MANAGING SWITCHING COSTS IN MULTIPERIOD PROCUREMENTS WITH STRATEGIC BUYERS*

This article examines the use of switching costs by long‐lived strategic buyers to manage dynamic competition between rival suppliers. The analysis reveals how buyers may employ switching costs to their advantage. We show that when switching costs are high, a buyer may induce suppliers to price more competitively by credibly threatening to replace the incumbent supplier with his rivals. The implications of this finding for adoption of technology and firm organization are explored in settings in which the buyer is integrated with the suppliers and where the buyer is an outsourcer.     

农民工：未完成的无产阶级化

农民工是改革的产物,也是改革的创造者。30年改革尘埃未定,中国俨然已经成为“世界工厂”,农民工是这一历史过程的新兴主体,它承栽了中国走向全球化伴生的所有矛盾与苦难,也必然承担着书写中国社会转型历史的伟大使命。中国未来与这一多达两亿的打工阶级息息相关,农村问题、城市发展、城乡关系、改革走向,几乎一切有关中国现状和未来的重要探讨都离不开对这一新兴阶级的认识。在改革开放30年之际,为更全面、更深刻地思考农民工以及农民工所承载的历史,2009年1月11日至18日,中山大学华南农村研究中心与香港理工大学—北京大学中国社会工作研究中心联合主办了第一期“中国城乡协调发展研究高级讲习班”,此次主题为“农民工与农民工社区”。来自中山大学、香港理工大学、香港科技大学、香港中文大学、香港大学、北京大学、中国社会科学院、北京师范大学、云南大学、上海大学、西南大学、西北工业大学、中国青年政治学院、南京师范大学、江汉大学、汕头大学、澳大利亚国立大学、广东工业大学、加州大学伯克利分校、加州大学洛杉矾分校、香港“女工关怀”志愿者组织、云南连心社区照顾服务中心等单位的师生逾60人在中山大学华南农村研究中心就此主题展开热烈讨论。本刊作为此次讲习班的协办单位,将分两期刊发部分发言者的发言内容。以下文字根据录音整理,部分标题为编者另拟。     

Organizational Learning and New Product Introductions

Organizational learning widely is believed to be important to competitive performance of companies. The purpose of this article is to examine how organizations learn from their experiences in new product introductions. Theory suggests that organizations will display a “competency trap” that reduces their ability to learn from organizational experience. Often initial success can cause a firm to rely on a single or a few experiences to develop routines, discounting later experiences. Therefore it is expected that organizations will have trouble learning from experience. The theory was tested by examining all new product introductions in the U.S. shampoo industry from 1974–1987. The dynamic nature of the business—the average brand survives about two years—made this an attractive research venue. Using the econometric technique of survival time modeling, a model was fitted of survival of brands as a function of organizational experience and organizational experience squared. The model also included controls for financial resources available to the firm and the level of first year's advertising. The model confirmed the general hypothesis that firms' brands are less successful the more experience they have. This study interprets this as evidence of a competency trap in new product introductions. The results broadly are supportive of the hypothesis that organizations find it harder to learn from experience as experience grows. Untangling the source of this problem is a goal of further research. For practice, the article suggests caution to brand managers in experienced companies. There is no guarantee that firms grow in their ability to build brands; results here suggest the opposite. Formal reviews of the new product, its process, and its performance by senior managers for lessons learned is desirable. Management of individuals and organizations may facilitate learning from experience. For managing individuals, often product success brings about a reassignment of successful personnel; care should be taken to insure that individuals' learning is captured by the new product organization before reassignment. On the organizational level, formal brand management may be a highly effective method for managing an ongoing stable of long‐lived brands but may be a poor choice in a dynamic market like shampoo. Companies may explore new organizational structures and departments to conceive and to develop new products since the skills required for managing ongoing brands may be different from creating new ones.     

The Distinction Between Charisma and Vision: An Empirical Study

It is argued that the confusion clouding new leadership theories can be cleared if charisma and vision are treated as distinct constructs. Consistent with the argument, new instruments for measuring the two constructs were developed and the moderating role of cognitive complexity in distinguishing charisma and vision was examined. Further, the study investigated the effects of charisma and vision on motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and performance of followers. Self-reports were obtained from 455 subordinates of 138 managers from 10 companies in Singapore. Findings suggest that both charisma and vision have two dimensions each and that these dimensions affect the four follower-level outcomes differentially.     

Offshore assembly provisions in the U.S.: Some possible trade effects of their repeal

Zusammenfassung M?gliche Handelseffekte einer Aufhebung der Bestimmungen der Vereinigten Staaten über die Offshore-Montage. — Die Autoren untersuchen, wie eine Aufhebung der amerikanischen Bestimmungen über die Offshore-Montage den Au?enhandel der USA und die Exporteinnahmen ausl?ndischer Montagefirmen beeinflussen würde. Diese Wirkungen werden für 19 disaggregierte Produktgruppen gesch?tzt. Es wird ein Modell des internationalen Handels à la Armington mit unvollst?ndiger Substitution benutzt, wonach die amerikanischen Konsumenten innerhalb einer Produktgruppe zwischen den Gütern aus verschiedenen L?ndern unterscheiden k?nnen. Als Ergebnis zeigt sich, da? eine Aufhebung der amerikanischen Bestimmungen über die Offshore-Montage wenig dazu beitragen würde, die ausl?ndische Konkurrenz für amerikanische Montagefinnen zu verringern. Sie würde aber erhebliche nachteilige Wirkungen auf die amerikanischen Exporteure von Zwischenprodukten und auf die Exporterl?se von Montagefirmen in Entwicklungsl?ndern haben.

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Résumé Abolition des règlements américains sur ?offshore assembly? et quelques effets possibles sur le commerce international. — Cette étude examine comment une abolition des règlements américains sur ?offshore assembly? toucherait le commerce extérieur des Etats Unis et le revenu des exportateurs résultant de l’assemblage à l’étranger. On donne des estimations de ces effets pour 19 catégories de produit disagregées. Un modèle de commerce international de type Armington avec des substitutions imparfaites est employé qui permet aux consommateurs américains de distinguer entre les marchandises des pays différents qui appartiennent à la même catégorie de produit. On a constaté que l’abolition des règlements sur ?offshore assembly? contribuerait pas beaucoup à réduire la compétition étrangère que les entreprises américaines spécialisées dans l’assemblage se font face, mais il y aurait des effets importants et désavantageux pour les exportateurs américains des produits intermédiaires et pour le revenu d’exportation des entreprises spécialisées dans l’assemblage aux PVD.

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Resumen El régimen de zonas francas para ensamblaje industrial en los EE UU: algunos efectos posibles sobre el comercio en caso de su eliminación. — En este trabajo se estudia cómo la eliminación del régimen de zona franca para ensamblaje industrial de los EE UU (OAP) podría afectar el comercio de los EE UU y el ingreso por exportaciones de las industrias de ensamblaje extranjeras. Se dan estimaciones de estos efectos para 19 categorías desagregadas de productos. Se utiliza un modelo de comercio del tipo de Armington con substitutos imperfectos, que permite a los consumidores de los EE UU la distinción entre bienes de distinto origen incluídos en la misma categoría de productos. Se encuentra que la eliminaci?n del OAP no contribuiría demasiado a reducir la competencia extranjera enfrentada por la industria ensambladora de los EE UU, pero que tendria un efecto adverso importante sobre los exportadores de componentes de los EE UU y sobre el ingreso por exportaciones de las industrias ensambladoras de los paises en desarrollo.

     

Economic Analysis at the Federal Communications Commission

This article reviews some of the major economic issues faced by the FCC in thelast year. It focuses on the application of new analytic techniques at the FCC, andidentifies several areas in which further academic research would be valuable to theFCC.Currently serving as FCC Chief Economist     

Consumer responses to dissatisfaction with financial service providers: An exploration of why some stay while others switch

In spite of research suggesting that services elicit greater dissatisfaction than products, service dissatisfaction has been less widely researched than product dissatisfaction. Although responses to dissatisfaction such as exit and voice have been investigated, the loyalty response to dissatisfaction has been largely overlooked. To begin to address this discrepancy, this paper relates a preliminary research study into customer dissatisfaction and loyalty with financial services. Research was conducted in two phases to explore dissatisfying experiences and consumer decisions to switch or stay with the current provider. The study finds that the most commonly cited reason for staying with a financial services provider is the perceived costs involved in switching or, putting it more colloquially, ‘the hassle factor’. Differences between customers who stay and switch are also revealed in the study.