Effective regulation versus tacit collusion in the long-distance market: an empirical analysis

Regulatory decisions often must be made in an atmosphere of uncertainty, and arguments presented by the affected parties frequently add to, rather than resolve, that uncertainty. Here, we examine several of the deregulatory decisions affecting the long-distance market that were rendered by the FCC over the two-decade period following the divestiture of AT&T. Our purpose is to provide empirical evidence relevant to some of the arguments regarding market conditions that were presented during that period. Findings suggest that some of the more prominent allegations are not supported by the data.      

Traditional and Non-Traditional Determinants of Accounting Rates in International Telecommunications

The accounting rate system currently in place is used to reimburse telephone companies around the world for terminating calls originating in foreign countries. Increased competition in more liberalized countries has led to imbalances between traffic originating in these countries and traffic coming in from less liberalized countries, leading to huge settlement payments being made to less liberalized countries. Some variation in accounting rates across countries can be explained by traditional factors such as the actual cost of terminating calls. Our results suggest that accounting rates are also significantly affected by non-traditional factors such as the extent of government regulation, the level of corruption, and the like. These findings support the need for consideration of these factors in reforming the accounting rate system currently in place.

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Team Virtues and Performance: An Examination of Transparency, Behavioral Integrity, and Trust

Virtue-based research in business ethics has increased over the last two decades, but most of the research has focused on the actions of an individual person. In this article, we examine the associations among team-level virtues using data from two studies. Specifically, we investigate whether transparency (usually thought to be an organizational- or collective-level construct), behavioral integrity (usually thought to be an individual-level construct), and trust (usually thought to be an individual-level construct) can be conceptualized and operate at the team level of analysis and, if so, what their relationships are to team performance. Using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis, we found in both studies that team transparency was positively related to team behavioral integrity, which in turn was positively related to team trust. We also found evidence of a positive relationship between team trust and team performance. Implications of these findings for future teams and ethics research are discussed.     

Open Entry and Local Telephone Rates: The Economics of IntraLATA Toll Competition

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 removes state-level legal and regulatory barriers to entry that previously have proscribed facilities-based interchange carriers from entering intraLATA toll markets. Traditionally, these markets have provided excess profits that local exchange companies ostensibly have used to subsidize local telephone rates. Elimination of these entry barriers, then, raises concern that the resulting intensification of competition will force unwanted local residential rate increases. In this paper, we critically examine the local-rate-increase question both theoretically and empirically. Our analysis finds no evidence that intraLATA toll competition will adversely affect local rates.