Strategic Behavior Research Articles

Evolution of Brazil’s Strategic Behavior Towards Smaller MERCOSUR Countries in the XXI Century

In foreign policy documents and public statements by senior Brazilian officials, the development of the Southern common market (MERCOSUR) is mentioned as a foreign policy priority, but the dynamics of integrational processes in it are far from being positive due to the economic asymmetry of the countries represented — major players — Brazil and Argentina and smaller economies — Uruguay and Paraguay. The authors of the article considers a foreign policy strategy of large countries in relation to smaller ones in the association as the reason for the diffi culties in eliminating the economic asymmetry in MERCOSUR. The purpose of this article is to analyze Brazil’s strategic behavior towards Uruguay and Paraguay. The article proves that the slowdown in the pace of deepening integration in MERCOSUR is directly proportional to the decrease of the importance of Uruguay and Paraguay in Brazil’s foreign policy strategy. The author of the article focuses on the evolution of Brazil’s strategic behavior towards Uruguay and Paraguay: it underwent a transformation from a policy of pressure in the 1990s to Brazil’s mediation in regional confl icts in the 2000s. In the late 2000s, as President Lula da Silva’s plans to deepen political integration in MERCOSUR showed their ineff ectiveness due to the country’s mounting asymmetries with Uruguay and Paraguay, integration into MERCOSUR gradually began to play a secondary role in Brazil’s foreign policy strategy. During the presidencies of Rousseff and Temer, this trend only intensified, reaching its peak after President Bolsonaro came to power. The fi rst part of the article presents theoretical aspects of Brazil’s strategic behavior in relation to small member countries of the association. The second part of the article will analyze specific examples of changes in Brazil’s foreign policy strategy towards Uruguay and Paraguay. Finally, the conclusion outlines the full evolution of Brazil’s strategy towards the small MERCOSUR countries from the 1990s to 2022, and will also focus on the current situation in the association.

Analysis of strategic behavior in micro and small technology–based firms in brazil

Analysis of strategic behavior in micro and small technology–based firms in brazil

Rethinking the effect of ESG practices on profitability through cross-dimensional substitutability

Over the last thirty years, sustainable business practices and ESG ratings have become increasingly popular in the business context and academic debate. Nonetheless, due to differences in methodological and theoretical approaches, more consensus has yet to be reached in the economic literature on the relationship between ESG practices and financial performance at the firm level. This work addresses the question empirically, focusing on a sample of firms listed in the Euro Stoxx 300 index. Three novel indicators are proposed to measure the firm's sustainable practices and capture the business's Environmental, Social, and Governance (E, S, G) dimensions. These indicators combine qualitative ratings on adherence to ESG standards with quantitative observations on ESG data disclosure to account for strategic behaviors on the part of firms. A dynamic panel model is implemented, considering the three dimensions of ESG practices separately and introducing interaction terms to identify cross-dimensional substitutability/complementarity relations. The results indicate that environmentally friendly business practices are associated with increased profits, while trade-offs across ESG dimensions are revealed.

Commitment vs. noncommitment behaviors in natural resource conflicts: A case study of groundwater resources

We examine the problem of natural resource exploitation when an exceptional extraction of a resource (groundwater) is needed and devoted to a different use than its regular use. The study applies a two-stage Stackelberg game to examine the strategic behavior of players who compete for water. The leader, with varying weights assigned to the different uses and environmental concern, is the manager of the new (nonregular) resource use, who only intervenes in the second stage of the game. The follower is a regular (agricultural) resource user. We examine the crucial resource of groundwater, introducing two types of Stackelberg equilibria (open-loop and feedback) that can arise depending on agents’ commitment behavior. We compare the extraction behaviors of the leader and the follower for the two equilibria and the effects on the final state of the resource and agents’ profits. Unexpectedly, we demonstrate that situations can occur in which noncommitment strategies could be more favorable than commitment strategies in terms of the final aquifer stock and the regular user’s profits. To avoid that noncommitment strategies are implemented in these circumstances, the weights assigned by the leader to the different uses will play an important role.

Strategic behaviour and resilience of an industrial enterprise to the external environment

The growing turbulence of the environment requires an industrial enterprise to find new approaches to choosing its development strategy. The study proposes a method for assessing the level of resilience of machine-building companies depending on the type of their strategic behaviour. Methodologically, the research rests on the theory of the firm and strategic management theory. Structural and logical analysis, expert assessments, matrixing, statistical and financial analysis were used as research methods. The empirical evidence is the data from the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) and the SBIS counterparty verification system. We clarify the concepts of resilience and strategic behaviour of a machine-building enterprise and propose our own definition of resilience. We distinguish between four types of strategic behaviour of enterprises when contacting the external environment, namely the maximum control possible, constructive interaction, adaptation with elements of control, and forced adaptation. A relationship was discovered between the level of resilience and the type of strategic behaviour of an industrial enterprise. The findings were tested using the case of four machine-building plants specializing in the production of lifting equipment. We found significant differentiation in the level of resilience of the enterprises under study and established which of the four types of strategic behaviour was typical of each. This will allow them to exercise a more reasonable approach when instituting their development strategy amid turbulence.

The distortion of distributed facility location

We study the distributed facility location problem, where a set of agents with positions on the line of real numbers are partitioned into disjoint districts, and the goal is to choose a point to satisfy certain criteria, such as optimize an objective function or avoid strategic behavior. A mechanism in our distributed setting works in two steps: For each district it chooses a point that is representative of the positions reported by the agents in the district, and then decides one of these representative points as the final output. We consider two classes of mechanisms: Unrestricted mechanisms which assume that the agents directly provide their true positions as input, and strategyproof mechanisms which deal with strategic agents and aim to incentivize them to truthfully report their positions. For both classes, we show tight bounds on the best possible approximation in terms of several minimization social objectives, including the well-known average social cost (average total distance of agents from the chosen point) and max cost (maximum distance among all agents from the chosen point), as well as other fairness-inspired objectives that are tailor-made for the distributed setting, in particular, the max-of-average and the average-of-max.

Another look at the managerial entrenchment hypothesis of acquisitions: A replication of Humphery-Jenner (2014)

Anti-takeover provisions have long been associated with managerial entrenchment, self-interested strategic behaviors, and lower performance. Humphery-Jenner (2014) offers an opposing view, arguing that anti-takeover provisions can lead to beneficial managerial entrenchment for acquiring firms in hard-to-value industries. These firms are particularly vulnerable to opportunistic takeovers and once shielded from those threats, managers could undertake acquisition strategies that offer positive performance outcomes over a longer-term horizon. We replicate Humphery-Jenner's study to assess the boundaries and generalizability of his hypothesis. After we first reproduce his findings for his sample of 3935 acquisitions occurring between 1990 and 2005, we find no relationship between anti-takeover provisions, acquisitions by firms in hard-to-value industries, and firm performance in both an updated sample of acquisitions (3372 acquisitions made during 2006–2015) and a combined sample encompassing 7307 acquisitions spanning the complete 26-year period (1990–2015). We also find no relationships between anti-takeover provisions and acquisition performance in the replication. Overall, the beneficial managerial entrenchment hypothesis of acquisitions appears to have limits to its generalizability.

Online Aphasia Groups: Navigating Issues of Voice and Identity.

Participation in aphasia groups is associated with increased communication, reduced feelings of social isolation, and increased quality of life. Despite the growing popularity of online aphasia groups, little is known about how to manage conversation in this format. We examined online aphasia book club sessions to examine how the facilitator supported group members' participation in conversation. Interactional sociolinguistic discourse analysis was used to analyze the behaviors and actions of the facilitator and group members. Qualitative data for this study were drawn from four recorded online aphasia book club sessions held through a university's free aphasia clinic on the Zoom web-conferencing platform. Sociolinguistic discourse analysis revealed strategic facilitator behaviors that served to (a) give members with varying levels of verbal language abilities voice, (b) foreground or background aspects of voice, and (c) minimize her own voice to promote interactional symmetry between herself and group members. Identity formed the backdrop for facilitators' actions when leading online groups, guiding decisions about who got to talk, when, for how long, through what modality, and about what topics. A better understanding of the interactions that occur online, such as how to develop and protect the identities of group members, could equip facilitators with the tools necessary for facilitating positive, engaging aphasia therapy groups online.

Publish under Pressure – An Empirical Analysis of Academics’ Strategic Behavior

Publish under Pressure – An Empirical Analysis of Academics’ Strategic Behavior

Strategic inattention of multi-product firms with free entry

This paper considers the strategic (in)attention of multi-product firms with endogenous product range choice and introduces free entry prior to firms' strategic choices on attention or inattention. We find that within-firm cannibalization of multi-product firms plays a key role in determining firms' strategic behavior. Furthermore, with free entry, we identify a single threshold that determines whether all the entrants are attentive or inattentive, and hence the market structure is unique almost everywhere.

Evolutionary analysis of green credit and automobile enterprises under the mechanism of dynamic reward and punishment based on government regulation

To explore the green development of automobile enterprises and promote the achievement of the “dual carbon” target, based on the bounded rationality assumptions, this study constructed a tripartite evolutionary game model of government, commercial banks, and automobile enterprises; introduced a dynamic reward and punishment mechanism; and analyzed the development process of the three parties’ strategic behavior under the static and dynamic reward and punishment mechanism. Vensim PLE (Personal Learning Edition) was used for numerical simulation analysis. Our results indicate that the system could not reach a stable state under the static reward and punishment mechanism. A dynamic reward and punishment mechanism can effectively improve the system stability and better fit real situations. Under the dynamic reward and punishment mechanism, an increase in the initial willingness of the three parties can promote the system stability, and the government can implement effective supervision by adjusting the upper limit of the reward and punishment intensity. Finally, the implementation of green credit by commercial banks plays a significant role in promoting the green development of automobile enterprises.

THE ROLE OF COMPETITION IN PRIVATE ENTERPRISE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKET EFFICIENCY

Background: Competition plays a pivotal role in private enterprise systems, impacting resource allocation, pricing, and overall market efficiency. This study investigates the influence of competition on these economic factors, particularly focusing on how monopolistic practices and barriers to entry affect market outcomes. Methods: The paper employs an econometric analysis to evaluate the impact of various sectors on GDP, utilizing regression models to quantify the contributions of agriculture, industry, manufacturing, and services. The analysis integrates theoretical perspectives on competition and monopolistic behaviour with empirical data to assess how different market conditions influence economic efficiency. Results: The findings reveal significant effects of competition on economic outcomes. Agriculture, industry, manufacturing, and services all contribute differently to GDP, with services showing the highest impact. The analysis also highlights the negative implications of monopolistic practices, including resource misallocation and higher prices, while barriers to entry and strategic behaviour further influence competitive dynamics. Conclusions: Effective competition fosters optimal resource utilization and market efficiency, benefiting consumers and the broader economy. Monopolistic behaviour and entry barriers can lead to inefficiencies and suboptimal outcomes. The study underscores the need for robust competition policy and regulation to enhance market efficiency and drive economic growth.

Strategic Behavior and AI Training Data

Strategic Behavior and AI Training Data

Strategic Behaviours in a Labour Market with Mobility-Restricting Contractual Provisions: Evidence from the National Hockey League

Strategic Behaviours in a Labour Market with Mobility-Restricting Contractual Provisions: Evidence from the National Hockey League

Strategic Behavior and Ai Training Data

Strategic Behavior and Ai Training Data

Strategic Behavior without Outside Options

Strategic Behavior without Outside Options

A Study on the Game Strategy of Chip Price Behavior at the Background of the US-China Trade War

The US-China trade war has had a profound impact on the game strategy and price behavior of chips in the semiconductor industry. This study aims to analyze the influencing factors, strategic shifts, and game theory dynamics of chip prices in the context of the trade war. The asymmetrical relationship between the United States and China in chip supply and demand, coupled with the imposition of tariffs and restrictions, has disrupted the supply chain, which leads to fluctuations in chip prices. The study highlights the artificial inflation of demand and oversupply of certain chip types because of stockpiling and entity list disruptions. It also examines the impact of tariffs on the cost structure of semiconductor manufacturing and the subsequent adjustments in pricing strategies. Furthermore, the study explores the localization strategies and shifts in global semiconductor production that have been prompted by the trade war and their implications on chip prices. Lastly, the study analyzes the repeated game perspective and its influence on the strategic choices and behaviors of the parties involved in the trade war. Overall, this study provides insights into the game strategy and price behavior of chips in the background of the US-China trade war, contributing to a better understanding of the dynamics and implications for the semiconductor industry.

Competition of multiplatform firms: Implications for the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology trend is transforming business and society. This creates a need to understand strategic behavior in the consumer IoT, where firms tend to offer multiple platform devices, and new generations of devices are introduced frequently. We propose a novel analytical model that formalizes the concept of a multiplatform firm that offers a system of platforms, such as a smartphone, and a new platform device, such as a smartwatch, and orchestrates a multiplatform ecosystem. The analysis shows how a platform design decision, like offering a new standalone device, affects consumer choices and market outcomes. We identify two classes of new devices that matter, and show when a new platform device may disrupt the smartphone market. Moreover, we characterize conditions under which it is profitable for a vendor to make its new platform device look and feel more like its smartphone. Overall, we provide insights into how multiplatform firms differ from platform firms. We identify future research opportunities on the economics of consumer IoT and multiplatform ecosystems.

How Cognitive Skills Affect Strategic Behavior: Cognitive Ability, Fluid Intelligence and Judgment

How Cognitive Skills Affect Strategic Behavior: Cognitive Ability, Fluid Intelligence and Judgment

Characteristics of cyberspace as a distinct domain of conflict: A case study of U.S. strategic operations

In this paper, I intend to contribute to the systematic study of cyber strategies and policies by offering a synthesis of key events and findings on state actions in cyberspace after 2007. Such a synthesis implies tracing the processes that contributed to the beginning of the militarization of cyberspace from 2007 to 2013. Then, it implies defining the basic characteristics of cyberspace that determine the actions of states, among which are: the democratic character; high potential for human error; attribution problem; technical volatility; and time and speed constraints. Finally, the synthesis includes a concrete example of the influence of key characteristics on the strategic behavior of the USA. Based on the analysis of the strategic documents of the USA and the analysis of the previous behavior of this country, I argue that the theory of ?persistent engagement?, which in its construction considers the aforementioned characteristics, remains the backbone of the USA?s behavior in cyberspace.