Innovation diffusion: A deterministic model of space-time integration with physical analog

This paper extends a fundamental temporal diffusion model to integrate space and time dimensions of the diffusion of innovation. The analogous developments in physical sciences are compared and it is demonstrated that the proposed model may be the first step in linking the concept of catalysts in physical science diffusion processes to the role of change agents in social science systems.     

Discrete spatial choice and the axiom of independence from irrelevant alternatives

The assumption of the independence from irrelevant alternatives (IIA) simplifies the representation of the choice decision. However, this assumption is particularly problematic for choices in a spatial context. Unequal substitutability can lead to systematically misleading results. Formal tests of IIA are outlined and alternatives are suggested for managing the problem when the results warrant it. Such management often leads to more complex models, which are necessary, but generate additional difficulties. These issues are also discussed.     

A Note on the Consequences of Monopsony When Goods are Jointly Produced in Fixed Proportions

The usual analysis of joint supply presumes that all relevant markets are competitive. In this paper, we introduce monopsony into the market for one of two products jointly supplied in fixed proportions. We provide an analysis of the monopsonist’s profit maximizing behavior, the welfare effects of monopsony, and an adaptation of the Lerner Index to this case.     

Cross-price effects in demand between exports and imports

This paper extends the Bickerdike-Robinson-Metzler elasticities model to include cross-price effects in demand between exports and imports, and compares the extension to the Kemp general-equilibrium model. In the extended elasticities model, positive cross-price influences impede adjustment; in the general-equilibrium model, however, such influences are part of the uniform gross-substitutability condition that assures stability. This difference arises because income and own-price effects for nontraded goods are constrained to zero in the elasticities model. Evidence of the demand for exports and imports for the United States indicates significant crossprice effects.     

Merger Activity and Employment: Evidence from the UK Mutual Sector

This paper approaches the performance consequences of mergers from a new direction; namely by analysing their impact on the acquiring firm's demand for labour. It employs a dynamic labour demand model, with an unbalanced panel of UK financial mutuals over the period 1981–1993. The data relate strictly to core financial intermediation activity and are thus particularly appropriate for the paper's purposes. The results are strongly supportive of an efficiency-enhancing interpretation of merger activity. A significant positive initial impact on the acquirer's demand for labour is followed by three years of significant negative effects, a result consistent with the acquisition and subsequent digestion of less efficient targets.     

Entry and Exit Behavior in the Absence of Sunk Costs: Evidence from a Price Comparison Site

This paper explores entry and exit at a price comparison site (PCS) where the sunk costs of participation are effectively zero. We first use an unbalanced panel of 295 products on NexTag.com to estimate an error correction model of net entry. Although the results support our characterization of the PCS as a zero sunk cost market in which potential sellers behave as Kirznerian entrepreneurs in responding to opportunities, it is clear the net entry flow involves participants with widely differing behavior. This is investigated by examining exit and re-entry decisions at the seller level, which reveal that size and reputation determine individual responses to market opportunities.     

The Efficiencies Defense in the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines

We analyze the efficiencies defense that is contained in the 2010 Merger Guidelines, which provides the most current statement of the Agencies?? enforcement philosophy and procedure. Most of our attention centers on efficiencies in production, but we also address merger-specific efficiencies that may lead to improved product quality, enhanced services, or even to the introduction of entirely new products. We begin with the analytically clean case of merger-specific efficiencies that are accompanied by monopoly power. From the perspective of either consumer welfare or social welfare, this presents the welfare analysis that should guide merger policy. We, then, examine the errors that may arise due to the restricted role that efficiencies play in Section 7 enforcement. Finally, we close with some policy recommendations.     

Dimensions of CEO–Board Relations

Interactions between CEOs and their boards of directors are a prominent focus of management and strategy research. Despite the extensive literature on CEO–board relations, to date there has been limited integration of theoretical perspectives and measurement schemes. Through an extensive analysis of published studies, we hope to facilitate future research on CEO–board relations. We begin with a comparison of key theoretical approaches. Next, we conduct a content analysis of 51 empirical articles. We find that prior studies have an unbalanced focus regarding both topics and theoretical perspectives, and that there is limited consistency in the choice of measures. Based on this review, we lay out a number of promising directions for future research. We also find that, while there has been progress in international research on CEO–board relations, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the generalizability of governance theories across different geographic settings.     

Other lives in accounting: Critical reflections on oral history methodology in action

This paper critically evaluates the nature and practice of oral history as a narrative research methodology in accounting. Oral history allows individual subjectivity and experience to be central to the empirical data. The paper argues that such an approach allows the voices of those who have arguably been ignored, marginalised or silenced within particular contexts to be heard. Drawing on feminist approaches to research methodology, it also evaluates and problematises some of the ethical issues within an oral history methodology, arising from the interpretation and ownership of research, disclosure and reciprocity within the research relationship, and the use of friends and strangers as research participants. The paper concludes that, when approached critically and reflexively, oral history provides a sound epistemological and methodological base for understanding the meaning of events and experience to individuals, and the impact of accounting institutions and practice on their lives.