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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2007‒03‒17
thirteen papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Pau, L-F.; Motiwalla, J. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | Wireless penetration and the Indian economy have grown significantly over the past few years, but how robust and sustainable is the adoption of wireless services and products? Several papers have discussed India as a wireless service and product market, and sometimes tried to assess quantitative attributes thereof. The present paper aims instead at looking, from a management point of view, at the unique underlying evolution processes, bottlenecks and risks. On specific facets, a comparison is given to adoption indicators in other key markets such as China. For example, just to illustrate highlights of these unique attributes , it is indeed surprising that such a major economy with its very large population has not yet achieved the wireless service usage and mobile terminal penetration ratios of neither an early European adopter ,nor of a recent large scale adopter like China or Russia . India has also been characterised by a surprising regulatory development process quite different from many other contexts, both in terms of its both centralised and regional structure, of very low tariffs providing almost no ROI to investors in a stable situation, and of absence of neutrality across communications technologies. At the same time, a very large fraction of the population has not , for affordability and regional coverage reasons, been able to get the access opportunities of more developed regions , leading to a distribution unbalance which is also a significant opportunity .Also , the wireless service and product adoption pattern in India , specific to communicating services , has so far been in rather sharp contrast with the widely known software and outsourcing services industry evolutions in that country . Therefore it is important to compare the most relevant known wireless service and product adoption theories, to establish from facts whether they apply in the Indian context, and, if not, suggest new or mixed theories able to explain all such facts and cast some light into its likely future structural evolution. It is of high relevance in management to validate if indeed established models apply or not in a significant case like India, just as it is also of high relevance for the main stakeholders to identify methodology able to support their analyses. The paper first provides background information on wireless, fixed, and other operators, on wireless penetration, on telecommunications infrastructure and investments, and on Indian human capital. Thereafter is analyzed in detail the relevance, or not, of five traditional technology adoption models across the Indian user base: the absorption business model, the perceived benefits business model, consumer attitudes, the globalisation business model, and finally the brand management business model. These first analyses are followed by the identification and detailed analysis of five other business models or structural processes, some rather unique to India: the two-tier migration model, large scale imported adoption without a telecommunications infrastructure & terminals industry, unstable adoption with lack of consistent public policies, knowledge sharing and productivity enhancement adoption model, and finally late foreign capital investments into a large emerging market. From the comparison of facts and background data , with these ten wireless service and product adoption models , the paper establishes which are not relevant, and which are too some degree . Furthermore the relevant business models are shown to share, further attributes of sustainability (or not) and dynamic behaviour. This allows concluding that India has had an overall quite fragile adoption and deployment path with growing tensions such as coverage, quality of service and affordability disparities. The model comparison also allows to diagnose the key three structural measures needed to reach a sustainable equilibrium from the business, economic and social points of view. |
| Keywords: | India;Mobile communications;Manufacturing;Economic development;Business models;Adoption;Wireless;Infrastructure;Mobile terminals;; |
| Date: | 2007–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30009939&r=cse |
| By: | Angus Selby (QEH) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the dismantling of the white farming sector in Zimbabwe after 2000. It argues that although ZANU PF portrayed farm invasions as a demonstrable effort towards populist land reforms, the 'fast-track' strategy was primarily one of political survival, and that this is evident in the pattern of land invasions and land allocations. Farm invasions quickly evolved into a systematic and methodical purge of commercial farms, to undermine support for the MDC from farmers and farm workers. Local contexts and local politics shaped the nature of local invasions, but the overall program was centrally endorsed and centrally co-ordinated. The reallocation of farms and assets were strategically geared towards placating key groups and key individuals within ZANU PF's increasingly militarised patronage system. Finally, this paper explores the reactions, counter strategies and patterns of collapse within the white farming sector. It illustrates how the community and its institutions fragmented along established planes of historical division, re-emphasising the significance of differentiation among farmers, throughout their history. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qeh:qehwps:qehwps143&r=cse |
| By: | Manuel, Eduardo |
| Abstract: | This paper has as objective to show the relationship between the Entrepreneurship and Economics and in this work we have the opportunity to verify the impact of entrepreneurial activity on competitiveness of a country, and I used as example whose countries considered for studies edited by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). We concluded that the relationship between Entrepreneurship and Economics is and will be always strong on measure that entrepreneurship is important to growth and development of the Nations, principally in the countries with strong necessities of that, to improve their life conditions, high their wealth, everything essential for their economic development. |
| Keywords: | Keywords: Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurship; Economics |
| JEL: | M21 |
| Date: | 2006–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2136&r=cse |
| By: | Javed, Attiya Y.; Iqbal, Robina |
| Abstract: | We investigated whether differences in quality of firm-level corporate governance can explain the firm-level performance in a cross-section of companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange. Therefore, we analysed the relationship between firm-level value as measured by Tobin’s Q and total Corporate Governance Index (CGI) and three sub-indices: Board, Shareholdings and Ownership, and Disclosures and Transparency for a sample of 50 firms. The results indicate that corporate governance does matter in Pakistan. However, not all elements of governance are important. The board composition and ownership and shareholdings enhance firm performance, whereas disclosure and transparency has no significant effect on firm performance. We point out that those adequate firm-level governance standards can not replace the solidity of the firm. The low production and bad management practices can not be covered with transparent disclosures and transparency standards. |
| Keywords: | Corporate Governance; Firm Performance; Tobin’s Q; Agency Problem; Board Size; Shareholdings; Disclosures; Leverage Code of Corporate Governance. |
| JEL: | G38 G34 G12 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2225&r=cse |
| By: | Hagedoorn, John (UNU-MERIT and University of Maastricht); Lorenz-Orlean, Stefanie (University of Maastricht); Kranenburg, Hans (Radboud University Nijmegen) |
| Abstract: | When companies decide to engage in technology transfer through licensing to other firms, they have two basic options: to use standard licensing contracts or to set-up more elaborate partnership-embedded licensing agreements. We find that broader partnership-embedded licensing agreements are preferred with higher levels of technological sophistication of industries, with greater perceived effectiveness of secrecy as a means of appropriability, and when licensors are smaller than their licensees. Innovative differentials between companies, innovative supremacy of the licensor, and market and technological overlap between partners appear to have no effect on the preference for a particular form of licensing. |
| Keywords: | technology transfer, licensing, inter-firm partnership, innovation |
| JEL: | O31 O34 D74 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2007006&r=cse |
| By: | A. LEVRAU; L.A.A. VAN DEN BERGHE |
| Abstract: | Mainstream research on boards of directors has been focusing on a direct relationship between board characteristics and firm performance, but up till now the results are inconclusive. Although these studies revealed interesting and useful insights, little is known about the factors that shape board effectiveness. This paper aims to reduce this gap by exploring the variety of indicators that contribute to the effectiveness of boards. The paper derives from an interview-based investigation among 104 directors of Belgian listed companies. The findings are further elaborated with quantitative data from two written questionnaires, involving directors of non-listed companies and experts in the field of corporate governance. The results point to three major issues. First, there appears to be a gap between a limited number of structural board measures consistently found in literature and the systematic occurrence of a set of behavioural criteria of board effectiveness in the perceptions of (Belgian) directors. Second, the findings suggest that the value of independence may be overemphasized at the cost of the broader issue of diversity. Third, it appears that mainstream board research ignores to a large extent two additional conditions (the information flow and the leadership style of the chairman) under which a board of directors can make an effective contribution to the strategic direction and control of a company. Our findings suggest that the ambiguity found in current research evidence can to some extent be attributed to the ignorance of a wide range of interconnected structural (such as diversity and competence) and behavioural factors (such as trust, attitude, norms and conduct) which actually shape the effectiveness of boards in performing their roles. |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:07/447&r=cse |
| By: | Spiliopoulos, Leonidas |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the question of strategic change in humans’ be- havior conditional on opponents’ play. In order to implement this e |
| Keywords: | learning; artifical intelligence; mixed strategy; game theory; repeated games; behavioral game theory; ewa; reinforcement learning; fictitious play; simulations; experimental economics; computational economics; non-cooperative games |
| JEL: | C91 C72 C73 |
| Date: | 2007–03–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2178&r=cse |
| By: | Minniti, Antonio |
| Abstract: | Multi-product firms dominate production activity in the global economy. There is widespread evidence showing that large corporations improve their efficiency by increasing the scale of their operations; this objective can be realized either by consistently investing in R&D or by expanding the product range. In this paper, we explore the implications of this fact by embedding multi-product firms in a General Equilibrium model of endogenous growth. We analyze an economy with oligopolistic firms that carry out in-house R&D programs in order to achieve cost-reducing innovations. Market structure is endogenous in the model and is jointly determined by the number of firms and the number of product varieties per firm. Both economies of scope and scale characterize the economic environment. We show that the market equilibrium involves too many firms (too much inter-firm diversity) and too few products per firm (too little intra-firm diversity); moreover, we find out that the total number of products and productivity growth are inefficiently low under laissez-faire. The nature of these distortions is discussed in detail. |
| Keywords: | imperfect competition; multi-product firms; endogenous growth; R&D |
| JEL: | E0 O31 O3 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:2097&r=cse |
| By: | Angus Selby (QEH) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the strategic repositioning of commercial farmers across the Independence transition, from a close proximity to the Rhodesian Front to an alliance with the Mugabe regime. It argues, contrary to most analyses, that commercial farmers were instrumental in leading white Rhodesia towards negotiations, compromise and settlement, and that this positioned them well to retain their privileged access to land and the decision making process after Independence. Whilst recognising that ZANU PF compromised significantly, it illustrates that incomplete reconciliation and ongoing distortions in access to resources kept the racial aspects of the new alliance unsteady. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qeh:qehwps:qehwps141&r=cse |
| By: | Ryuzo Sato (The Center for Japan-US Business and Economic Studies, New York University and Faculty of Economis, University of Tokyo); Tamaki Morita (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | This article deals with both theoretical and empirical analyses of the post-war period (1960-2004) for the United States and Japan. We investigated three factors contributing to growth: the growth rates of capital, labor, and labor-saving innovation. It is shown that in Japan, the growth rate of the labor force has been much less important than its quality improvement-i.e., labor-saving technical change-while in the US, the growth rate of labor and population has contributed more than their quality improvement. The policy implication here is Japan's declining population can be compensated for by additional quality improvement of the existing labor force. |
| Date: | 2007–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2007cf483&r=cse |
| By: | Steven N. Durlauf; Andros KOURTELLOS; Chih Ming Tan |
| Abstract: | The recent growth literature has seen an explosion of work exploring the role of new and fundamental theories of growth such as geography, institutions, ethnic fractionalization, and religion. Nevertheless, claims about the empirical validity of these new growth theories are typically made within very particular specifications of the growth model. In this paper, we investigate the robustness of these theories when the researcher appropriately accounts for model uncertainty. We first consider the robustness of these theories within the canonical growth regression framework. We then deviate from this framework to explore the impact of these new growth theories on the components of growth – TFP growth and physical and human accumulation rates – derived from a growth accounting exercise. We find very little evidence to support the contention that any of the new growth theories play an important and robust role in explaining growth and its components. We find instead that variation in growth may be robustly explained by differences in macroeconomic policies and unknown heterogeneity associated with regional groupings. We also find that, consistent with endogenous growth models, physical and human capital externalities are the main determinants of TFP growth. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, Total Factor Productivity, Model Uncertainty |
| JEL: | C59 O40 O47 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0703&r=cse |
| By: | Verheul, I.; Carree, M.A.; Thurik, A.R. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates time allocation decisions in new ventures of female and male entrepreneurs using a new model that distinguishes between preference and (expected) productivity effects on the number of working hours. Using data of 1203 entrepreneurs we find that the preference for work time in new ventures is related to the motivation for starting up a business, the propensity to take risk, the availability of other income sources, firm size and sector. Productivity of work time is explained by human, financial and social capital, outsourcing and firm characteristics. This study also evaluates actual profit effects one year after start-up. With respect to gender we find that ? on average ? women invest less time in the business than men largely due to a lower productivity per working hour, explained by lower endowments of human, social and financial capital. |
| Keywords: | Time allocation;New ventures;Gender; |
| Date: | 2007–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30009879&r=cse |
| By: | Raquel Fonseca; Pierre-Carl Michaud; Thepthida Sopraseuth |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of liquidity constraints and start-up costs on the relationship between wealth and the fraction of entrepreneurs in an economy. We develop a dynamic occupational choice model that yields predictions that can be tested on cross-sectional data with exogenous variation in liquidity constraints (e.g. access to credit) and start-up costs. We use three highly comparable micro datasets (SHARE, ELSA and HRS) focusing on the population age 50+ in 9 countries. These countries have very different levels of start-up costs and potential liquidity constraints. Reduced form results support our theoretical predictions. While higher liquidity constraints yield a steeper wealth profile for the fraction of workers in entrepreneurship, startup costs flatten this relationship by depressing the marginal value of being an entrepreneur as a function of wealth. Countries with high start-up costs such as Italy, Spain and France have flatter wealth gradients. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, liquidity constraints, start-up costs, occupational choice, cross-country comparisons |
| JEL: | E21 E23 J20 |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:173&r=cse |