Price Discovery in Private Negotiation Trading with Forward and Spot Deliveries

Advance production in spot markets increases seller costs because inventories must be held. This cost does not exist in production-to-demand (or forward) markets, for which production follows trading, and sales exactly match quantities produced. Data from laboratory-computerized markets that trade through private negotiation are analyzed. For the experimental supply and demand conditions, price convergence patterns show spot prices 10.8% lower and the number of trades 12.4% fewer than forward outcomes. The adverse impact of advance production and private negotiation on seller earnings is emphasized when earnings are compared with those from double auction trading.     

A simple approach to the parametric estimation of potentially nonstationary diffusions

A simple and robust approach is proposed for the parametric estimation of scalar homogeneous stochastic differential equations. We specify a parametric class of diffusions and estimate the parameters of interest by minimizing criteria based on the integrated squared difference between kernel estimates of the drift and diffusion functions and their parametric counterparts. The procedure does not require simulations or approximations to the true transition density and has the simplicity of standard nonlinear least-squares methods in discrete time. A complete asymptotic theory for the parametric estimates is developed. The limit theory relies on infill and long span asymptotics and is robust to deviations from stationarity, requiring only recurrence.     

Assessing the Impact of Market-Focused and Price-Based Strategies on Performance: A Neural Network Typology

Marketing practitioners operate in a turbulent environment with increased market competition and more discerning customers, which make it a necessity for organisations to constantly re-appraise their competitive strategies. Porter's (1980) typology is one of the most widely cited by academics and practitioners, but it is debatable whether a single strategy will lead to sustainable competitive advantage (Helms, Dibrell and Wright, 1997).Using a systems perspective where the focus is on the interaction between dependent and independent variables, this study shows how SBU managers could use neural networks to help improve the strategy formulation process in the hospitality sector. Findings suggest that market-focused and price-based strategies have contrasting effects upon performance. This study extends the knowledge of strategy formulation and performance by focusing on the service industry, and provides controls for market-level influences by being restricted to the hotel sector.     

Strategic planning and business performance in the quoted UK hotel sector: results of an exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to conduct an exploratory investigation of the relationship between strategic planning and business performance. A multidimensional model of 11 variables was formulated after a review of the strategic planning-performance literature. Data were obtained from 63 hotel units representing eight quoted hotel companies, and various planning-performance relationships were examined. The results indicated that the key planning characteristics of throughness, sophistication, participation, and formality were positive, and in most cases significantly related, to seven indicators of business performance.     

Consumer Risk Perceptions and Marketing Strategy: The Case of Genetically Modified Food

New technologies are hitting the marketplace every day. In trying to make sense of these new technologies, consumers perceive a series of risks and benefits of consumption and use those perceptions to form product judgments. One way for managers to mitigate organizational related risk is to understand how consumers perceive consumption‐related risk. To illustrate this point, the case of genetically modified (GM) food is examined and a series of focus groups is conducted in which participants examined different product labels that either framed the technology as a benefit gained or as a risk avoided. The results indicate that consumers do indeed form very different product evaluations based on how the new technology is framed, but these evaluations vary based on the level of the consumers’ preexisting knowledge. This study provides support for the contention that a better understanding of consumer risk perceptions is an important first step in developing marketing strategies for new technology‐oriented products.