Using the Hicks formula to evaluate an estimate of the elasticity of derived demand for toll-free numbers

Duffy-Deno & Parsons D-D & P (2012) estimated the coefficient for the price elasticity of demand for toll-free numbers (TFNs) at between −0.04 and −0.05. Here, the Hicks formula for derived demand is used to check the range of likely demand elasticity for TFNs given the special characteristics of this market. This approach suggests that the demand for TFNs is likely not more elastic than estimated by D-D & P. Therefore, the premise is sound for D-D & P's discussion of the public policy implications of highly inelastic demand for TFNs. The use of industry information for all four parameters of the Hicks formula to check a derived demand elasticity is the first of its kind in the published literature.     

Service-based capacity strategy for manufacturing service duopoly of differentiated prices and lognormal random demand

Globalization of production has ushered in vibrant manufacturing service industries whose business is to serve the production needs of product engineering firms. In these engineering–manufacturing chains, risk of capacity supply is an important concern for product firms as manufacturers are normally conservative in capacity expansion, especially when demand uncertainty and investment risk are high. To provide quality manufacturing services, this risk must be taken into consideration in formulating a capacity strategy. This paper presents a competition analysis method based on supply risk for a manufacturing duopoly of differentiated prices and lognormal random demand. A novel service-based demand rationing rule is first proposed. Reaction curves and equilibrium of capacity strategy are next derived. Finally, competition behavior of the duopoly is analyzed.     

The demand for organic foods in the South of Italy: A discrete choice model

This paper analyses organic food consumer’s demand that can help advising on implementing organic food policies at European level or, for a particular European country. In particular, it investigates the main factors explaining organic food demand in the South of Italy. Following the Lancaster consumer’s demand theory we assume that consumer’s utility depends on product characteristics instead of the product itself. Thus, consumers will choose the product (organic versus conventional) that possesses the combination of attributes that maximises its utility. Consumer’s choice for organic foods is analysed within the random utility discrete choice model and a bivariate probit model has been specified. The data were collected through a questionnaire conducted in the Italian region of Campania (Naples) in 2003. Findings indicate that economic factors are still factors limiting the growth of organic demand in Europe. Moreover, the consumers’ perceived benefits of organic food (environmental and health) are factors promoting organic food demand. In addition, greater information on organic food products is crucial to expand its demand in the South of Italy because this information will increase the consumer’s organic knowledge. Then, higher organic knowledge will increase the probability to buy organic foods and, to a larger extent, the level of consumption among existing consumers.     

Integrated market and nonmarket strategies: Political campaign contributions around merger and acquisition events in the energy sector

We examine how firms use political strategies to protect economic rents created by mergers and acquisitions against dissipation by regulators. In regulated industries, regulators can impose costly merger conditions, for instance consumer rate reductions in the utilities sector, thereby reducing shareholder gains. We investigate empirically whether and how firms use election campaign contributions to politicians as a method of influencing regulatory merger approvals. In a statistical analysis of campaign contributions by all electric utilities from 1998 to 2006, we find that utilities increased their contributions in the year before they announced a merger and that merging utilities increased their contributions more in states with greater political party competition. Our findings contribute to political strategy research by providing novel evidence that firms integrate market and nonmarket strategies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2010年和2020年全国煤炭供需预测

结合当前的经济发展态势,分别对2010年、2020年全国煤炭需求和供应进行了预测,并提出了相应的对策措施建议。预测2010年全国煤炭需求量为26.5亿～28.5亿t,比国家发展和改革委员会正式发布的《煤炭工业发展"十一五"规划》的26亿t多0.5亿～2.5亿t;预测2020年全国煤炭需求量为31亿～34亿t,比《煤炭工业中长期发展规划(国家发改委)》的28亿t多3亿～6亿t。预测未来15年我国需要新建和扩建煤矿规模达12亿～15亿t,其中"十一五"期间为4亿～6亿t。     

On the interaction between forecasting and stock control: The case of non-stationary demand

The effect of using estimated (forecast) demand parameters on the performance of an inventory control system is an intriguing and important subject. Recent research has been undertaken on this phenomenon assuming stationary demand data. In this paper we extend the research to non-stationary demands, by means of simulation. The case of a periodic order-up-to-level inventory system is considered and the experimental structure allows us to evaluate in a progressive manner the accumulated effect of using the optimal forecasting method, optimal forecast parameters and correct variance expression procedures. The results allow insights to be gained into operational issues and demonstrate the scope for improving stock control systems.     

节能减排下热电联产燃机项目电价政策的思考

随着天然气价格上涨,燃机发电上网电价政策成为热电联产燃机项目生存的重要条件之一.通过理论分析和实证检验,就当前热电联产燃机发电上网的＂高电价＂对燃机项目运营的影响进行了探讨,结果表明：相对于热价,偏高的上网电价易导致电厂愿意多发电,少供热,结果降低了全厂的热效率,不利于全社会的节能降耗.     

新疆玛纳斯县农民创业信贷需求现状及建议

在新疆玛纳斯县新农村建设进程中,玛纳斯县农民是主要的建设者和受益者。在追求自身发展进程中,玛纳斯县农民存在显著的信贷需求,但是这种信贷需求的具体表现形式并不清晰。依据玛纳斯县农民创业信贷需求问卷的调查资料,对玛纳斯县农民信贷需求的特征进行尝试性的总结,指出当前玛纳斯县农民创业信贷需求中存在需求不能被充分满足、农民金融素质不理想等问题,并得出若干结论。     

The characteristics of videos on demand for television programs and the determinants of their viewing patterns: Evidence from the Korean IPTV market

Korea's video-on-demand (VOD) market is led by pay TV service providers, especially internet protocol television (IPTV) service providers, and VODs for television programs (TV-VOD) represent the largest share of VOD in the country. TV-VOD is therefore of strategic importance to providers in terms of their current sales share and future growth. Focusing on the time-shift characteristics of TV-VOD and the serial complementarity of television programs, this study examines how various factors such as the characteristics of paid vs. free VOD services, and the average and variance of broadcast ratings affect VOD viewing patterns. An empirical analysis was conducted using data for TV-VODs of all television programs broadcast by major Korean broadcasters in 2015. The key findings are as follows: (1) There is an inverted-U shape relationship between broadcast ratings and TV-VOD views. This implies that there exists a positive window effect between the original broadcast and TV-VOD, with an exceptional substitution effect in segments with very high ratings. (2) Even if the average ratings are similar, there are more VOD views for programs that have a large fluctuation in ratings between episodes, mainly due to serial complementarity. (3) In terms of the distribution of VOD views over time, the initial concentration is higher in paid VOD packages and dramas, which implies that immediate decay appears for TV-VOD content because of subscriber preferences for novelty and the serial nature of drama shows. The study concludes with various implications for VOD service providers and policy makers.     

Deregulation,governance structures,and efficiency: the U.S. electric utility sector

The business strategy literature offers apparently opposite views of the ability of vertical integration to cope with the uncertainty related to changing regulatory environments. In this paper, we analyze how the process of retail deregulation affects the comparative efficiency of governance structures, which range on a continuum from fully vertically integrated structures to market transactions. Based on the analysis of 177 U.S. electric utilities from 1998 to 2001, our results show that the process of retail deregulation has a negative impact on firms' productive efficiency, as measured using Data Envelopment Analysis. Furthermore, firms that are vertically integrated into electricity generation, or that rely on the market for the supply of their electricity, are more efficient than firms that adopt hybrid structures combining vertical integration and contracting. This research has important implications because it shows the coexistence of different types of governance structures that cope efficiently with regulatory uncertainty through different mechanisms. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impacts of mobile Internet use intensity on the demand for SMS and voice services of mobile network operators: An empirical multi-method study of German mobile Internet customers

Scholarly and business publications alike convey the message that past and future strong growth in mobile Internet (MI) access and service demand has solely positive commercial implications for mobile network operators (MNOs). This position neglects the possibility that increasing MI use intensity may lead to demand decreases for the highly profitable short messaging service (SMS) and mobile voice telephony. The extant literature provides few insights on relations between MI use intensity, on the one hand, and SMS as well as mobile voice call use intensities, on the other hand. This study developed hypotheses concerning the presence or absence of impacts of MI use intensity and circumstances of MI use (e.g., device type, tariff scheme) on the demand for SMS and mobile voice telephony at the individual customer level. The hypotheses were tested by analyzing actual use behaviors of 304 MI adopters in Germany, for whom objective use intensity data were extracted from the billing system of an MNO. These non-reactive measures were combined with responses collected from the adopters through a telephone survey. Multivariate regression results suggest that though MI use intensity significantly negatively affected both number of SMS sent and received, these effects were so small that their practical relevance is highly doubtful. Further, customers who used MI more intensively did not generate lower volumes of outgoing or incoming mobile voice connection minutes. Conclusions are drawn for MNO, telecommunications sector regulators and scholarly researchers seeking to explain the acceptance of mobile communications services.     

电动汽车充换电设施工程项目评价指标体系与评价方法

参照世界银行及国家政府部门普遍采用的评价指标体系设计准则——sMART准则,基于项目技术性、经济性、社会性及实用性,构建了一套电动汽车充换电设施工程项目评价指标体系;根据评价指标体系的多维度、多层次等特点,提出了充换电设施工程项目的评价方法,并以此评价方法对试点工程进行了成效分析和评价,结果表明：该评价指标体系和评价方法可为试点工程的推广应用提供依据,为优化电动汽车充换电设施建设提供参考。     

浙江省推行居民阶梯电价情况及出现的问题与对策

居民阶梯电价是一项运用价格杠杆作用有效引导居民合理用电、节约用电的电价制度。浙江省是全国最早推行居民阶梯电价政策的省份之一,根据浙江省推行居民阶梯电价情况,针对推行居民阶梯电价过程中面临的电价水平、户表改造、供电服务等方面的难点问题,从合理确定居民电价水平、阶梯基础电量等角度提出了解决问题的对策。     

Mechanization in Ghana: Emerging demand,and the search for alternative supply models

Influential studies in the 1980s and early 1990s drew on the Boserup–Ruthenberg theories of farming systems evolution to argue that African countries were not yet ready for widespread agricultural mechanization. Through applying the theories of farming systems evolution and of induced innovation in technical change, this paper shows that demand for certain mechanized farming operations particularly plowing has emerged even among smallholders, suggesting that supply issues may now be the main constraint to successful mechanization. We therefore adopt a supply chain approach to analyze two types of mechanization practices in Ghana, i.e., a recent state-led mechanization program and the private sector-led service hiring market, against an international perspective by drawing on three Asian supply models. We identify two major flaws in existing policies. First, the agricultural mechanization service centers that the government promotes fail to use tractors services with sufficient intensity. Second, direct importation of agricultural machinery by the government inhibits imports of appropriate and affordable machinery. In contrast, the development of mechanized service hiring market in which medium and large scale farmers who are tractor owners provide hiring-out services to small-scale farmers represents a promising model for sustainable mechanization in Ghana. This private sector-led second model is consistent with international experiences.     

The food system transformation in developing countries: A disaggregate demand analysis for fruits and vegetables in Vietnam

Food systems in developing countries are currently undergoing a rapid transformation towards high-value products and modern supply chains. While supply side aspects of this transformation have been analyzed previously, issues of consumer demand have received much less attention. This article analyses demand patterns for fresh fruits and vegetables in Vietnam, using household survey data and a demand systems approach. Demand for products from modern supply chains – particularly supermarkets and non-traditional imports – is highly income elastic, and the income effect is stronger than the impact of prices and supermarket penetration. This highlights the importance of considering demand side aspects when projecting future trends. Our results imply a continued restructuring of the food sector in the further process of economic development.     

Technology‐push,market‐demand and the missing safety‐pull: a case study of American Airlines Flight 587

Through a critical case study of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, this paper draws upon ‘the Social Shaping of Technology’ (SST) approach to offer a reconceptualisation of the technology‐push and market‐demand model for High‐Reliably Organisations (HROs), providing support for a third factor, called here a ‘safety‐pull’. A safety‐pull is defined as organisationally supported reflexivity in which technology innovators and frontline operators collaborate to consider the potential implications of adopting new technologies in HROs and the complex ways this change may impact human operators' work performance, often in risky and unanticipated ways. In contrast to accidents occurring solely as the result of individual operator error, analysing the safety‐pull provides a way to tease out the wide range of factors that can contribute to HRO failures and offers a new SST perspective through which to examine high‐risk operations.     

The cost of integrating external technologies: Supply and demand drivers of value creation in the markets for technology

A classic question faced by technology suppliers and buyers is whether to compete in the product markets or to cooperate through licensing. We address this question by examining an important, demand‐side barrier to licensing—the buyers' cost of integrating a licensed technology. We argue that this cost can be affected by suppliers' knowledge transfer capabilities, buyers' absorptive capacity, and the cospecialization between R&D and downstream activities in the buyers' industries. Following this argument and a stylized bargaining model, we hypothesize that the supplier's knowledge transfer capability stimulates licensing. Moreover, the importance of this capability increases when licensing to industries where potential buyers have weak absorptive capacity or R&D and downstream activities are cospecialized. We find support for our hypotheses using a panel dataset of small ‘serial innovators.’ Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strategic consensus mapping: A new method for testing and visualizing strategic consensus within and between teams

Research on strategic consensus focuses primarily on the extent of agreement among team members regarding organizational strategy. It does not include elements such as the content of the agreement, between‐group consensus, or the significance of differences in consensus (e.g., for evaluating the effectiveness of strategic interventions). We propose a new analytical approach, Strategic Consensus Mapping, that provides a comprehensive analysis of strategic consensus within and between groups and that includes intuitive and easy‐to‐understand visualizations. This approach offers researchers the necessary tools for integrative theory building in strategic consensus, as well as in the broader managerial and organizational cognition domain. Using a case example, we illustrate the proposed methods for a multidimensional, multilevel, and longitudinal analysis of strategic consensus. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.