Competition For Market Share Research Articles

Quality improvement and goodwill accumulation in a dynamic duopoly

This paper analyzes optimal advertising and quality improvement decisions by duopolist firms competing in a dynamic setting. An extended version of the Lanchester model is formulated where conformance quality and goodwill are both involved in competition for market share. Each competitor’s new customer attraction rate depends on its own goodwill, while the disloyalty rate for current customers is influenced by the proportion of defective items. The search for a non-cooperative solution by qualitative as well as numerical means leads to definition of the optimal path for advertising and improvement efforts for each competitor, examined under a wide range of configurations.

An experimental test of strategic trade policy

In this experiment, we analyze the model of strategic trade policy as proposed by [Brander, J.A., Spencer, B., 1985. Export subsidies and international market share rivalry. Journal of International Economics 18, 83–100]. Governments can choose whether or not to subsidize domestic firms, and firms compete in a Cournot duopoly. Although the prediction is that governments subsidize, participants only rarely do so in the experimental markets. Not subsidizing is rational given that firms do not play according to the subgame perfect equilibrium when subsidies are given. In a treatment where firm decisions are made by the computer according to subgame perfection, government subsidies converge to equilibrium.

A model of vertical integration and investment in generation capacity in electricity markets: The case of the bidding game

The aim of this work is to assess the impact of (partial) vertical integration between generators and retailers on generation capacity choice and its subsequent welfare consequences. We present a framework in which final demand is perfectly inelastic and stochastic. Nevertheless, wholesale demand is elastic because of the existence of outside opportunities (mainly international transmission capacity). The model is a three-stage game. Neither transmission nor retail costs are taken into account. In the first stage of the game, generators choose capacity only knowing distribution of demand and thus maximizing their expected profit. The second stage of the game represents the competition for market share between retailers in a market where consumers have switching costs. The former face unknown demand and maximize their utility based on two factors: the expected profit and a risk element. Finally, generators submit bid functions to the system operator given known demand and maximizing their profit during the last stage of the game. Retailers and generators interact in the wholesale market, which is cleared by the system operator whose function is to match supply (represented by the bids of the generators) and demand through a system of single price auctions. The wholesale market is the only means to buy and sell energy; there are no bilateral contracts between firms, except if they are vertically integrated. We compare fully disintegrated and partially vertically integrated structures using a comparative statics approach. In this paper, the analysis will focus on the last stage of the game: the bidding game. We find that partial vertical integration between generators and retailers tends to lower wholesale prices but not unambiguously. Depending on which firm (vertically integrated or disintegrated generator) has installed the higher capacity and depending on level of demand, prices can stay unchanged or even rise.

Aspects of Strategic Forces Affecting Online Banking

Strategically, the use of the Internet is lowering entry costs and removing barriers to entry for many businesses. The lowering of barriers has led to a flood of banks entering the industry, ultimately increasing competition and providing increased value to potential customers. However, most of the traditional banking industry has been slow to join the Internet bandwagon. It is therefore imperative that the roles of information technology in new product/service innovation and development be explored, especially within the online financial industries to verify the concepts of innovation and informational connectivity. Due to both the emergent nature of Webenabled processes within the banking industry, urgency in the business literature to address this type of industry is apparent as well. Once firms have defined their unique activities and choose their position in the market and make their tradeoffs, they are ready to choose the fit that drives both their competitive advantage and sustainability. This is the true final test to completing a corporate strategy. After the completion of this stage, firms are able to become leaders in their businesses. Competitive forces addressed by Porter (1996, 1999, 2001) in the rediscovering strategy within the online banking industry suggest that despite a potential shortfall, competition for market share remains fierce within the online banking industry. The future is certain to contain some dynamic times for the online banking industry. Only time will reveal the appearance of the life cycle of the online banking industry.

ENDOGENOUS EXPORT SUBSIDIES AND WELFARE UNDER DOMESTIC COST HETEROGENEITY

We present a model of international market share rivalry where the domestic export subsidy is determined by lobbying. Greater domestic cost heterogeneity leads to a higher subsidy level and a larger domestic market share. However, the relationship between cost heterogeneity and welfare is ambiguous. Starting from a near‐symmetric situation, an increase in heterogeneity reduces domestic welfare if the number of domestic firms exceeds some critical value. When starting farther from symmetry, the welfare effect is reversed. Our findings are in contrast with the results from the existing literature where lobbying is ignored.

Price and Market-Share Competition of Anti-Ulcer Gastric Medications in the Ohio Medicaid Market

Price and Market-Share Competition of Anti-Ulcer Gastric Medications in the Ohio Medicaid Market

Price and Market-Share Competition of Anti-Ulcer Gastric Medications in the Ohio Medicaid Market

Objectives: Our objectives are (i) to determine whether an increase in competition among companies selling prescription anti-ulcer pharmaceuticals has an impact on drug costs for Ohio Medicaid; (ii) to separate competition’s impact into its effect on generic drugs and its effect on branded drugs; and (iii) to distinguish between inter-drug (market) and intra-drug (generic) competition in their effects on drug-prescription reimbursements and utilisation.

Competition and the Incentive to Produce High Quality

Previous literature indicates that, when quality is a choice variable, firms have an incentive to produce high quality to maintain their reputations with consumers. The strategic interaction among firms and competition for market share is not considered. This paper finds that, when firms compete for market share, perfect equilibria in which firms produce high‐quality goods need not exist. Competition for customers can eliminate the price premium needed to induce firms to maintain a reputation for high‐quality production. In this case, economists and policy analysts should pay greater attention to the interaction among firms and the institutions, such as professional associations, that structure interfirm relations when considering whether firms have an incentive to produce high‐quality goods.

Lack of therapeutic interchangeability of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

To review relevant literature and provide an opinion on the class effect of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins). Primary and review articles were identified by MEDLINE search (1990-July 2002). Editorials, studies, and review articles related to the class effect or therapeutic interchangeability of statins were reviewed. Also included was information that is relevant to this topic. Although statins share common main actions, they may have clinically important differences in terms of efficacy and safety. At fixed or allowable dosages, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, and simvastatin produced greater low-density lipoprotein cholesterol-lowering effects compared with other statins. Some statins have shown reduction in either cardiovascular and/or total mortality. Statins also differ in their structure, pharmacokinetics, potency, and rate of metabolism, any or all of which may have clinical significance. Although inconclusive, subtle differences in nonlipid effects of some statins may have contributed to positive benefits observed in clinical studies. As a result of drug-related deaths, cerivastatin was withdrawn voluntarily from the market, which may raise the question whether there is therapeutic interchangeability (due to class effect) among statins. Despite the competition for market share and strategies attempting to identify differences in therapeutic value, few head-to-head comparisons between statins have been performed. The limited, available data suggest that statins are not therapeutically interchangeable.

Lack of Therapeutic Interchangeability of HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors

OBJECTIVE:To review relevant literature and provide an opinion on the class effect of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins).DATA SOURCES:Primary and review articles were identified by MEDLINE search (1990–July 2002).STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION:Editorials, studies, and review articles related to the class effect or therapeutic interchangeability of statins were reviewed. Also included was information that is relevant to this topic.DATA SYNTHESIS:Although statins share common main actions, they may have clinically important differences in terms of efficacy and safety. At fixed or allowable dosages, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, and simvastatin produced greater low-density lipoprotein cholesterol—lowering effects compared with other statins. Some statins have shown reduction in either cardiovascular and/or total mortality. Statins also differ in their structure, pharmacokinetics, potency, and rate of metabolism, any or all of which may have clinical significance. Although inconclusive, subtle differences in nonlipid effects of some statins may have contributed to positive benefits observed in clinical studies. As a result of drug-related deaths, cerivastatin was withdrawn voluntarily from the market, which may raise the question whether there is therapeutic interchangeability (due to class effect) among statins.CONCLUSIONS:Despite the competition for market share and strategies attempting to identify differences in therapeutic value, few head-to-head comparisons between statins have been performed. The limited, available data suggest that statins are not therapeutically interchangeable.

How cigarette design can affect youth initiation into smoking: Camel cigarettes 1983-93

Context: Internal industry documents may shed light on how cigarettes are designed to promote youth smoking. Objective: To determine changes in the design of Camel cigarettes in the period surrounding...

Global properties of symmetric competition models with riddling and blowout phenomena

In this paper the problem of chaos synchronization, and the related phenomena of riddling, blowout and on–off intermittency, are considered for discrete time competition models with identical competitors. The global properties which determine the different effects of riddling and blowout bifurcations are studied by the method of critical curves, a tool for the study of the global dynamical properties of two‐dimensional noninvertible maps. These techniques are applied to the study of a dynamic market‐share competition model.

Forecasting Adoption and Substitution of Successive Generations of Structural Wood Panel Products in the United States

Abstract A sizable body of literature concerned with technological substitution modeling exists within the domain of forest products. These models have generally been used to develop market share forecasts for various forest products and their substitutes based on relative product prices. Substitution models usually assume that the potential market size is known and that products can freely substitute for one another. A small but growing literature concerned with the diffusion of innovations also exists within the domain of forest products. This diffusion literature typically focuses on factors affecting consumer acceptance for product innovations and forecasting the level of demand growth without constraining the potential market size. In this paper, we examine the dynamic sales behavior of three and four successive generations of structural wood panel products using varying forms of a multigeneration diffusion model. The multigeneration diffusion model introduced here, which encompasses the elements of diffusion and substitution modeling, assumes that a new structural wood panel product will diffuse through a population of potential consumers over time and that market share competition will be introduced with successive generations of structural wood panels. It is important to note that our results are contingent upon the use of domestic production data, which is used as a proxy for domestic consumption. In other words, our results do not factor in net imports. Estimation results indicate that market share competition between various structural wood panel products are differentially impacted by substitution and diffusion effects. We explore the managerial implications of the model results and suggest alternative multigeneration diffusion models that could be developed for structural wood panel products. For. Sci. 45(2):232-248.

Facilitating the Provision of Farm Credit: The Role of Interlocking Transactions Between Traders and Zamindars in Crop Marketing Systems in Sindh

Formal credit institutions in Pakistan have largely failed to provide access to farm credit to small and medium-scale landowners, or zamindars. This paper examines interlocked transactions between traders and landowners in the cotton and wheat markets in Sindh that facilitate the provision of credit by traders. It is concluded that the case examined provides an example where traders lend to landowners in a segment of the credit market that approximates competitive behavior, without surplus extraction by traders. Key conditions resulting in this favorable outcome are the existence of both competition for market share and information sharing on borrowers between traders. Whether this outcome is also beneficial for other rural groups who may borrow from landowners, in particular sharecropping tenants, is independent of market relations between landowners and traders and is not determined here.

Unionization and International Market Share Rivalry: A Paradox

Two exporting firms (domestic and foreign) are considered which are symmetric in all respects except that one is unionized while the other faces a competitive labor market. Under free trade the unionized firm has the lower market share. Paradoxically, in the policy equilibrium, the unionized firm has the larger market share. Consequently, the nation hosting the unionized firm has the higher welfare level.

Information Technology, Process Reengineering, and Performance Measurement: A Balanced Scorecard Analysis of Compaq Computer Corporation

The personal computer industry is characterized by fierce competition for market share. The pace of technological change results in ever-shorter product lives and a continuous search for enhanced efficiency. To achieve these goals, firms must use information technology insightfully to redesign business processes, improve supply chain management and increase the value provided to the customer. This competitive environment in the personal computer (PC) industry provides an exceptional laboratory for evaluating how companies use information technology to create business value. Compaq Computer Corporation is one of the most successful PC manufacturers. This case study, based on publicly

Monopoly Unions and Corporatism: Implications for Strategic Trade Policy

This paper analyzes the effects of corporatism on wage, employment, and optimal trade policy in the context of international market share rivalry. A Striking result of the paper is that when an optimal (Nash)subsidy is in place, wages, employment and the level of the optimal export subsidy itself become independent of the degree of corporatism. This result breaks down under free trade or when domestic policy makers endogenize the foreign wage, yielding in the familiar negative relationship between the degree of corporatism and wages. [F13, J51]

An empirical investigation of enterprise‐wide integration of MRPII

The changing requirements of manufacturing exert considerable pressure on manufacturing resources while competition is intensified as a result of increasing new entrants into the market. The marketplace has consequently been turned into a “battlefield”. The competition for market share has driven improvement initiatives since the 1960s. The extension of MRPII to integrate with other advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) that were hitherto isolated is considered as one of the initiatives embarked on by manufacturers in search of improved performance. Reports a major study of these initiatives and the associated benefits. Reviews integration and extension of MRPII and presents the state‐of‐the art in the UK companies from a survey of 120 manufacturing enterprises. Discusses some empirical findings about the benefits of integration and extension of MRPII with other AMTs.

Infrastructure provision and international market share rivalry

The paper examines a model of strategic infrastructure investment. Two oligopolistic firms compete on home and foreign product markets for market shares. The national governments support the firms in the market rivalry by providing cost reducing public infrastructure services that are financed out of taxing an input used in the production process. It is shown, that infrastructure policy can be used as an instrument for strategic trade policy. However, governments are facing the problem of balancing the burden of taxation and the benefits of infrastructures. The theoretical model also raises some critical issues with respect to the policy relevance of recent empirical infrastructure research.

Acquiring Skills: Market Failures, Their Symptoms and Policy Responses.

List of figures List of tables Preface List of contributors 1. Introduction: does the free market produce enough skills? Alison L. Booth and Dennis J. Snower Part I. Market Failures: the Causes of Skills Gaps: 2. Transferable training and poaching externalities Margaret Stevens 3. Credit constraints, investment externalities and growth Daron Acemoglu 4. Education and matching externalities Kenneth Burdett and Eric Smith 5. Dynamic competition for market share and the failure of the market for skilled labour David Ulph 6. The low-skill, bad-job trap Dennis J. Snower Part II. Empirical Consequences of Skills Gaps: 7. Changes in the relative demand for skills Stephen Machin 8. Skill shortages, productivity growth and wage inflation Jonathan Haskel and Christopher Martin 9. Workforce skills, product quality and economic performance Geoff Mason, Bart Van Ark, and Karin Wagner 10. Workforce skills and export competitiveness Nicholas Oulton Part III. Government Failures and Policy Issues: 11. Market failure and government failure in skills investment David Finegold 12. Training implications of regulation compliance and business cycles Alan Felstead and Francis Green 13. On apprenticeship qualifications and labour mobility Alison L. Booth and Stephen Satchell 14. Evaluating the assumptions that underlie training policy Ewart Keep and Ken Mayhew 15. Conclusions: government policy to promote the acquisition of skills Dennis J. Snower and Alison L. Booth Index.