Competitive Asymmetry Research Articles

Competitive Asymmetry Among B-schools Based on Graduate Outcome and Institute Financial Performance: The Need for Academic Parity

Competitive Asymmetry Among B-schools Based on Graduate Outcome and Institute Financial Performance: The Need for Academic Parity

The three-species problem: Incorporating competitive asymmetry and intransitivity in modern coexistence theory.

While natural communities can contain hundreds of species, modern coexistence theory focuses primarily on species pairs. Alternatively, the structural stability approach considers the feasibility of equilibria, gaining scalability to larger communities but sacrificing information about dynamic stability. Three-species competitive communities are a bridge to more-diverse communities. They display novel phenomena while remaining amenable to mathematical analysis, but remain incompletely understood. Here, we combine these approaches to identify the key quantities that determine three-species competition outcomes. We show that pairwise niche overlap and fitness differences are insufficient to completely characterize competitive outcomes, which requires a strictly triplet-wise quantity: cyclic asymmetry, which underlies intransitivity. Low pairwise niche overlap stabilizes the triplet, while high fitness differences promote competitive exclusion. The effect of cyclic asymmetry on stability is complex and depends on pairwise niche overlap. In summary, we elucidate how pairwise niche overlap, fitness differences and cyclic asymmetry determine three-species competition outcomes.

Fast-slow traits predict competition network structure and its response to resources and enemies.

Plants interact in complex networks but how network structure depends on resources, natural enemies and species resource-use strategy remains poorly understood. Here, we quantified competition networks among 18 plants varying in fast-slow strategy, by testing how increased nutrient availability and reduced foliar pathogens affected intra- and inter-specific interactions. Our results show that nitrogen and pathogens altered several aspects of network structure, often in unexpected ways due to fast and slow growing species responding differently. Nitrogen addition increased competition asymmetry in slow growing networks, as expected, but decreased it in fast growing networks. Pathogen reduction made networks more even and less skewed because pathogens targeted weaker competitors. Surprisingly, pathogens and nitrogen dampened each other's effect. Our results show that plant growth strategy is key to understand how competition respond to resources and enemies, a prediction from classic theories which has rarely been tested by linking functional traits to competition networks.

Rapid life-history evolution reinforces competitive asymmetry between invasive and resident species

Rapid life-history evolution reinforces competitive asymmetry between invasive and resident species

Competitive asymmetries, birthing asynchrony and sibling rivalry in a social lizard

Family life often involves interactions between individuals who have different fitness goals, leading to conflict. Resolution of this conflict is key for the stabilisation of family life. Here, we used a lizard, Liopholis whitii, that lives in facultative family groups to characterise the nature and extent of sibling conflict and test the role that individual and litter characteristics play in shaping conflict between family members. We found significant variation in conflict between family groups, specifically in relation to siblings. In approximately half of the litters, siblings were aggressive towards one another, while in the other half of litters, there was no aggression observed between siblings. There were no differences between aggressive and non-aggressive litters in the key factors predicted to mediate conflict, including sex, offspring size, or litter size. However, in aggressive litters, the maximum amount of within-litter conflict decreased with an increase in the spread between births of siblings. First-born offspring were significantly more likely to be aggressive towards their siblings compared to second and third born offspring. While one offspring was usually the target of that aggression, we found no evidence that any individual-level factor predicted who received aggression. In aggressive litters, aggressive offspring spent a greater amount of time with their mother compared to non-aggressive offspring. Similar asymmetries in the amount of time offspring spent with their mother between siblings were also observed in non-aggressive litters. Combined, our results suggest that birth order is the main driver of sibling conflict in aggressive litters in this facultatively social lizard species, suggesting that birthing asynchrony may provide females with a mechanism to manage conflict.Significance statementConflict is a ubiquitous aspect of family life; it occurs between adults, between parents and offspring as well as between siblings. We show that the extent of conflict between siblings varies considerably within and between families in a lizard that exhibits prolonged associations between parents and offspring. We found no effects of offspring sex or size on within or between litter conflict. Instead, the number of days that passed between the birth of offspring appears to be the main factor that influences how much conflict there is between siblings. Furthermore, birth order was the main factor predicting which offspring was dominant. Combined this suggests that birthing asynchrony, the ability of females to spread out births across multiple days, may play a crucial role in the management of conflict in this system. As the moderation of conflict is crucial for the stabilisation of family life, these results provide important insights into the early evolution of social life.

Weather influences survival probability in two coexisting mammals directly and indirectly via competitive asymmetry.

Ecologists have studied the role of interspecific competition in structuring ecological communities for decades. Differential weather effects on animal competitors may be a particularly important factor contributing to the outcome of competitive interactions, though few studies have tested this hypothesis in free-ranging animals. Specifically, weather might influence competitive dynamics by altering competitor densities and/or per-capita competitive effects on demographic vital rates. We used a 9-year data set of marked individuals to test for direct and interactive effects of weather and competitor density on survival probability in two coexisting mammalian congeners: Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus) and northern Idaho ground squirrels (Urocitellus brunneus). Ambient temperature and precipitation influenced survival probability in both species, but the effects of weather differed between the two species. Moreover, density of the larger Columbian ground squirrel negatively impacted survival probability in the smaller northern Idaho ground squirrel (but not vice versa), and the strength of the negative effect was exacerbated by precipitation. That is, cooler, wetter conditions benefited the larger competitor to the detriment of the smaller species. Our results suggest weather-driven environmental variation influences the competitive equilibrium between ecologically similar mammals of differential body size. Whether future climate change leads to the competitive exclusion of either species will likely depend on the mechanism(s) explaining the coexistence of these competing species. Divergent body size and, hence, differences in thermal tolerance and giving up densities offer potential explanations for the weather-dependent competitive asymmetry we documented, especially if the larger species competitively excludes the smaller species from habitat patches of shared preference via interference.

Sexual competition and light regimes interactively affect dimorphism and competitiveness of opposite sexes in Populus yunnanensis

Light, as the most important energy and environmental signal, exerts crucial impacts on plant-plant interactions and the composition of plant communities. However, little attention has been paid to understanding how females and males respond to sexual competition under different light conditions. In this study, we investigated morphological and physiological parameters between two sexes of Populus yunnanensis under intra- and intersexual competition in two light regimes, i.e., full light and shading conditions (equal to 55% full light). Under full-light conditions, males grown under intersexual competition exhibited greater above-ground biomass accumulation, specific leaf area (SLA), root-to-shoot ratio (R/S), non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) utilization efficiency, and a higher ability to maintain the balance of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content compared to females. These eco-physiological responses confer males with a competitive advantage over females under sufficient light conditions. In contrast, there were no significant sex-specific differences in biomass accumulation and relative competitive intensity (RCI) values under shade treatment. Under shading, the opposite sexes of P. yunnanensis exhibited mutual suppression of each other to varying degrees, showing similar competitive potential. These results demonstrate that the performance of plants in terms of morphology and physiology is strongly affected by patterns of sexual competition and light regimes. The asymmetry in sexual competition might be a crucial factor influencing the biased sex ratio of P. yunnanensis in natural habitats.

Cross-listing and predation risk in product markets

This study examines the relationship between cross-listing and product market predation risk by using cross-listed firm-level data in both A and H shares. Results investigate that firms which cross-listing in different capital markets could significantly alleviate the threat of predatory from rivals in the product market. Consistent with competitive advantage and information asymmetry hypotheses, the mechanism analysis shows that higher competitive position and better subsequent corporate accounting information environment may lead to lower predation risk for cross-listed firms. Moreover, subsample evidence suggests that cross-listing is more likely to be used as a device to decline predatory threats in countries with incomplete markets with more government intervention, higher judicial civilization, and greater financial development. Cross-listing could also decrease the firms' stock price crash risk in the capital market. Lastly, research findings offer powerful evidence and references to firms in emerging markets attempting to cross-list in other developed markets.

Competitive asymmetry in a forest composed of a shade-tolerant species depends on gap formation

Competitive asymmetry is one of the most important determinants of size structure in plant communities. Light competition was believed to be size-asymmetric, as taller individuals preempt light. In fact, many studies indicated that light competition is size-asymmetric in monospecific stands of herbaceous plants. However, competition is size-symmetric in multispecific stands because shorter, shade-adapted species compensate for the low light availability through higher leaf area per aboveground mass (leaf area ratio; LAR) or higher light use efficiency for growth (LUE). Then, a question arises on whether light competition is asymmetric or symmetric if the stand is occupied by a shade-tolerant species. Moreover, it is also interesting how gap dynamics affect competitive asymmetry, given the fact that gap formation can improve light availability in lower layers of the canopy. We investigated the plant size, growth rate, and three-dimensional distribution of foliage and light availability in a natural forest dominated by a shade-tolerant tree, Fagus crenata. We found that competitive asymmetry varied dynamically across the forest. In closed canopies, the relative growth rate (RGR) was higher in taller trees, indicating size-asymmetric growth. Shorter trees partly compensated for their light interception by having higher LAR but did not achieve comparative RGR to taller trees. Conversely, in gaps, the RGR of shorter trees was equivalent to those of taller trees because of the improved light availability for smaller trees, indicating size-symmetric growth. These results suggest that changes in competitive asymmetry driven by gap dynamics can influence the spatiotemporal diversity of size structures in forests.

Tourism coopetition for a better world: a cycle of creation, appropriation, and devolution of social value

ABSTRACT Coopetition is a win-win game to obtain competitive advantages through value creation and appropriation. Strategic networks for tourism development must consider who benefits from the value created, which in this case is society. This research examines the effects of tourism coopetition on the social value cycle, creation-appropriation and devolution of value to society. The methodology used is quantitative, through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Data collection was carried out in Areia City, Brazil, a historical heritage tourism destination, and the sample includes 539 respondents. Results demonstrated that tourism coopetition could lead to the same benefits as social businesses and provide social value devolution if it focuses on society-centric tourism development. Practical implications indicated drivers generate social value for tourism. Besides creating and devolving value to society, coopetition in tourism indirectly improves the appropriation of the collective value created by the networks. It is another way of balancing the negative impacts of competition or societal asymmetries. Furthermore, this study developed the concepts of tourism social value creation, appropriation, devolution and society-centric tourism development, which are fundamental contributions from the tourism sector.

Fitness and niche differences are both important in explaining responses of plant diversity to nutrient addition.

Plant species loss due to eutrophication is a common phenomenon in temperate perennial grasslands. It occurs in a non-random fashion and is usually explained by increased competitive size asymmetry between co-occurring winner (tall species with optima in productive habitats) and loser species (small-statured plants typical for unproductive habitats). It remains unclear why nutrient addition decreases diversity in communities consisting of losers only, whereas it has little effect on winner-only communities. Here, I used the framework of modern coexistence theory to explore fertilization-driven changes in fitness and niche differences between different combinations of field-identified winner (W) and loser (L) species. I experimentally estimated competition parameters for plant species pairs constructed from a pool of eight species, including pairs of species from the same (WW, LL) and different species categories (LW) grown for approximately two years in control and fertilized conditions. Concurrently, I also followed plant species diversity in mesocosm communities constructed from the same species pool (four-species communities including winners, losers, or both) exposed to control and nutrient addition. I found that nutrient addition can reduce but, unexpectedly, also promote species coexistence depending on the type of species pairs. Whereas nutrient addition eroded coexistence of losers with winners, but also with other losers, treatment had the opposite effect on the persistence of winner species. Fertilization induced large fitness differences between species in loser-winner and loser-loser combinations, but had little effect on the fitness differences of species within the winner-winner combination. In addition, the persistence of winner pairs was promoted by larger niche differences compared to loser species, irrespective of soil nutrients. The differences in how nutrient addition modified coexistence at the pairwise level was reflected by differences in evenness of multispecies communities assembled from the corresponding species categories. These results suggest that the effect of eutrophication on plant species richness cannot simply be explained by an increased competitive asymmetry. To fully understand the effect of fertilization on the diversity of temperate grasslands, interspecific and intraspecific interactions should be explored while considering differences in species' ecological optima. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Seasonality and competition select for variable germination behavior in perennials.

The occurrence of within-population variation in germination behavior and associated traits such as seed size has long fascinated evolutionary ecologists. In annuals, unpredictable environments are known to select for bet-hedging strategies causing variation in dormancy duration and germination strategies. Variation in germination timing and associated traits is also commonly observed in perennials, and often tracks gradients of environmental predictability. Although bet-hedging is thought to occur less frequently in long-lived organisms, these observations suggest a role of bet-hedging strategies in perennials occupying unpredictable environments. We use complementary analytical and evolutionary simulation models of within-individual variation in germination behavior in seasonal environments to show how bet-hedging interacts with fluctuating selection, life-history traits, and competitive asymmetries among germination strategies. We reveal substantial scope for bet-hedging to produce variation in germination behavior in long-lived plants, when "false starts" to the growing season results in either competitive advantages or increased mortality risk for alternative germination strategies. Additionally, we find that lowering adult survival may, in contrast to classic bet-hedging theory, result in less spreading of germination by decreasing density-dependent competition. These models extend insights from bet-hedging theory to perennials and explore how competitive communities may be affected by ongoing changes in climate and seasonality patterns.

A reverse mechanism of advance selling driven by information asymmetry and competition

Enlightened by popular online business practices emerging in recent years, we aim to investigate a problem involving a flipped procedure in contrast with traditional advance selling, which is referred to as “reverse advance selling” (RAS) in this paper. We consider competition and information asymmetry in the market and discuss how they affect the decisions in reverse advance selling. We propose two models to evaluate the benefits of RAS and to characterize the conditions that optimize the pricing and ordering policies for retailers under competition. Furthermore, we examine the impact of factors such as market share, online review, and waiting time and provide insights for retailers to make decisions. The results demonstrate the advantage of adopting RAS when retailers or customers face uncertainty and it is beneficial to update review information. This paper also finds that market share positively affects the profit as well as the ordering quantities of the retailer, while online reviews have opposite impacts on its discount and ordering decisions. The results can guide retailers to make flexible ordering plans that better cater to market demand.

Effects of brood and group size on nestling provisioning and resource allocation in a communal bird

Abstract Resource limitations, either due to environmental conditions or constraints on parental provisioning effort, can drive intense competition among offspring. In communal groups, resource availability may increase if parents receive assistance from other group members; however, if those caregivers also produce young, offspring demand may increase at the same time. It is possible, therefore, that the costs of intrabrood competition in large broods may outweigh the benefits of provisioning from additional caregivers. We tested the relationships between group size, brood size, and provisioning rates in the greater ani (Crotophaga major), a communally nesting cuckoo in which multiple breeding pairs and nonreproductive helpers cooperatively raise a shared brood. Crucially, brood and group size can vary independently in this species, allowing us to test changes in each variable separately. Using video footage of 2255 prey deliveries across 10 nests, we found that an increase in the number of adult caregivers within a group did not sufficiently offset a corresponding increase in the number of dependent young within a brood: prey availability per average nestling decreased with brood size, regardless of group size. In larger broods, last-hatched nestlings received significantly less prey than their broodmates, in part due to greater hatching asynchrony that exacerbated competitive asymmetries and facilitated inequality in food allocation. Our results indicate that last-hatched ani nestlings suffer a “double cost” in large broods: they must compete with more nestmates, and suffer disproportionately from asynchronous hatching. These costs may contribute to increased parent–offspring conflict and may constrain group size in communal breeders.

Does competitive asymmetry confer polyploid advantage under changing environments?

Abstract Competitive interactions drive critical ecological processes in plant communities. Yet, how competitive interactions are influenced by polyploidy that has a widespread incidence in plants remains largely unknown. To evaluate the hypothesis of competitive asymmetry between polyploids and diploids, we competed tetraploid and diploid plants of perennial herbaceous Chrysanthemum indicum L. (Asteraceae) at different relative frequencies under contrasting soil water contents. We quantified the interaction intensity between competing plants of the same (intraploidy) and different ploidy levels (interploidy), and measured functional traits related to gas exchange and plant water use to understand the underlying mechanisms. The stronger competitive effect of tetraploids on diploids than that of diploids on tetraploids provided evidence for the competitive asymmetry. As a stronger competitor, tetraploids were limited more by individuals of their own than by diploids. Such competitive asymmetry was not only maintained under reduced soil water content, but also translated into higher above‐ground biomass of tetraploids. Tetraploids showed more resource‐acquisitive traits than diploids under high soil water content and more resource‐conservative traits under reduced soil water content. As such, the higher trait plasticity in tetraploids than diploids likely explained the competitive asymmetry. Synthesis. These results elucidate the nature and magnitude of species interactions between polyploid and diploid plants under changing environments and the underlying mechanisms, and provide important insights into the prevalence and persistence of polyploid plants under a changing climate.

Stronger effect of individual species’ traits than shading on aquatic plant community productivity and interspecific competition

Competition is one of the major factors structuring plant communities. Species with similar traits generally compete more intensely and have more similar yield than functionally dissimilar species, which often respond differently to environmental change. Little is known about how the interacting species’ traits influence the effect of environmental change on interspecific competition. However, theory predicts that environmental change should lead to more asymmetric competition, by favouring the species best adapted to the particular environmental change. Here we used a mesocosm experiment with three common aquatic plant species from the Baltic Sea (Northern Europe), to test how community productivity and competition asymmetry were affected by functional dissimilarity, individual species’ traits and a common stressor: shading. Competition asymmetry was defined as the absolute difference in reductions in yield relative to monocultures of two interacting species. Community productivity decreased and competition asymmetry increased with functional dissimilarity of the interacting species, possibly explained by the traits of the superior species, which had higher specific leaf area, maximum canopy height and primary production rate than the subordinate species. Community productivity was not affected by shading, contrary to our expectation, while competition asymmetry was higher in shaded than ambient conditions. Individual species yield depended on species identity and species combination. Only the shortest species was negatively affected by shading. Thus, by favouring tall-growing species, shading can alter interspecific competition. Together, these findings suggest that non-random species loss following environmental change can be caused by competitive exclusion, in addition to a direct effect of abiotic filtering.

Impact of reverse channel competition, individual rationality, and information asymmetry on multi-channel closed-loop supply chain design

Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are focusing on remanufactured product business to improve their profitability and are using a multi-channel recollection strategy to improve recollection efficiency. Motivated by this phenomenon, we study a closed-loop supply chain consisting of an OEM, a retailer and a third-party vendor (3V) where the OEM designs an efficient multi-channel recollection structure when recollection agents competitively recollect used products. We analyze three different return channel structures under simultaneous influence of competition, collection efficiencies, individual rationality and information asymmetry. Our key findings are as follows: (i) OEM employs multiple recollection agents only if the recollection competition is low, (ii) OEM’s profit level is maximum when it recollects used products with one external agent (either a 3V or a retailer), (iii) with individual rationality constraint, there exist threshold cost values for both the OEM and retailer below which they do not trade and these values increase in consumer’s valuation of remanufactured products, (iv) OEM improves profitability by gathering information about external recollection agent’s cost coefficient; if the OEM engages only external agents for recollection, then the value of this information is zero, (v) when both competition and recollection cost are low, OEM prefers to recollect with one external agent and when recollection cost is high, OEM completely outsources recollection. We test the robustness of our findings by studying the influence of various channel coordinating contracts on the forward and reverse channels and the influence of quality and quantity dependent transfer pricing on the design of the multi-channel recollection.

FEATURES OF THE REGIONAL MARKET CARGO TRANSPORTATION MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN KHERSON REGION

Objective. The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the development of the regional freight transportation market in the Kherson region, taking into account advanced transportation technologies and assessing the concentration of the freight transportation market. Design/methodology/approach. The following research methods were used: problem-oriented (in terms of identifying the problems of the freight transportation market and factors influencing it); logical generalization, analysis and synthesis (to formulate conclusions about the prospects for the development of the multimodal freight transportation market in the region); structural and factual analysis (to analyze the structure and dynamics of freight transportation parameters); index method (to determine the concentration of the regional multimodal freight transportation market using indices). Conclusions. The analysis of the elemental structure of the logistics system of the Kherson region with the participation of water transport showed a developed infrastructure of cargo transportation and ample opportunities for focusing participants around the centers of the transportation process. The asymmetry of price competition for access to port berths and roadside transshipment was revealed, which distorts equal working conditions for cargo transportation market participants and modifies the structure of cargo transshipment and, accordingly, the centers of dominance in the target markets of multimodal transportation. Prioritizing the export of bulk cargo and import of containerized cargo in the Kherson region requires the development of a transport policy that would ensure the freight independence of cargo flows, and the identified unstable dynamics of the geography of transportation routes in the region requires the expansion of alternatives for choosing parameters and directions for the development of transportation technologies for servicing local cargo flows. It is also necessary to balance the existing advanced development of the grain cargo delivery infrastructure against the capacity of their one-time storage in grain terminals in ports. It has been established that the multimodal transportation market of the Kherson region (as of 2021) is characterized by an uneven distribution of market shares between transport enterprises, is highly concentrated, with a low level of competition and the threat of monopolization. Market power in the “market core” is evenly distributed among PJSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”, SE “Kherson Commercial Sea Port”, and LLC JV “Nibulon”. The Herfindahl – Hirschman index confirmed the concentration of power among these three enterprises, identified by the concentration index, which amounted to 80.87 %. The lower share of the transport sector of the Kherson region in the total economic activity of cranes in the period 2015–2020 in favor of other industries was identified, and therefore the insufficient level of meeting the production and non-production needs of consumers in the region in all types of cargo transportation. Practical implications. The results of this study are of interest to multimodal transportation market operators and cargo owners who are interested in actively implementing the logistics concept in regional development and building multimodal regional clusters. In this way, it is expected to increase the attraction of cargo flows to the regions, the development of competition; employment growth in the freight transportation sector and other related industries. The results of the assessment of the development of multimodal freight transportation can be taken into account by the Logistics Coordination Council under the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine when forming the strategic framework for the development of the country‟s logistics system. Originality/value. Assessment of the concentration of regional markets will provide an analytical basis in the process of forming a mechanism for ensuring the integrated efficiency of multimodal transportation of goods and minimizing interregional asymmetries: in terms of levels of cargo flows in accordance with the stated needs of consumers; the state of transport and logistics infrastructure; availability of all types of vehicles, service levels, etc.

Cascading benefits of mutualists' predators on foundation species: A model inspired by coral reef ecosystems

AbstractMultispecies mutualisms are embedded in a network of interactions that include predation, yet the effects of predation on mutualism function have not been well integrated into mutualism theory. Where predators have been considered, the common prediction is that predators reduce mutualist abundance and, as a consequence, decrease service provision. Here, we use a mathematical model of a predatory fish that consumes two competing coral mutualists to show that predators can also have indirect positive effects on hosts when they preferentially consume competitively dominant mutualists that are also lower in quality. In these cases, predation reverses the outcome of competition, allowing the higher quality mutualist to dominate and enhancing host performance. The direction and strength of predator effects depend on asymmetries in mutualist competition, service provision, and predation vulnerability. Our findings suggest that when the strength of predation shifts (e.g., due to exploitative harvest of top predators, introduction of new species, or range shifts in response to climate change), mutualist communities will exhibit dynamic responses with nonmonotonic effects on host service provision.

More than a feeling: Effects of competitive asymmetry on human emotions

Competitive interactions have important effects on human emotions. Both victory and defeat can evoke a wide range of emotional reactions, including joy, pride, anger, fear, sadness and shame. However, little is known about what determines this variety of contestants’ affective responses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of competitive asymmetry, a common and ecologically relevant feature of animal conflicts, on human emotional responses to winning or losing a contest. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two experiments, the first with high school students (n = 331) and the second with young athletes (n = 73), in which we manipulated the outcomes of successive matches in a non-athletic competition. Thus, by inducing the competitors’ scores, ranging from closer to more decisive outcomes, we were able to define the degree of competitive asymmetry in victory and defeat conditions. We then assessed participants’ emotional responses to a set of affective stimuli. In the defeat condition, we found in both studies an increase in the occurrence of anger and fear due to more symmetric contests. There were also more frequent reports of shame following more decisive defeats (Experiment 1) and of pride following closer victories (Experiment 2), which were seen neither for sadness nor joy in any of the studies. Supporting our hypothesis, emotional reactions triggered by asymmetries among contestants were consistent with the behavioral patterns commonly seen in symmetric and asymmetric animal conflict, such as dominance/aggressive and defensive/escape behaviors.