具有后发优势的不完全信息专利竞赛

先发优势和后发优势会同时存在于专利竞赛中,它们的相对大小将决定两对称企业在专利研发投资时机选择博弈中所产生的均衡类型并影响企业的研发投资决策。考虑不完全信息和技术不确定性,引入信息披露及其滞后效应使得追随者和领导者分别具有后发优势和先发优势,建立实物期权投资决策模型。通过对各最优投资临界信念的计算和分析,结论表明,一定参数条件下,占先博弈和消耗战均有可能发生。信息披露滞后时间越长、技术不确定性程度越低、随机信号到达速度越快、信号质量越高,领导者先发优势就越明显,越易产生占先博弈;反之,追随者后发优势就越明显,越有可能发生消耗战。     

Channel Structure Design for Complementary Products under a Co‐Opetitive Environment

In the high‐tech industry, firms can be partners in one respect (e.g., resellers) and competitors in another. In this article, we investigate the channel structure problem for two firms‐each selling competing products in two complementary markets—who are deciding whether to sell their products to customers directly or distribute one of them through a competitor. The customers are heterogeneous and both firms have products that are horizontally differentiated. When selling products directly, the firm can coordinate the prices of the two complementary products and avoid the inefficiency of double marginalization. However, selling (indirectly) through the competing manufacturer can mitigate competition because the competitor shares the profit of both competing products and therefore does not price its own products aggressively. One might expect that when the externality across the markets is strong, firms would prefer to sell both products directly (rather than through the competitor) in order to take advantage of the complementarity between markets and eliminate the inefficiency of double marginalization. Interestingly, we find that even though the first mover chooses to sell both products directly, the second mover forsakes the opportunity to coordinate the prices of its products and instead opts to distribute one of the products through the first mover.     

Entry Timing in Foreign Markets: A Meta-analytic Review and Critique

In this meta-analytic review, we examine the entry timing-firm performance relationship as it has been studied in international business research. In addition, we present several moderating factors that strengthen or weaken that relationship. We find that early entry bears financial advantages in international markets, but those advantages depend on country of entry and origin, industry context, performance measurement, type of entry and time period. We conclude with a discussion of avenues for future research.     

生产能力限制下价格Stackelberg博弈模型

生产能力限制条件下,同质产品市场中两企业以价格为决策变量进行Stackelberg竞争,采取有效配给规则。两企业对称情况下,生产能力较小时模型存在唯一的子博弈精炼纳什均衡,两企业销量达到自身生产能力,得到相同收益;生产能力较大时,追随企业匹配领头企业的价格,博弈存在后动优势。分析了领头企业生产能力大于追随企业的不对称情形,并给出相应均衡。算例分析表明,企业价格竞争的前提是充分大的供给能力,追随企业应在领头企业生产能力较大时进入市场。     

Requirement or Promise? An Analysis of the First‐Mover Advantage in Quality Contracting

Quality contracting is critical and challenging due to the many unique issues related to quality. In this study, we analyze the first‐mover right in quality contracting by considering two different strategies for the buyer: the quality requirement strategy (QR) where buyer moves first by posting quality requirement to suppliers and quality promise strategy (QP) where buyer voluntarily gives up the first‐mover right to suppliers to ask them to promise quality. We study which strategy (1) better encourages suppliers' quality improvement efforts and (2) leads to a higher expected profit for the buyer. To analyze the drivers behind the buyer's choice between QR and QP, we start with the basic model where buyer faces only one supplier who has the opportunity to make quality improvements. We then gradually add other business features such as information asymmetry and supplier competition, analyzing how each feature adds/changes the driving forces and how they interact in the buyer's decision between QR and QP. We consider both the case where the wholesale price is fixed (when the buyer has the power to dictate price or price is set by the market) and the case where the wholesale price is included as a variable (when price is part of the negotiation). We find that QP always leads to the first‐best quality efforts from the supplier(s) while QR limits their efforts. However, this does not guarantee higher expected profit for the buyer under QP. We provide insightful guidelines in buyer's choice between QP and QR. This research enriches the limited literature on quality contracting with quality improvement opportunity and asymmetric information.     

COMPETITION AND GENDER PREJUDICE: ARE DISCRIMINATORY EMPLOYERS DOOMED TO FAIL?

According to Becker's famous theory on discrimination (Gary Becker, 1957 , The Economics of Discrimination, University of Chicago Press), entrepreneurs with a strong prejudice against female workers forgo profits by submitting to their tastes. In a competitive market their firms lack efficiency and are therefore forced to leave. We present new empirical evidence for this prediction by studying the survival of start‐up firms in longitudinal matched employer–employee data. We find that firms with strong preferences for discrimination approximated by a low share of female employees relative to the industry average have significantly shorter survival rates. This is especially relevant for firms starting out with female shares in the lower tail of the distribution. Competition at the industry level additionally reduces firm survival and accelerates the rate at which prejudiced firms are weeded out. We also find evidence for employer learning as highly discriminatory start‐up firms that manage to survive submit to market powers and increase their female workforce over time.     

Firm reputation and investment decisions: The contingency role of securities analysts' recommendations

Moving beyond resource-based consequences of a firm's reputation, we develop a behavioral perspective on the impact of corporate reputation. Although there has been extensive discussion in previous studies of the benefits of reputation in terms of gaining resource advantages, we apply theory on self-regulatory focus to suggest that highly reputable firms may tend to have a prevention focus rather than a promotion focus in their investment strategies. This tendency will lead the firm to opt for low-risk investments rather than high-risk investments. Furthermore, we develop a contingency model and argue that the main effect of reputation on the investment decisions of the firm is further strengthened by the negative recommendations of securities analysts. We find support for our hypotheses. In doing so, we address emerging theories about the potential negative consequences of a firm's reputation and provide important insights for our theoretical understanding of the behavior of highly reputable firms.     

厂商动态竞争性差别定价和竞争优势实现——基于消费者寻求多样化购买行为的分析

随着信息技术的发展,厂商可以根据消费者的历史购买信息实施差别定价.该文主要研究相互竞争的厂商基于消费者的购买历史实行差别定价的本质特征和形成机制,以及实施这种定价策略能否在竞争中获取竞争优势.分析结果显示,在竞争性差别定价均衡中,消费者寻求多样化购买是厂商实施差别定价的内在原因,厂商在第2期通过给予价格优惠吸引消费者重复购买,对忠诚的消费者给予奖励,并在第1期弱化竞争,导致两期竞争存在"默契合谋",消费者寻求多样化购买成为竞争厂商利润的源泉;如果厂商能够比竞争对手率先实施差别定价的营销策略,那么就能在竞争中获取优势.另外,清晰地刻画了竞争性差别定价均衡存在且唯一的充分条件.该文的研究结果可以很好地解释现实经济中许多厂商的定价竞争策略行为,对于厂商的产品营销战略具有重要的指导意义.     

All on board? New evidence on board gender diversity from a large panel of European firms

Using a unique database of over 20 million firms over two decades, we examine industry sector and national institution drivers of the prevalence of women directors on supervisory and management boards in both public and private firms across 41 advanced and emerging European economies. We demonstrate that gender board diversity has generally increased, yet women remain rare in both boards of firms in Europe: approximately 70% have no women directors on their supervisory boards, and 60% have no women directors on management boards. We leverage institutional and resource dependency theoretical frameworks to demonstrate that few systematic factors are associated with greater gender diversity for both supervisory and management boards among both private and public firms: the same factor may exhibit a positive correlation to a management board, and a negative correlation to a supervisory board, or vice versa. We interpret these findings as evidence that country-level gender equality and cultural institutions exhibit differentiated correlations with the presence of women directors in management and supervisory boards. We also find little evidence that sector-level competition and innovativeness are systematically associated with the presence of women on either board in either group of firms.     

零售市场价格策略的演化博弈分析

基于一个三阶段Hotelling博弈模型:位于[0,1]线性城市两端的零售A和B第一阶段同时选择价格策略变量,第二阶段确定价格的大小,第三阶段由消费者选择零售商。应用演化博弈论进行研究,分析了零售市场价格策略的演化稳定性。     

Understanding the emergence of redistributed manufacturing: an ambidexterity perspective

Abstract

This paper extends operations strategy theory on efficiency and flexibility trade-offs to the emergent phenomenon of redistributed manufacturing (RDM). The study adopts a multiple-case design including five small and five large pharmaceutical firms. We propose that organizations can gain the efficiency benefits of centralized manufacturing and the flexibility advantages of RDM by building an ambidexterity capability. To build such a capability, large firms can structurally partition their manufacturing and supply management functions, with one sub-unit managing centralized production and the other RDM. Smaller enterprises can build an ambidexterity capability by creating the right organizational context, where multi-skilled workers switch between efficient and flexible tasks. This paper contributes to theory by explaining the emergence of RDM using an organizational ambidexterity lens, laying the groundwork for new theory development in the field. We provide managers with a practical example of how to build an ambidexterity capability to realize flexibility and efficiency advantages.     

A challenging marketplace for venture capital

This article looks at the contemporary situation facing the U.K. venture capital industry as it enters its second decade of activity. After 10 years of substantial growth, the industry is starting to mature. Accordingly, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, U.K. venture capital firms are having to address seriously strategic issues of product and market choice in order to meet the high investment expectations placed on them by their funders. There is evidence that the industry is already concentrating its finances into a small number of larger firms. It is likely that these better resourceed firms will have material advantages in initiating both product and market innovations. However, this concentration is unlikely to improve the supply of venture capital funds to start-up and other early stage, high risk ventures.     

发行管制条件下的股权再融资市场时机行为及其对资本结构的影响

本文基于A股市场再融资管制环境,检验了A股上市公司股权再融资行为中的市场时机特征及其对资本结构的影响.研究发现,再融资中的市场时机行为显著,表现为两方面:(1)市场高涨时,会有更多的公司申请再融资;(2)申请再融资成功的公司,市场时机适合时融资规模更大.进一步分析发现,无论是申请再融资公司的数量还是再融资规模,市场时机都包括了两部分:一部分是基于股价的时机,另一部分是基于再融资管制政策的时机,后者在配股中约占36%.基于市场时机的更大融资规模导致再融资当年杠杆率下降更多,但由于存在发行价格和规模限制,市场时机对资本结构的 影响短暂.     

A Comparison of Product Take‐Back Compliance Schemes

Product take‐back regulation, under which firms finance the collection and treatment of their end‐of‐life products, is a widely used environmental program. One of the most common compliance schemes is collectively with cost allocation by market share. As an alternative, individual compliance scheme is considered. Assuming that firms can choose their compliance scheme, we compare these two schemes with respect to the costs they impose on firms and environmental benefits. We show that high collection targets and large market shares among firms in a collective compliance scheme make it more cost‐effective. From an environmental benefits perspective, the prevailing intuition is that collection rates will be higher under collective schemes but individual compliance will provide more incentive for higher recyclability levels. Our results challenge both of these premises. We identify conditions under which collection rates are higher when firms comply individually and recyclability levels are higher when firms comply collectively and allocate costs with respect to market shares.     

External Knowledge Sourcing and Firm Innovation Efficiency

This study examines the relationship between external knowledge sourcing and firm innovation efficiency. We build on the organizational learning theory to propose that this relationship follows an inverted U‐shape: as the level of external knowledge sourcing increases from low to moderate, firm innovation efficiency increases; as the level of external knowledge sourcing increases from moderate to high, firm innovation efficiency declines. Further, we explore the moderating role of different contextual factors and contend that this inverted U‐shaped relationship is flattened in firms that operate in high‐tech sectors and in firms that face high internal constraints for innovation. Our empirical analysis is based on a sample of 3,204 Spanish firms over the period 2004–2015, and our results provide support for these contentions. We used data envelopment analysis methodology to estimate firm innovation efficiency relative to industry best performers, and truncated regression models for panel data with bootstrapped confidence intervals to test our hypotheses.     

Assembly Systems with Sequential Supplier Decisions and Uncertain Demand

We consider multitier push assembly systems with sequential supplier decisions and a wholesale price contract. We show that both an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)–Contract Manufacturer (CM) assembly and a modular assembly with sequential supplier decisions are mathematically equivalent to the corresponding traditional assembly. We determine that, in most cases, the first mover supplier realizes a higher profit than the second mover supplier but we also identify the sufficient conditions for the reverse to occur. We provide conditions under which the order quantity, the second mover profit, total supplier profits, and the assembler profit are either higher or lower for a multitier system with sequential suppliers compared to simultaneous suppliers. We conclude that the first mover is always better off in a three‐tier sequential system while she can be either better off or worse off in a four‐tier sequential system compared to the corresponding simultaneous systems. We also analyze the impact of information asymmetry on the supplier and assembler profits in a three‐tier sequential system. Finally, we determine the profit threshold for an independent manufacturer in a three‐tier system to become a CM in a four‐tier system and vice versa.     

Corporate Financial Distress and Turnaround Strategies: An Empirical Analysis

Extant research on corporate turnaround from financial distress has prescribed a range of strategies to effect corporate recovery. However, no large sample study has examined the general applicability and effectiveness of these strategies. We set out to test the effectiveness of strategies and identify the underlying factors of effectiveness – the impact of timing, intensity and implementation of strategies on corporate recovery. We examine a sample of 166 potentially bankrupt UK firms drawn from 1985 to 1993 and track their turnaround strategies for a period of three years from distress. These strategies include operational, asset, managerial and financial restructuring. Our results show recovery and non-recovery firms adopt very similar sets of strategies, and managers of non-recovery firms restructure more intensively than recovery firms Nevertheless, non-recovery firms seem far less effective in strategy implementation than their recovery counterparts. Whereas recovery firms adopt growth-oriented and external-market focused strategies, non-recovery firms engage in fire-fighting strategies.     

Common Threats and Managing Reputation in Executive Search Firms

A free video abstract to accompany this article can be found online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IziwDorbeGU This paper provides important insights into how executive search firms can successfully manage their reputations to overcome major threats to their organizations. The paper focuses on three threats faced by executive search firms: the global financial crisis; questions around the sector's professional status; and the proliferation of social media for recruitment. Our data show that there was not a single coherent response from firms, but a piecemeal approach that focused on three forms of reputation management. First, diversifying service offerings; second, highlighting their symbolic capital; and third, connecting their firms to clients and candidates through partners. Building on our data and the theoretical literature, we provide a framework for understanding how professional service firms can manage their reputations in response to common threats, based on three categories from the English idiom ‘keep up with the Joneses’. First, moving away from the Joneses; second, fencing out the Joneses; third, networking more than the Joneses. We provide theoretical and practical insights around how organizations can manage their reputations in response to threats which are common across sectors.     

Towards a Theory of Network Facilitation: A Microfoundations Perspective on the Antecedents,Practices and Outcomes of Network Facilitation

Firms cooperate in inter‐firm networks to foster their competitiveness and improve their innovation outcomes. In many cases, network facilitators who are either embedded in a lead firm or a third‐party organization manage the cooperation among the network firms. This qualitative study adopts a microfoundations perspective to investigate the behavioural antecedents of the network facilitators, their facilitation practices and the related network‐level outcomes. Results show that lead‐firm facilitators more strongly invest in trust‐building measures since they are considered deficient in benevolence and integrity. Without these investments, they run the risk that conflicts of interest hinder the stimulation of positive network‐level outcomes. Third‐party facilitators, by contrast, enjoy certain credits of trust and focus on balancing firm interests from the network's activation, but need to invest in enhancing their competencies and skills with regard to the industry the firms operate in. The findings contribute to developing a theory of network facilitation by providing a nuanced understanding of how network‐level outcomes can be reduced to individual‐level factors.     

Rushes in Large Timing Games

We develop a continuum player timing game that subsumes standard wars of attrition and pre‐emption games, and introduces a new rushes phenomenon. Payoffs are continuous and single‐peaked functions of the stopping time and stopping quantile. We show that if payoffs are hump‐shaped in the quantile, then a sudden “rush” of players stops in any Nash or subgame perfect equilibrium. Fear relaxes the first mover advantage in pre‐emption games, asking that the least quantile beat the average; greed relaxes the last mover advantage in wars of attrition, asking just that the last quantile payoff exceed the average. With greed, play is inefficiently late: an accelerating war of attrition starting at optimal time, followed by a rush. With fear, play is inefficiently early: a slowing pre‐emption game, ending at the optimal time, preceded by a rush. The theory predicts the length, duration, and intensity of stopping, and the size and timing of rushes, and offers insights for many common timing games.