Product Differentiation for Software-as-a-Service Providers

The market for the new provisioning type Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has reached a significant size and still shows enormous growth rates. By varying size of SaaS products, providers can improve their market position and profits by successfully acting in the tension area of customer acquisition, pricing and costs. We first elaborate differences concerning product differentiation between classic software provisioning models and SaaS. Then, we introduce a micro-economic based decision model to maximize the return of a provider by finding an optimal granularity, i.e. by varying the size of services. This paper makes two contributions in this context: (1) it provides a conceptual foundation for product differentiation within the scope of SaaS and (2) it presents the first implementation of variable reproduction costs for web based software offers. The model is illustrated by a real world case with data from a SaaS provider.     

Human resource outsourcing: Market and operating performance effects of administrative HR functions

Using event study methodology and two-stage regression analysis on a sample of firms announcing human resource outsourcing (HRO) contracts, this study tests the association between administrative HRO and firm-level capital market and long run operating performance, with archival financial data controlling for endogeneity and outsourcing decision optimality. The results demonstrate that the equity capital market responds positively to client firms announcing administrative HRO, particularly service firms and those outsourcing transactional HR tasks. Additional statistical analysis shows that suboptimal outsourcing is negatively associated with long run operating performance measured as return on assets and operating return on assets. This study contributes to outsourcing literature by more precisely quantifying outsourcing performance through archival financial data and employing capital market empirical tests. Further, it controls for outsourcing decision optimality in examining long run operating performance effects. This research focuses on HR, a critical function within the firm and value enhancing to the firm.     

Marketplace,reseller, or web-store channel: The impact of return policy and cross-channel spillover from marketplace to web-store

With the advent of e-commerce, new platform sales have been created in the online retailing industry, and choosing the best platform has become a challenge for manufacturers. For instance, marketplace and web-store are two e-channels for selling goods directly to end customers. In the marketplace, manufacturers sell their products directly to online customers through e-tailers' platforms and share revenue with e-tailers. In the web-store channel, manufacturers sell their products directly to end customers through their platforms and do not need to e-tailers' platforms. However, some manufacturers and e-tailers continue with reseller channel yet. Reseller channel is another conventional channel in which manufacturers distribute their products to e-tailers, then e-tailers choose retail prices and sell them to consumers. Therefore, with these three different channels, the key question is when and under what conditions manufacturers can choose marketplace or reseller channel in addition to their web-store channels to grow their market share. In this paper, we analyze these three different e-channels and the conditions that manufacturers adopt the marketplace or reseller channel. For this purpose, we consider a model with two manufacturers and one e-tailer in which the manufacturers have their web-store channels, and they are willing to adopt another channelـ reseller or marketplace. The manufacturers offer a return policy in their web-store channels as a competitive strategy for attracting more customers. We find that offering return policy in web-store channels has no effect on the choice between the marketplace and reseller channel, but it has an impact on the amount of manufacturers' profits in each channel. Also, we demonstrate that regardless of offering return policy, as the coefficient of cross-channel effect increases, the manufacturers' profits, whether they choose reseller channel or marketplace channel, increase. But, as the coefficient of cross-channel effect increases, the e-tailer's profit increases when both manufacturers choose reseller channel, otherwise decreases. If manufacturers offer a return policy, the e-tailer's profit is highest when both manufacturers choose reseller channel, and if they do not offer a return policy, the e-tailer's profit is highest when both manufacturers choose marketplace channel.     

Can deunionization lead to international outsourcing?

We analyze unionized firms' incentives to outsource intermediate goods production to foreign (low-cost) subcontractors. Such outsourcing leads to increased wages for the remaining in-house production. We find that stronger unions, which imply higher domestic wages, reduce incentives for international outsourcing. Though somewhat surprising, this result provides a theoretical reconciliation of the empirically observed trends of deunionization and increased international outsourcing in many countries. We further show that globalization - interpreted as either market integration or increased product market competition - will increase incentives for international outsourcing.     

从交易费用理论看物流自营

自中国加入WTO后,企业所面临的竞争日趋激烈。工业企业如何从“第三利润源”要利润,增强竞争力,也成为工业企业不得不重新思考,重新定位的一个问题。通过从交易费用理论入手,对物流自营、物流外包的费用高低进行比较,阐释了企业尽可能将物流外包而放弃自营的必要性。     

Pricing and coordination with consideration of piracy for digital goods in supply chains

Sales of digital goods via traditional channels are affected by those on digital channels, and thus a competitive relationship often exists. In addition, due to the ease of piracy, digital goods may suffer from a fall in demand, which intensifies competition. This study considers a single supplier who sells digital goods, which may be pirated, to customers through two independent and different retail channels, such as traditional and digital ones, which may compete with each other in terms of service and price. To consider the effects of piracy on demand, a Stackelberg game is utilized to determine the optimal gain-sharing ratio and the equilibrium prices for all channel members with an aim to maximize the profit of the entire supply chain. It is found that an increase in piracy would force retailers to compete in a smaller market, and thus lead to a decrease in profits for each channel member. Therefore, a retailer who has a greater market share and is capable of managing a lower piracy rate would gain more profits by setting a higher price.     

退货逆向物流中零售商与4PL的动态行为量化分析模型

本文提供的模型包括客户、零售商以及第四方物流。客户直接向零售商购买商品;第四方物流(4PL)作为退货逆向物流服务的集成商;零售商通过与4PL形成退货逆向物流联盟,采取动态联动价格行为来实现最优价格决策。模型为退货逆向物流中零售商如何进行市场需求分析、市场价格行为决策以及最佳利润分析提供了理论依据。     

Situational determinants of software piracy: An equity theory perspective

Software piracy has become recognized as a major problem for the software industry and for business. One research approach that has provided a theoretical framework for studying software piracy has been to place the illegal copying of software within the domain of ethical decision making assumes that a person must be able to recognize software piracy as a moral issue. A person who fails to recognize a moral issue will fail to employ moral decision making schemata. There is substantial evidence that many individuals do not perceive software piracy to be an ethical problem. This paper applies social exchange theory, in particular equity theory, to predict the influence of situational factors on subjects' intentions to participate in software piracy. Consistent with the predictions of equity theory this study found that input and outcome situational variables significantly effect a person's intentions to commit software piracy.Richard S. Glass is an Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems at Bryant College in Smithfield RI. His current research interests include the ethical use of information technology, decision making, decision support systems and expert systems.Wallace A. Wood is a Professor of Computer Information Systems at Bryant College in Smithfield RI. His current research interests include the ethical use of information technology and the effective use of information systems.     

不同市场力量下的再制造闭环供应链决策研究

本文建立了由一个制造商和两个竞争零售商组成的再制造闭环供应链博弈模型,研究了制造商领导的Stackelberg博弈、零售商领导的Stackelberg博弈、制造商和零售商Nash均衡博弈等三种市场力量结构,研究和对比了三种市场力量结构下的均衡回收率、批发价、零售价、渠道成员利润、渠道总利润。研究结果表明：零售商的回收率在市场无领导者时最高,在制造商领导的市场中最低。批发价格在制造商领导时最高,最小的是零售商领导情形。零售价在制造商领导时最高,最小是市场无领导者情形。消费者和整个行业均受益于无领导者的市场结构。然而,制造商和零售商均有动机成为领导者。在具市场领导的市场结构下,消费者和整个行业偏好零售商领导的市场结构。     

“Deal of the Day” Platforms: What Drives Consumer Loyalty?

“Deal of the Day” (DoD) platforms have quickly become popular by offering savings on local services, products and vacations. For merchants, these platforms represent a new marketing channel to advertise their products and services and attract new customers. DoD platform providers, however, struggle to maintaining a stable market share and profitability, because entry and switching costs are low. To sustain a competitive market position, DoD providers are looking for ways to build a loyal customer base. However, research examining the determinants of user loyalty in this novel context is scarce. To fill this gap, this study employs Grounded Theory methodology to develop a conceptual model of customer loyalty to a DoD provider. In the next step, qualitative insights are enriched and validated using quantitative data from a survey of 202 DoD users. The authors find that customer loyalty is in large part driven by monetary incentives, but can be eroded if impressions from merchant encounters are below expectations. In addition, enhancing the share of deals relevant for consumers, i.e. signal-to-noise ratio, and mitigating perceived risks of a transaction emerge as challenges. Beyond theoretical value, the results offer practical insights into how customer loyalty to a DoD provider can be promoted.     

Considerations in Ethical Decision-Making and Software Piracy

Individuals are faced with the many opportunities to pirate. The decision to pirate or not may be related to an individual's attitudes toward other ethical issues. A person's ethical and moral predispositions and the judgments that they use to make decisions may be consistent across various ethical dilemmas and may indicate their likelihood to pirate software. This paper investigates the relationship between religion and a theoretical ethical decision making process that an individual uses when evaluating ethical or unethical situations. An ethical decision making model was studied for general unethical scenarios and for the unethical behavior of software piracy. The research model was tested via path analysis using structural equation modeling and was found to be appropriate for the sample data. The results suggest that there is a relationship between religion and the stages of an ethical decision making process regarding general ethical situations and software piracy.     

国际服务外包市场的总体评估与趋势考察

国际服务外包市场进入高速成长期,表现为市场容量迅速扩充的同时竞争格局和供需结构不断调整;离岸外包作为一种相对稳定的外包形式,也蕴涵着成长中的社会矛盾.未来服务外包在业务类型、服务领域、主导决定因素、服务提供商发展方向以及外包合同等方面呈现五大发展趋势.在此基础上,提出我国服务外包的路径优化方案.     

Entrepreneurial risk-taking in crowdfunding campaigns

This paper examines how different sources of risk in reward-based crowdfunding campaigns influence the entrepreneur’s choice of targeted crowdfunding goal. This form of crowdfunding helps entrepreneurs to obtain feedback on market demand (next to raising money), since the pre-purchase decision of the crowd generates useful public information about product demand. However, it may also lead to project discontinuation if not enough money is raised during the campaign. We therefore derive conditions under which the entrepreneur sets a higher target. At other times, this leads entrepreneurs to raise sometimes even more money than necessary when there is a risk that the idea is quickly replicated by others, leading to even larger campaigns but also to fewer projects offered on platforms. Conversely, the increased presence of professional investors (business angels, venture capitalists) on platforms reduces the entrepreneurs’ incentives in their crowdfunding campaign, which leads to more but on average smaller crowdfunding campaigns.     

离岸IT服务外包发包方选择承接商的影响因素研究——基于上海地区的实证分析

本文基于上海地区,利用与本土IT外包承接企业有业务往来的跨国公司(发包方)数据,对离岸IT服务外包发包方选择承接商的影响因素进行研究。实证分析结果显示,承接企业的项目运营交付能力、国际市场品牌竞争力、行业知识和领域经验、技术和创新能力、风险管控能力等对发包方选择服务外包承接商有显著影响,跨文化沟通和协调、成本竞争力的影响不显著。本土服务外包承接企业可以根据这些因素有针对性地提升其在国际接包市场上的竞争力。     

New insights in Peer-to-Peer carsharing and ridesharing participation intentions: Evidence from the “provider-user” perspective

Carsharing services (CS) and ridesharing are gaining popularity worldwide through Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platforms, which appear to gradually complement or replace conventional CS business.This empirical study investigates the participation intentions in P2P shared mobility services accounting for different statuses people may adopt: provider and/or user. The analysis of a large car owner survey in three major European capitals indicates that these participation decisions are driven by common latent preferences and, people who are more prone to become a peer provider are more likely to use the P2P shared mobility service (and vice versa). The results also reveal the role of individual values such as possession self-link, individualism, and environmentalism in the decision to join a P2P shared mobility platform. Furthermore, our study shows how provider/user status may affect the participation intentions process in the urban population.     

I Want You Back: The Interplay Between Legal Availability and Movie Piracy

Abstract

Although it is well known in the academic literature that anti-piracy measures can reduce the demand for pirated content, there are relatively few papers analyzing how legal availability impacts piracy. In this study, we answer two relevant research questions: (1) Does the availability of movies in legal digital channels reduce the demand for digital piracy? (2) Is the level of piracy prior to a movie’s release in a legal digital channel a reliable signal of legal demand after release? We answer these questions using a unique data set provided by a major motion picture studio. Our data contain 1520 catalog movies introduced to iTunes between April 2011 and April 2012. We find that iTunes availability leads to an 11.8% decrease in monthly piracy. We also find that pre-release piracy positively correlates with post-release electronic sell-through sales but not with video-on-demand sales.     

Profit reducing international outsourcing

Recent empirical evidence shows a negative relationship between international outsourcing and profitability. This paper provides a theoretical explanation for this phenomenon. We show that, in an oligopolistic market, firms earn lower profits in the outsourcing equilibrium compared to the situation where neither firm does outsourcing, and this holds irrespective of the intensity of competition. We show that whether international outsourcing is likely to reduce profit under more intense competition (measured by the degree of product differentiation, number of firms and the type of product market competition, namely, Cournot and Bertrand competition) is ambiguous. We further show that international outsourcing may be socially ‘excessive’ for the sourced country and for the world.     

Extending the international new venture phenomenon to digital platform providers: A longitudinal case study

People increasingly interact with services enabled by digital platforms. This has been a consequence of the digitalization of artifacts, which has transmuted traditional businesses into digital forms. With the increasing digitalization and modularization of services, digital platforms have given many digital service providers possibilities to scale globally, and to rapidly transcend national borders by serving multi-sided markets. However, we still know very little about how digital platform providers actually internationalize their services, or how they make their platforms available for global markets. In this paper, we contribute to the increasing literature on digital-based INVs, examining how firms of this type internationalize their services, and more specifically, how recent technological developments have shaped the firms’ internationalization processes. Drawing on concepts from the network approach to internationalization, resource dependency theory, and INV theory, we extend the scope of INV theory via a model that encompasses the internationalization process of digital platform providers. We report on a longitudinal case study of a digital platform provider (covering the period 2000–2017), which allowed us to gain in-depth insight into the INV phenomenon.     

Why domestic outsourcing is leading America's reemergence in global manufacturing

With cost advantages from manufacturing in Asia and Mexico steadily deteriorating, U.S. firms are reassessing the option of domestic outsourcing to remain globally competitive. The challenge in evaluating international versus domestic outsourcing strategic options lies in that first-movers are extremely and intentionally vague about how they reach their decisions. The purpose of this article is to reveal these reasons by providing statistical and firm-based evidence on five major factors that are influencing the decision regarding where U.S. companies should manufacture to optimize their gross profits. The factors include (1) increasingly competitive U.S. labor costs; (2) increasing productivity of the U.S. workforce; (3) increasingly competitive domestic production costs; (4) incentives from federal, state, and local governments; and (5) improved synchronization of production with other business functions.