The Evolution of Cooperation in Structured Populations

The present paper analyses the evolution of costly cooperation in a multi-group population. Building on insights first developed in modern biology the idea of viscous population equilibria is introduced (a population is said to be viscous when a (sub)population of players is spatially or genetically clustered). A simple model then analyses how the combined effect of viscosity within multiple subgroups and different levels of between-group segregation influences the evolution of cooperation. The results suggest that a key issue in the evolution of cooperation is the shifting balance between the need to protect cooperators and propagation of the tendency to cooperate.     

Hidden but in plain sight: The role of scale adjustment in industry dynamics

While much is understood about the general pattern of industry dynamics, a critical element underlying these dynamics, the rate of the expansion of individual firms, has been largely overlooked. We argue that the rate at which firms can reliably increase their scale of operations is a critical factor in understanding the structure of industries. Further, success at scaling‐up the firm's operations provides a dynamic‐isolating mechanism that insulates established firms from new competition. We show that the bases of profitability in the industry (monopoly‐like profits stemming from the restriction of output, efficiency rents based on firm‐specific productivity differences, or transitory Schumpeterian profits) can be traced to the scale adjustment process. We explore these issues in a computational model of industry dynamics. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fixed costs,limit pricing and investments in barriers to entry

The paper analyses how investments in R&D and sales promotion can give rise to barriers to entry. It is argued that the classification of barriers to entry suggested by J.S. Bain is not very suitable for a theoretical analysis, and an alternative classification is suggested. This alternative classification is then used to treat the so-called ‘niche production’ concept.     

The nature and units of social selection

On the basis of the technical definition of selection developed by George Price (1995), we describe two forms of selection that commonly occur at the social level, subset selection and generative selection. Both forms of selection are abstract and general, and therefore also incomplete; both leave aside the question of explaining the selection criterion and why entities possess stable traits. However, an important difference between the two kinds of selection is that generative selection can accommodate an explanation of how new variation is created, while subset selection cannot. An evolutionary process involving repeated cycles of generative selection can, in principle, continue indefinitely because imperfect replication generates new variation along the way, whereas subset selection reduces variation and eventually grinds to a halt. Even if the two kinds of selection are very different, they share a number of features. First, neither subset selection nor generative selection implies improvement: neither kind of selection necessarily leads to efficiency or implies systematic outcomes. Second, both subset selection and generative selection can lead to extremely rapid effects in a social population. Third, in the social domain, both generative selection and subset selection involve choice and preference in some way: neither form of selection necessarily excludes intentionality. In concluding the article, we single out a challenge for future research in identifying the role of various units of culture in selection processes and the multiple levels at which social selection processes take place.     

The firm as an interactor: firms as vehicles for habits and routines

This paper pursues a research agenda inspired by Richard Nelson and Sidney Winters Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change (1982). This seminal work applied the Darwinian concepts of variation, replication and selection to the evolution of firms. It proposed a level of evolution, replication and selection at a level higher than individuals or genes, involving the replication and selection of routines and institutions. Significantly, the applicability or otherwise of these Darwinian concepts depends on precise definitions of terms such as replication and selection. The present essay builds on previous work where the concepts of replication (Godfrey-Smith, 2000; Aunger, 2002; Hodgson, 2003b) and selection (Price, 1995; Frank, 1998; Knudsen, 2002b, 2003) have been refined. We deploy the key concepts of replicator and interactor from the modern philosophy of biology (Hull, 1981, 1988). It is shown that while habits and routines can be regarded as replicators, there is a case for regarding firms and similarly cohesive organizations as interactors. We explore some of the implications of this result and provide an important component in the construction of a multiple-level evolutionary theory, involving replicating units at several socio-economic levels.JEL Classification: B25, B52, D20, D83, L20Correspondence to: Geoffrey M. Hodgson, Malting House, 1 Burton End, West Wickham, Cambridgeshire CB1 6SD, UK     

Intentions to use mobile services: Antecedents and cross-service comparisons

This article develops and tests a model to explain consumers’ intention to use mobile services. Through triangulating theories from the diverse fields of information systems research, uses and gratification research, and domestication research, the authors put forth an integrated model that explains intention to use mobile services. The model proposes four overall influences on usage intention: motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control. The authors study the type of interactivity and process characteristics associated with the service that moderate the effects on the relationship between the proposed antecedents and usage intention. The results from empirical studies of four mobile services show strong support for the effects of motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control on consumers’ intentions to use mobile services. Some of the effects are moderated by process characteristics (goal-directed vs. experiential services) that are associated with the service.     

Consumer brand relationships: an investigation of two alternative models

Many studies have proposed the use of the relationship metaphor to enhance the understanding of the relationship between consumers and brands. However, few studies have empirically tested consumer–brand relationship models. In this paper, the authors argue that the success of developing empirical models of consumer–brand relationships depends on the adequacy of the metaphoric transfer. The authors compare two models of consumer–brand relationships—the brand relationship quality (BRQ) model and the relationship investment (RI) model on the basis of empirical fit and model interpretation. They modify both models to better accommodate less involving relationships and test them in two studies. The findings suggest that the modified RI model offers a straightforward interpretation of consumer–brand relationships that vary in intensity. The results from the BRQ model are less clear, though further refinements of the model demonstrates the increased potential of the BRQ model compared with traditional attitude models to explain relationships between consumers and brands.     

Tears and Framing Contests: Public Organizations Countering Critical and Emotional Stories

The reputation and legitimacy of public organizations can be threatened by emotional news stories depicting a faceless bureaucratic power apparatus that is blind to how their decisions affect humans negatively. This qualitative study focuses on the strategies of the Norwegian immigration authorities as they handle emotional accounts of family reunion cases. The analysis first reconstructs what is called a Man Against the System-frame, and then moves on to investigate the competing frame that the authorities construct and the strategies used to promote this frame. The article sheds new light on the concept of framing contests by analyzing the possibilities and constraints of public organizations when they construct and use a frame.     

In defence of generalized Darwinism

Darwin himself suggested the idea of generalizing the core Darwinian principles to cover the evolution of social entities. Also in the nineteenth century, influential social scientists proposed their extension to political society and economic institutions. Nevertheless, misunderstanding and misrepresentation have hindered the realization of the powerful potential in this longstanding idea. Some critics confuse generalization with analogy. Others mistakenly presume that generalizing Darwinism necessarily involves biological reductionism. This essay outlines the types of phenomena to which a generalized Darwinism applies, and upholds that there is no reason to exclude social or economic entities.