Auto Market Research Articles

Competitive Pricing Behavior in the Auto Market: A Structural Analysis

In a competitive marketplace, the effectiveness of any element of the marketing mix is determined not only by its absolute value, but also by its relative value with respect to the competition. For example, the effectiveness of a price cut in increasing demand is critically related to competitors' reaction to the price change. Managers therefore need to know the nature of competitive interactions among firms. In this paper, we take a theory-driven empirical approach to gain a deeper understanding of the competitive pricing behavior in the U.S. auto market. The ability-motivation paradigm posits that a firm needs both the ability and the motivation to succeed in implementing a strategy (Boulding and Staelin 1995). We use arguments from the game-theoretic literature to understand firm motivation and abilities in different segments of the auto market. We then combine these insights from the game-theoretic literature and the ability-motivation paradigm to develop hypotheses about competition in different segments of the U.S. auto market. To test our hypotheses of competitive behavior, we estimate a structural model that disentangles the competition effect from the demand and cost effects on prices. The theory of repeated games predicts that firms with a long-run profitability objective will try to sustain cooperative pricing behavior as a stable equilibrium when conditions permit. For example, markets with high concentration and stable market environments are favorable for sustaining cooperative behavior and therefore provide firms with the ability to cooperate. The theory of switching costs suggests that in markets in which a firm's current customers tend to be loyal, firms have a motivation to compete very aggressively for new customers, recognizing the positive benefits of loyalty from the customer base in the long run. As consumer loyalty in the market increases, the gains from increasing market share by means of aggressive competitive behavior are more than offset by losses in profit margins. Firms therefore have the motivation to price cooperatively. Empirically, we find aggressive behavior in the minicom-pact and subcompact segments, cooperative behavior in the compact and midsize segments, and Bertrand behavior in the full-size segment. These findings are consistent with our theory-based hypotheses about competition in different segments. In estimating a structural model of the auto market, we address several methodological issues. A particular difficulty is the large number of car models in the U.S. auto market. Existing studies have inferred competitive behavior only in markets with two to four products. They also use relatively simple functional forms of demand to facilitate easy estimation. Functional forms of demand, however, impose structure on cross-elasticities between products. Such structure, when inappropriate, can bias the estimates of competitive interaction. We therefore use the random coefficients logit demand model to allow flexibility in cross-elasticities. We also use recent advances in New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) to extend structural estimation of competitive behavior to markets with a large number of products. We use the simulation-based estimation approach developed by Berry et al. (1995) to estimate our model. A frequent criticism of the NEIO approach is that its focus on industry-specific studies limits the generalizability of its findings. In this study, we retain the advantages of NEIO methods but partially address the issue of generalizability by analyzing competitive behavior in multiple segments within the auto industry to see whether there is a consistent pattern that can be explained by theory. Theoretical modelers can use our results to judge the appropriateness of their models in predicting competitive outcomes for the markets that they analyze. A by-product of our analysis is that we also get estimates of demand and cost apart from competitive interactions for the market. Managers can use these estimates to perform “what-if” analysis. They can answer questions about what prices to charge when a new product is introduced or when an existing product's characteristics are changed.

Pricing Policy in the Swedish Automobile Market

This paper analyzes the phenomenon of pricing to market in the Swedish auto market. First, it estimates, with the help of hedonic regression, the pricing and product policies of the major car producers. Second, the impact of the exchange rate variations, quality effects and cost differences on pricing behavior are examined by developing and evaluating econometric models for a sample of the major car exporting countries. The results suggest that exchange rate changes, quality dimension, and cost changes play a significant role in explaining actual car prices in the Swedish market.

Carwars: Trying to Make Sense of U.S.-Japan Trade Frictions in the Automobile and Automobile Parts Markets

The story line a recent trade frictions between the U.S. and Japan in the auto market goes as follow. Initially, there was not much trade Japanese cars were made in Japan with mostly Japanese parts and the same was mostly true of North American cars.

Institutional Structures and Dynamics in the Policy-making Process: Hyundai and the Canadian Anti-Dumping Case

This article presents a case which involves interesting conflicts between Gened Motors of Canada Ltd. and Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ud. on one side, and Hyundai on the other in the Canadian auto market. The case also involves the trade and diplomatic relationships between South Korea and Canada. It shows how the cleavages within a liberal government can be strategically exploited by a small corporation; Hyundai was successful in using the various cleavages within the Canadian government. Information also plays an important role. In the joint and interactive decision-making processes, information helps to correct a potential market failure which may occur if private actors act solely based on their own perceptions. Without the information from the public sector, Hyundai could not have mapped out its active strategy.

Rentals, Sales, and Buybacks: Managing Secondary Distribution Channels

The authors analyze a problem facing a durable product manufacturer who has to manage two “noncompeting” channel systems.ln particular, they focus on the practices of U.S. automakers who distribute new cars through both dealers and rental agencies. In their stylized model, the dealer sells cars to customers and the renter satisfies customers’ short-term needs by renting cars. As a result, in the short run, the rental market does not compete with the dealer's market. However, if the renter eventually sells some of its used cars into the consumer market, then these sales can compete with the dealer's sales of new cars. Using a two-period model, the authors analyze three channel structures that exist in today's auto market. They discuss the implications of their work on the structure of distribution channels in the automobile industry and show how dealer profits and total manufacturer sales depend on the type of channel structure used.

The effects of protection on a domestic oligopoly: The case of the U.S. auto market

A reduced-form model of U.S. auto prices and sales is estimated using firm-level data for domestic producers, for three size classes of vehicles. The model is used to assess the effects of the U.S.-Japan Voluntary Restraint Agreements (VRAs) and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. We estimate that the VRAs increased total sales of domestic autos by about 6 percent between 1981 and 1986 and increased average prices for all models by less than 4 percent. The CAFE standards reduced total sales by 1.7 percent between 1984 and 1986 and increased average prices by 1.4 percent. General Motors stands out because of its tendency, relative to its rivals, to raise prices and reduce output.

Price regulation in US automobile insurance. A case study of Massachusetts private passenger automobile insurance 1978–1990.

This short note highlights price regulation in the United States Personal Automobile Market by reviewing the results of the most highly-regulated U. S. market, the fix-and-establish system in Massachusetts during 1978 to 1990. Financial outcomes of the state-run market are shown. Effects of pricing policy on the size of the residual market, interclass subsidies and the participation of national property-casualty companies in the Massachusetts market are discussed. Contrasts with the post-proposition 103 California personal auto market are explored. Implications for guaranty funds are derived. Finally, the outlook for the Massachusetts and California personal auto markets is discussed together with implications for the upcoming integration of the EEC insurance markets.

Price Regulation in US Automobile Insurance A Case Study of Massachusetts Private Passenger Automobile Insurance 1978–1990

This short note highlights price regulation in the United States Personal Automobile Market by reviewing the results of the most highly-regulated U. S. market, the fix-and-establish system in Massachusetts during 1978 to 1990. Financial outcomes of the state-run market are shown. Effects of pricing policy on the size of the residual market, interclass subsidies and the participation of national property-casualty companies in the Massachusetts market are discussed. Contrasts with the post-proposition 103 California personal auto market are explored. Implications for guaranty funds are derived. Finally, the outlook for the Massachusetts and California personal auto markets is discussed together with implications for the upcoming integration of the EEC insurance markets.

Warranty, quality and price in the US automobile market

The observed negative relationship between quality and warranty in the US auto market is analysed using a cost-based approach developed by Cooper and Ross. The theory of warranty and quality choice by producers and consumers is extended by endogenizing the joint price, quality and warranty decision. Differences in producer costs and consumer preferences are found to explain the inverse relationship, which suggests that American manufacturers should adjust their pricing, warranty and quality strategy when entering foreign markets.

Department Stores and Detroit:

Two major American industries are in crisis. American manufacturers no longer dominate the world auto market and many department stores are in financial turmoil. There are striking parallels in the decisions leading to the decline of these two industries. Based on Detroit's experience, we look into the future of department store retailing. Fortunately, while department stores have mirrored the mistakes of others, they can also adopt the survival techniques which are helping U.S. care manufacturers reach for success.

New Zealand Consumers' Attitudes Toward Imported Products

This paper investigates the foreign product image of New Zealand consumers, to determine how these “made in” stereotypes are formed. A survey of 208 New Zealand respondents from the Greater Auckland area were analyzed to determine what were the general attitudes of these consumers toward products form specific foreign countries, and whether these attitudes were product specific. The specific products studies studied were automobiles, televisions, clothing, food, home appliances and toys. The countries studied were New Zealand, Australia, S. Korea, the United Kingdom, W. Germany, Japan and the United States. This research revealed that a consumer's attitudes about the quality of the automobile produced by a particular country produced a “halo effect” that covered all products from that country. This finding suggests that a country's efforts to penetrate the New Zealand auto market will have far-reaching effects on all products from that country.

Why Should Manufacturers Want Fair Trade II?

Previous articleNext article No AccessWhy Should Manufacturers Want Fair Trade II?Lester G. TelserLester G. Telser Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Law and Economics Volume 33, Number 2Oct., 1990 Sponsored by The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and The University of Chicago Law School Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/467211 Views: 16Total views on this site Citations: 22Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1990 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Yuyun Zhong, Wenjing Shen, Oben Ceryan Information provision under showrooming and webrooming, Omega 114 (Jan 2023): 102724.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2022.102724Nikolay A. Dentchev Inclusive Business Models: Building Business Ecosystems for Resolving Deep-Rooted Sustainability Problems, (Nov 2020): 561–570.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95867-5_42Nikolay A. Dentchev Inclusive Business Models: Building Business Ecosystems for Resolving Deep-Rooted Sustainability Problems, (Jun 2020): 1–10.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71058-7_42-1Roger D. Blair, Joseph Whitman Resale price maintenance: A managerial perspective, Managerial and Decision Economics 39, no.77 (Sep 2018): 751–760.https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.2920John S. Heywood, Shiqiang Wang, Guangliang Ye Resale price maintenance and spatial price discrimination, International Journal of Industrial Organization 57 (Mar 2018): 147–174.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2018.02.001David E. Mills Inducing Cooperation with a Carrot Instead of a Stick, Review of Industrial Organization 50, no.22 (Jan 2017): 245–261.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-017-9563-2Tommy Staahl Gabrielsen, Bjørn Olav Johansen Resale Price Maintenance with Secret Contracts and Retail Service Externalities, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics 9, no.11 (Feb 2017): 63–87.https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.20140280Junji Xiao, Heng Ju The determinants of dealership structure: Empirical analysis of the Chinese auto market, Journal of Comparative Economics 44, no.44 (Nov 2016): 961–981.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2016.04.001Geoff Meeks Elzinga Frederic M. Scherer on vertical agreements: staking out the middle ground on resale price maintenance°, ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE , no.11 (Mar 2014): 105–119.https://doi.org/10.3280/POLI2014-001006Surinder Tikoo, Bruce Mather The changed legality of resale price maintenance and pricing implications, Business Horizons 54, no.55 (Sep 2011): 415–423.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2010.12.001Giorgio Zanarone Vertical Restraints and the Law: Evidence from Automobile Franchising Zanarone, The Journal of Law and Economics 52, no.44 (Jul 2015): 691–700.https://doi.org/10.1086/595765Hsiu-Li Chen Gray Marketing: Does It Hurt the Manufacturers?, Atlantic Economic Journal 37, no.11 (Oct 2008): 23–35.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-008-9154-6Pierre-Olivier Pineau Commerce équitable, Gestion Vol. 33, no.11 (Mar 2008): 50–58.https://doi.org/10.3917/riges.331.0050Ricardo M. Paredes Vertical Control in Newly Regulated Economies, Latin American Business Review 3, no.11 (Jan 2002): 91–113.https://doi.org/10.1300/J140v03n01_05Lester G. Telser Resale Price Maintenance, (Jan 2017): 1723–1727.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-74173-1_326 David A. Butz and Andrew N. Kleit Are Vertical Restraints Pro‐ or Anticompetitive? Lessons from Interstate Circuit Butz/Kleit, The Journal of Law and Economics 44, no.11 (Jul 2015): 131–160.https://doi.org/10.1086/320277Peter Newman R, (Jan 1998): 205–394.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14286-6_3Franklin G. Mixon, Kamal P. Upadhyaya Advertising as special service provision under non-price vertical restraints: exclusive territories in beer distribution, Applied Economics 28, no.44 (Oct 2010): 433–439.https://doi.org/10.1080/000368496328560Benjamin Klein The economics of franchise contracts, Journal of Corporate Finance 2, no.1-21-2 (Oct 1995): 9–37.https://doi.org/10.1016/0929-1199(95)00003-Q Tim R. Sass , and David S. Saurman Mandated Exclusive Territories and Economic Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis of the Malt-Beverage Industry, The Journal of Law and Economics 36, no.1, Part 11, Part 1 (Oct 2015): 153–177.https://doi.org/10.1086/467269John E. Calfee, Paul H. Rubin Nontransactional data in managerial economics and marketing, Managerial and Decision Economics 14, no.22 (Mar 1993): 163–173.https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4090140208Joseph T. Mahoney The choice of organizational form: Vertical financial ownership versus other methods of vertical integration, Strategic Management Journal 13, no.88 (Nov 1992): 559–584.https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250130802

The second wave arrives: Japanese strategy in the U.S. auto parts market

The second wave arrives: Japanese strategy in the U.S. auto parts market

Understanding How American Consumers Formulate Their Attitudes About Foreign Products

This paper investigates the foreign product image of American consumers, to determine how these made in stereotypes are formed. A mail survey of 359 U.S. respondents from several geographic areas of the United States were analyzed to determine what were the general attitudes of these consumers towards products from specific foreign countries, whether these attitudes were product specific and what demographic factors were associated with these attitudes. This research revealed that a consumer's attitudes about the quality of the automobile produced by a particular country produced a halo effect that covered all prodcuts from that country. This findings suggests that a country's efforts to penetrate the U.S. auto market will have far-reaching effects on all prodcuts from that country.

On the Line: Essays in the History of Auto Work ed. by Nelson Lichtenstein, Stephen Meyer

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 317 hemoths. One could argue, for example, that the big three’s commitment to massive cars originated in GM’s redefinition of auto marketing in the 1920s. “Sloanism” combined GM’s mix oflow- to high-priced models with advertising that emphasized the automobile as status symbol. Sloanist marketing climaxed each year in the spectacular striptease of the fall model unveilings, a social ritual in which Chrysler and Ford soon par­ ticipated with full vigor. From this perspective, Sloanism represents an economically rational response to the 1920s saturation of the virgin car market. To sustain mass- production profitability, manufacturers had to wean consumers from Ford’s unchanging (and unstylish) Model T and to whet their appetite for next year’s sexy arrivals. Davis also ignores a key dimension of Henry Ford’s motivation. While Ford’s Model T clearly “democratized” automobile ownership during its heyday, Ford’s other great innovation—the moving assem­ bly line—moved in a radically undemocratic direction as skilled artisans were replaced by highly regulated line workers whose adult judgment about the production process was treated with contempt. Davis rightly calls attention to Ford’s hostility toward Detroit’s elite class, but he ignores Ford paternalism, best seen in his mix of house visitations to Americanize immigrant workers and his notorious antiunion spy system. Ford’s passion for dictatorial control dwarfs, for me at least, his maverick identification with the common man. Davis gives us a fascinating close reading of the tangled and tumultuous relationships of Detroit’s changing automotive aristoc­ racy. He successfully challenges the paradigm that sees the early industry as the preserve of poorly capitalized, self-made entrepre­ neurs. For that we stand in his debt. By demonstrating the connection between the social status of auto manufacturers and the cars they produced, he enhances our awareness of the power of the automobile as an American symbol. Finally, his study provides a provocative explanation for Detroit’s peculiar and troubled fortunes after 1930. Unfortunately, Davis’s love affair with his conspicuous production model mars his reading of this endlessly fascinating and complex chapter in America’s technological history. John M. Staudenmaier, S.J. Dr. Staudenmaier is associate professor of the history of technology at the University of Detroit. On the Line: Essays in the History of Auto Work. Edited by Nelson Lichtenstein and Stephen Meyer. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1989. Pp. 256; illustrations, notes, index. $32.50 (cloth); $12.95 (paper). This collection of nine original essays has much to recommend it to students of the history of labor, technology, business, and industrial 318 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE relations. It should also interest readers concerned with the future of the American economy and its industrial work force. Although the focus of each essay varies, the volume attains unity through a continuing attention to the issue of fordism, the integrated, contin­ uous flow system of mass production that relied on single-purpose machines, minute division of labor, and specialization of task and was historically associated with the employment of large numbers of unskilled immigrant workers. These essays are devoted to a multifac­ eted analysis of the relationship between Fordism, the development of technology, and the particular history and culture of auto workers, managers, and inventors. The result is an analysis of the nature of automobile work that sees it as “the product not only of market forces and technological change but also of the social consciousness and political choices auto workers and auto managers bring to the production process” (p. 14). Nelson Lichtenstein and Stephen Meyer are to be particularly commended for highlighting the value of a comparative approach to labor history. Their collection opens with an essay by Wayne Lewchuk which concludes that, starting with the same technology but employ­ ing very different workers, America developed Fordism, and Britain a system of worker self-management. In the final essay, Jonathan Zeitlin and Steven Tolliday reexamine the prevailing view that British auto workers exercised shop-floor power and Americans did not. Arguing that American historians have greatly exaggerated the extent of British workers’ shop-floor power, Zeitlin and Tolliday also argue that American workers developed power over the shop...

Conspicuous Production: Automobiles and Elites in Detroit, 1899–1933 by Donald Finlay Davis

316 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Conspicuous Production: Automobiles and Elites in Detroit, 1899—1933. By Donald Finlay Davis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988. Pp. xiii+ 282; illustrations, tables, notes, index. $29.95. Despite repeated calls for studies of technological failures, histori­ ans of technology rarely address that provocative model. Failures matter primarily because their stories tell us a great deal about the contingent character of technological successes; they remind us that things need not have turned out as they have. Donald Davis attempts just such a task, chronicling the failure of Detroit’s turn-of-thecentury elite to maintain control of the automobile industry and, eventually, of their city. In the process he challenges a major paradigm for U.S. automotive history—“the myth that the founders of the American automotive industry were mostly self-made men” (p. 13). Davis argues that Detroit’s auto-manufacturing founders were not typified by Henry Ford and James Couzens, or by the New Yorkbased managers of General Motors and Chrysler. The magnitude of their eventual success, together with the mythic quality of Henry Ford, have blinded historians to the essentially patrician origins of the city’s dominant industry. Thus they obscure the story of Detroit’s failed auto aristocracy. For Davis that failure reveals the profoundly symbolic power of automotive production and helps explain the peculiar 20th-century fortunes of the nation’s Motor City. The argument, in brief, runs as follows: Almost all the early Detroit auto manufacturers succumbed to a passion for “conspicuous pro­ duction,” which, much like the “conspicuous consumption” from which the term is taken, sought to reaffirm elite status by manufac­ turing upscale cars fit only for their peers. Luxury cars proved such a small segment of the market that by 1910 most manufacturers sold their holdings, leaving the field open to the maverick Henry Ford and the non-Detroit leadership of General Motors and Chrysler. Bitter hostility between Ford (and his lieutenant James Couzens) and the city’s establishment, together with CM and Chrysler’s indifference to the city’s internal fate, led to a crushing defeat when the elite’s economic power base in the city’s banking system collapsed during the depth of the Great Depression. All this makes a great deal of sense and adds considerably to a revisionist interpretation of the origins of the auto industry and to the history of Detroit as a unique American city. Davis also raises provocative questions about the role of the automobile as an Ameri­ can symbol. His hypothesis adds a nuance to the commonplace observation that the automobile operates more as an ego enhancer, a symbolic vehicle for social and sexual status, than as a physical tool for the movement of bodies and freight. On the other hand, Davis’s single-minded pursuit of the conspicuous production hypothesis seems to have led him to overlook other major factors that help explain Detroit’s penchant for showy, gas-guzzling be­ TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 317 hemoths. One could argue, for example, that the big three’s commitment to massive cars originated in GM’s redefinition of auto marketing in the 1920s. “Sloanism” combined GM’s mix oflow- to high-priced models with advertising that emphasized the automobile as status symbol. Sloanist marketing climaxed each year in the spectacular striptease of the fall model unveilings, a social ritual in which Chrysler and Ford soon par­ ticipated with full vigor. From this perspective, Sloanism represents an economically rational response to the 1920s saturation of the virgin car market. To sustain mass- production profitability, manufacturers had to wean consumers from Ford’s unchanging (and unstylish) Model T and to whet their appetite for next year’s sexy arrivals. Davis also ignores a key dimension of Henry Ford’s motivation. While Ford’s Model T clearly “democratized” automobile ownership during its heyday, Ford’s other great innovation—the moving assem­ bly line—moved in a radically undemocratic direction as skilled artisans were replaced by highly regulated line workers whose adult judgment about the production process was treated with contempt. Davis rightly calls attention to Ford’s hostility toward Detroit’s elite class, but he ignores Ford paternalism, best seen...

Managing resources for world-class performance.

In the race for dominance in the world auto market, Japan recently introduced two new luxury cars. Although only a few thousand have reached the United States, some industry experts predict the advanced, fuel‐efficient, 160‐mile‐per‐hour cars will soon become the ultimate standard in automotive technology.

Women, Work, and Family Life

Rudy Acu?a. Mann, author of Taking on General Motors (1988), described the dramatic campaign to keep GM Van Nuys open; Acu?a, Professor of Mexican American Studies (California State University, Northridge), stressed the role of minority workers and the black and brown Los Angeles communities in building a strong city-wide coalition, powerful enough to make the threat to boycott GM products in the huge Los Angeles auto market an effective bargaining ploy. Acu?a stressed the role of Luis Olivares and other clergy in building community support. With twenty workshops, three plenaries, and over eighty panelists and speakers, SWLSA '88 was one ofthe more successful of recent conferences. AFL CIO state leader John Henning and Los Angeles Times labor editor Harry Bernstein both addressed plenary meetings. A sampling of papers includes one on socialism in the 1910-11 San Diego elections by Leonard Pitt (CSU, Northridge); excerpts from a prize-winning book on minority labor struggles in the Pacific by Ed Beechert (Hawaii); a look at Harry Bridges's struggles with the law in San Francisco by Bob Cherny (CSU, San Francisco); and a report on the lives of working people of Philadelphia from 1750 to 1800 by Billie G. Smith (Montana). This mixture of scholarly and activist reports is the hallmark ofthe SWLSA, which, from its beginning, has welcomed members, and drawn its leadership from both academia and the workplace. The 1988 meeting at Loyola Marymount drew close to four-hundred participants; fittingly, on the second day of the conference, two-hundred students from a community college program for working adults swelled the attendance. Professor Sally Miller (University of the Pacific) is SWLSA President. Frank Strieker (CSU, Dominguez Hills) chaired a very active conference committee.

Top 50 Chemicals Production Turned Back Up in 1987

A surge in exports of chemicals last year helped boost U.S. chemical output dramatically. According to C&EN's annual ranking of the 50 largest-volume chemical products, total production in that group in 1987 increased 5.5% from 1986 to 567 billion lb. This marked a dramatic improvement over 1986 when total production of the Top 50 chemicals dropped 0.9% from the previous year. The recovery was all the more dramatic considering that last year imports continued to grow, but at a much slower rate than they did in previous years. A decline in the value of the dollar helped make U.S. chemicals more attractive to overseas purchasers, and thus U.S. export volume increased markedly. Demand in the U.S. markets for chemicals did little to produce the dramatic improvement in overall chemical production. The housing market was virtually flat. The auto market was down moderately. However, the U.S. farm economy began to stir and showed some small signs ...

Modeling market share: A study of the Japanese and U.S. performance in the U.S. auto market

The Japanese automobile industry has achieved a considerable market share in the United States over the past fifteen years. This study seeks to explain this success by using a market share model with the marketing mix as independent variables resulting in product quality and price, individually and jointly, explaining the majority of the variance.