerful actor in a business relationship and are continually adapted to changing business and market requirements. Drawing on an empirical investigation in the German grocery retail business conducted in the years between 2011 and 2013, the present study demonstrates that power is exercised by the stronger parties through intervention–enforcement–sanctioning practices that are codified in private rules. Private rules frame, standardize and legitimize the terms and conditions under which exchanges among counterparts may take place thus institutionalizing the inherent power asymmetry.