Ex ante or ex post competition policy? A progress report

When intervening in markets, say to block a merger, competition authorities are constrained by the limited information they have about the social desirability of the available alternatives. Compared to ex ante control, ex post control is based on the more accurate information that becomes available in the intervening period, but entails temporary losses to social welfare and reversal costs incurred to unscramble the eggs. Through a toy model, we identify situations in which the competition authority finds it optimal to commit to forego the option of ex post review in order to avoid chilling ex ante socially beneficial mergers. On the other hand, the case for ex post review is strengthened if post-merger market conducts can signal the merged firm's private information about the consequences of the merger.     

Knowledge acquisition in supply chain partnerships: The role of power

Knowledge is recognised as an important source of competitive advantage and hence there has been increasing academic and practitioner interest in understanding and isolating the factors that contribute to effective knowledge transfer between supply chain actors. The literature identifies power as a salient contributor to the effective operation of a supply chain partnership. However, there is a paucity of empirical research examining how power among actors influences knowledge acquisition and in turn the performance of supply chain partners. The aim of this research is to address this gap by examining the relationship between power, knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance among the supply chain partners of a focal Chinese steel manufacturer. A structured survey was used to collect the necessary data. Two conceptually independent variables – ‘availability of alternatives’ and ‘restraint in the use of power’ – were used to assess actual and realised power, respectively. Controlling for contingencies, we found that the flow of knowledge increased when supply chain actors had limited alternatives and when the more powerful actor exercised restraint in the use of power. Moreover, we found a positive relationship between knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance. This paper enriches the literature by empirically extending our understanding of how power affects knowledge acquisition and performance.     

Supply-chain pricing—A new perspective on pricing in industrial markets

There is growing recognition that collaborative business relationships within the supply chain provide interesting opportunities for mutually increased benefit. However, while efforts on improving collaboration within the supply chain are indeed already widespread in some aspects of goods and services—for example, many manufacturers integrate their logistics function with those of their suppliers—such efforts are lacking when it comes to pricing. In contrast to the predominant position of pricing in most industries, the following article will investigate the opportunities for suppliers and customers to collaborate on pricing in order to establish mutually beneficial relationships. The article will demonstrate that this goal can only be attained when price is no longer regarded as an ex ante distributive parameter between market partners, but as a joint tool for outcome optimization within the overall supply chain process. We will clarify this new perspective with a calculation example and point out managerial implications for practical implementation.     

The effects of management inertia on the supply chain performance of produce-to-stock firms

This article examines the impact of inertia on the management of the firm's supply chain operations and the effects it can have on a produce-to-stock firm's ability to respond to external market pressure and develop corrective strategies. The research methodology used is based on earlier Catastrophe Modeling that looked at inertia in organizational design, competitive pressure, and competitive response. The model demonstrates how latent variables, such as customer pressure and supply chain inertia can influence a finished goods supply chain management's response under various conditions. The model was tested and validated using questionnaire data gathered from a sample of members of the Council of Logistics Management. The model was used to estimate individual finished goods firm inertia response estimates. We incorporate these estimates in a brief examination of three produce-to-stock firms from the sample to give readers an idea of the usefulness of the approach in examining supply chain inertia.     

The impact of supplier development on buyer competitive advantage: A path analytic model

As manufacturing firms increasingly realize that supplier performance is crucial to their establishing and maintaining competitive advantage, supplier development has been a subject of considerable research in supply chain management. We develop and test a path model to explore how supplier development practices affect buyer-supplier performance from the buying firm's perspective in the context of Hong Kong's electronics industry. The results show that top management, supplier evaluation, and supplier strategic objectives are significant determinants of transaction-specific supplier development, and that buyers that have closer collaborative relationships with suppliers may strengthen their competitive advantage.     

Moving beyond simple examples: Assessing the incremental value rule within standards

This paper presents a model of patent licensing in a standard setting context when patented technologies are heterogeneous in multiple dimensions. The model allows us to assess a policy proposal put forth in the literature: that an incremental value pricing rule should define Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) patent licensing within Standard Setting Organizations as it replicates the ex ante efficient competition outcome. We find that when patented technologies must be weighed on numerous factors, and not simply one-dimensional cost-savings, there is unlikely to be a single incremental value that can be agreed upon by all relevant parties. Furthermore, ex ante competition fails to select the efficient technologies by penalizing the more versatile ones. These results cast some doubt on the usefulness of the incremental value as a precise benchmark for FRAND.     

Why Agency Costs Explain Diversification Discounts

We study diversificsation within the real estate industry because of its relative transparency: portfolio management of assets with well-defined market prices. Diversification is over property types and geographical regions. The major cause of the diversification discount is not diversification per se but anticipated costs due to rent dissipation in future diversifying acquisitions. Firms expected to pursue nonfocusing strategies do indeed diversify more, are valued ex ante at a 20% discount over firms anticipated to follow a focusing strategy, are predominantly privately controlled and use dual-class shares extensively. The ex ante diversification discount is, therefore, a measure of agency costs.     

原棉水份测定仪的改进

原棉水分测定仪是利用电阻测试棉纤维回潮率的仪器,通常的供电方式是利用干电池供电,电池电量的高低直接影响到测量的准确性,一般测试首先要进行校准;尝试采用交流变直流电源供电,能够准确测量,甚至不用多次进行仪器的校准,既节省了干电池的使用,还对环保有利,符合可持续发展的基本要求,又不会降低测量精度。     

CRM systems and organizational learning: An exploration of the relationship between CRM effectiveness and the customer information orientation of the firm in industrial markets

The firm's customer relationship management (CRM) system is frequently a central element of the knowledge management function of the firm. It integrates information from internal and external sources to guide managers and field personnel in the development and presentation of the firm's value proposition. But despite the widespread adoption of CRM systems by firms operating in business-to-business markets, there is continued management skepticism concerning the effectiveness of these systems and their association with the firm's overall “customer information orientation.” The present study seeks to shed light on these topics by evaluating the relationship between the customer relationship orientation of the firm and its use of CRM, as well as the association of CRM use with overall firm performance in B-to-B settings across a range of traditional business performance measures. The authors employ a multi-method approach to determine the key variables, including: database currency, internal database utilization, database accuracy and performance based reward systems utilized to operationalize the construct “the firm's customer information orientation” in order to develop statistical measures of the relationships of selected variables. The results of the study provide support for the finding that customer information orientation is indeed associated with CRM system implementation and that CRM use is associated with firm performance in B-to-B markets.     

The effects of environment, knowledge attribute, organizational climate, and firm characteristics on knowledge sourcing decisions

Knowledge has been widely recognized as a critical resource for competitive advantage of the firms. However, little has been done in the literature regarding under what conditions that firms should develop knowledge internally or acquire knowledge from outside. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of some key factors including environment, organizational climate, firm characteristics, and knowledge attribute, on the firm's decision to knowledge sourcing. Our findings suggest that firms are more likely to develop knowledge internally if the environment is less munificent and dynamic; if the knowledge is more specific to them; if they possess higher levels of intention, autonomy, and requisite variety; and if they have abundant development experience and sufficient capabilities.     

Governing interfirm knowledge transfer in the Chinese market: The interplay of formal and informal mechanisms

Building on knowledge management literature and relational exchange theory, this study addresses how formal (i.e., ex ante contracts and ex post control) and informal mechanisms (i.e., trust) affect interfirm knowledge transfer in the Chinese emerging market. The results of a survey of 343 manufacturer–supplier relationships show that whereas formal control fosters knowledge transfer, contracts are not significantly related to knowledge transfer, and trust greatly facilitates knowledge flows between exchange relationships. Moreover, trust and contracts have a positive joint effect, whereas trust and control have a negative joint effect, on interfirm knowledge transfer. The findings provide important theoretical and managerial implications for interfirm knowledge governance in China.     

Use of blockchain in the agri-food value chain: State of the art in Spain and some lessons from the perspective of public support.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, in effect since January 2023, seeks to differentiate products on quality, provide greater transparency on food origin, and on the transactions and the actors involved in the supply chain. At the same time, in Spain, the adoption of new technologies for the digitization of the agri-food sector has been proposed as a solution to address structural issues such as lack of competitiveness and innovation. In fact, systems using blockchain-related technologies for food control and traceability have seen great progress in recent years and, currently, the use of blockchain in supply chain management is almost doubling year on year. In this context, this paper investigates the level of development of blockchain technology in the agri-food sector in Spain and its applications for certifying food production conditions within the supply chain, and how it is supported by public policies. It identifies several challenges that need to be addressed for a widespread adoption could take place, such as data recorded on the blockchain, lack of standards, limited scope of projects, and integration of data capture automatically or with other technologies like RFID and AI. The document proposes to reorient public development policies to address these challenges, such as reusing data from, already in place, European data collections for production control and food traceability, educating users and stakeholders about the use of blockchain technology, and fostering legal and technical provisions which ensure system transparency to facilitate a successful implementation of blockchain.     

Asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups: response,speed of response and ex ante vs. ex post competitive interaction in the spanish bank deposit market

The objective of this study is to examine asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups in a given industry. Two research hypotheses argue for the existence of asymmetric rivalry in the sense that strategic groups of small companies have a greater degree of response but a slower speed of response to the actions of strategic groups of large companies, than vice versa. To test this, we use an ex post approach that examines the news releases published on the strategic actions and reactions of firms. A third hypothesis compares ex ante competitive expectations with ex post asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups. To test this, we compare ex post news on actions/reactions with an ex ante approach that estimates conjectural variations. The empirical application carried out on bank deposits in the Spanish market defines strategic groups in terms of size due to the historical and institutional conditions of the industry (deregulatory change). The results obtained show that rivalry patterns between strategic groups in terms of company size can be predicted as asymmetric in the sense that smaller bank strategic groups have a greater degree of response (Stackelberg ‘leader–follower’ competitive interaction), and a slower speed of response to the actions of larger bank strategic groups than is found the other way around. Moreover, ex ante expectations of aggressiveness on the part of larger strategic groups characterize greater ex post reactions from the smaller‐size strategic groups. Therefore, the size distribution of strategic groups is valuable to research on complex industries with deregulation changes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sense and sensibility: Two approaches for using existing theory in theory-building qualitative research

The paper addresses the role and use of theory in theory-building case research. How to use existing theory in theory-building efforts is a crucial, yet somewhat overlooked challenge within qualitative research. On that background, the purpose of the paper is to explore, compare and discuss two distinct approaches for using existing theory and developing theoretical awareness in theory-building case studies. Upon discussing the role and use of theory in case study research in general, we identify two approaches for drawing on pre-existing theory, labeled the in vivo approach and the ex ante approach. The in vivo approach takes departure in a single theoretical framework, anchored in a single paradigm, and the aim of theory-building is to gradually deepen, refine and complement this framework. The ex ante approach suggests that researchers should look for paradox in the form of theoretical tensions and use these to develop theory, meaning that researchers should develop an elaborate theoretical understanding of meta-theoretical stances and use these to generate different readings of the case material, subsequently prioritizing and integrating them into a coherent pattern.     

Playlisting favorites: Measuring platform bias in the music industry

Platforms are growing increasingly powerful, raising questions about whether their power might be exercised with bias. While bias is inherently difficult to measure, we identify a context within the music industry that is amenable to bias testing. Our approach requires ex ante platform assessments of commercial promise – such as the rank order in which products are presented – along with information on eventual product success. A platform is biased against a product type if the type attains greater success, conditional on ex ante assessment. Theoretical considerations and voiced industry concerns suggest the possibility of platform biases in favor of major record labels, and industry participants also point to bias against women. Using data on Spotify curators’ rank of songs on New Music Friday playlists in 2017, we find that Spotify’s New Music Friday rankings favor independent-label music, along with some evidence of bias in favor of music by women. Despite challenges that independent-label artists and women face in the music industry, Spotify’s New Music curation appears to favor them.     

建设监理知识分类研究

知识管理是提高我国建设监理行业创造价值能力的重要手段,知识分类活动是开展建设监理知识管理的基础。建设监理知识已有多种知识分类方法,但因未从知识管理视角分类,不能满足知识管理活动的要求。采用聚类分析方法,通过实证研究将建设监理知识划分修正为基础知识、规则知识和经验知识。提出了建设监理知识分布的不倒翁模型,即基础知识包含的四控知识较多,合同管理、信息管理和协调知识较少,隐性程度较低;规则知识包含的部分知识比较均衡,隐性程度适中;经验知识包含的协调知识较多,隐性程度较高。并提出监理工程师应改善知识结构、增加规则知识和经验知识,建设监理企业应加强知识管理能力,高等院校应改革教学内容,提高教学效果。     

Strategic supply chain management: Improving performance through a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development

For many firms, using their supply chains as competitive weapons has become a central element of the strategic management process in recent years. Drawing on the resource‐based view and theory from the organizational learning and information‐processing literatures, this study uses a sample of 201 firms to examine the influence of a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development on supply chain performance in varied market turbulence conditions. We found that synergies exist between a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development: their interaction has a positive association with performance. In addition, based on behavioral and contingency theories, we found that market turbulence moderates these relationships, having a positive influence on the knowledge development–performance link and a negative influence on the culture of competitiveness–performance link. Managers who are confident about the level of market turbulence they will face can use this sense to decide whether to emphasize developing either a culture of competitiveness or knowledge development in their supply chains. For those firms whose managers are unlikely to be able to predict the degree of turbulence they will face over time, a focus on both a culture of competitiveness and knowledge development is critical to ensuring success. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Network agility as a trigger for enhancing firm performance: A case study of a high-tech firm implementing the mixed channel strategy

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can reduce labor costs, free up capital investment and enhance firm's agility by full outsourcing of product manufacturing. OEMs can then focus on the most valuable processes, e.g. R&D and marketing. However, contract manufacturers (CMs) may decide to foster their own brand and forge their own relationships with retailers or distribution channels. The conflicts of interest between OEMs and CMs can be reduced by implementing a mixed channel strategy. Label licensing, the most essential component in the implementation, enhances the marketing capability of a CM and allows it to move up the value chain. In this research, a case study involving a supply chain network in the optical storage media industry is used to develop a conceptual model to explain how a mixed channel strategy and superior network agility enhance firm performance. This study argues that information system integration influences firm performance through network agility, and that the mixed channel strategy boosts financial performance. Moreover, the result proposes that network agility is associated with a moderating effect on the relationship between the mixed channel strategy and financial performance.     

Toward a theory of intraorganizational attention based on desirability and feasibility factors

Why would managers in the same firm differ in their attention to opportunity versus threat aspects of the same exogenous shock? Drawing on the attention‐based view, strategic issue diagnosis theory, and construal level theory, we propose and test a theoretical model of differentiated attention among managers within a firm driven by desirability (shock distance) and feasibility (capability perception) considerations. Managers more distant from the locus of the shock and managers with stronger ex ante perceptions regarding organizational capabilities to address the shock paid more attention to opportunity aspects and less attention to threat aspects. We also found subordination effects between shock distance and capability perception, and a moderating role of domain‐specific experience on the effects of capability perception.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.