Cannibalization and option value effects of secondary markets: Evidence from the US concert industry

We examine how reducing search frictions in secondary markets affects the value appropriated by firms in primary markets. We characterize two effects on primary‐market firms caused by intermediaries entering secondary markets: the “cannibalization” and “option value” effects. Separation between primary and secondary markets can drive which of the two effects dominates. Firms selling valuable and scarce products are more likely to have separate primary and secondary markets, and will therefore appropriate more value when secondary markets thicken. Firms selling products that are not valuable and scarce will be hurt. Further, we hypothesize that firms have incentives to engineer scarcity by limiting supply when secondary markets thicken to separate primary and secondary markets. We find support for these hypotheses in the U.S. concert ticket industry. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reducing the carbon footprint in a vehicle routing problem by pooling resources from different companies

In this study, we propose that pooling resources would reduce both the carbon footprint and economic costsin the vehicle routing problem with time windows. A mathematical formulation for the vehicle routing problem considering the carbon footprint as a constraint is proposed. The model is approached with the scatter search metaheuristic and analyzed from the perspective of game theory to evaluate the stability of the coalition after pooling. We define a theoretical case for four suppliers on an instance partition from Solomon’s library using several scenarios from individual participation to a full coalition. For each of these scenarios, we realize a sweep of the objective space. The results show that the more resources are shared, the greater the benefit. The best savings and contributions are achieved by operating in complete cooperation. These savings were distributed as fairly as possible to maintain a stable coalition using the Shapley value.     

The Continuing Controversy over Right-to-Work Laws in the Early Twenty-First Century

This article provides a brief introduction to the ongoing controversy concerning right-to-work (RTW) legislation in the United States. The paper proceeds with the outlining of the major ideological arguments in favor of and in opposition to RTW laws before presenting the taste, free rider and bargaining power hypotheses which has motivated research concerning the economic effects of RTW laws. After reporting the findings of some of the basic empirical research designed to test these hypotheses as well as other recent studies, the article concludes that RTW laws have, at a minimum, moderately reduced the scope of unionization as well as the number of union members over the long-run. This indicates that the presence or absence of RTW legislation is not merely a symbolic fight as some have maintained but is something that has real consequences for the trade union movement’s future in the United States in the early 21^st century.     

Subjective Performance Evaluation and Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination continues to be a problem in organizations. It is therefore important that organizations use performance evaluation methods that ensure equal opportunities for men and women. This article reports the results of an experiment to investigate whether and, if so, how the gender of the rater and that of the ratee moderate the relationship between the level of subjectivity in performance appraisals and organizational attractiveness. Participants in the experiment were 313 undergraduate students. We predicted, and indeed established, that as the probability increases that employee performance is evaluated by a female manager, women expect more positive outcomes of subjective, but not objective evaluation processes. Our data did not support our expectation that as the probability of being evaluated by a female manager increases, men expect less positive outcomes of subjective evaluation processes. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of why women are over-represented in jobs with objective formula-based reward systems, such as piece-rate systems. They are also of interest to organizations that are looking for more ethical human resource management practices.     

Purchase of Catastrophe Insurance by Dutch Dairy and Arable Farmers

This article analyzed the impact of risk perception, risk attitude, and other farmer personal and farm characteristics on the actual purchase of catastrophe insurance by Dutch dairy and arable farmers. The specific catastrophe insurance types considered were hail–fire–storm insurance for buildings, disability insurance, crop insurance against hail, storm, and brown rot, and insurance against epidemic animal disease outbreaks. The results suggested that risk perception was a significant variable that influenced purchase of catastrophe insurance by dairy and arable farmers, whereas risk attitude was significant only in arable farming.