Journal of Economics & Management Strategy最新文献

I analyze the determinants of lead time (the time lag between the first-mover's product release and the competitor's market entry) and its consequences for product prices, competition, and consumers. I investigate the case for the Indian branded generic pharmaceutical sector where substantial variation in lead time is observed. I show that overall entry is linked with product market profitability, but entry timing may be strategically related with both originator and competitor firm experience. This appears relevant for those products more likely to build up brand loyalty. I also show that lead time, once its potential endogeneity is accounted for, appears to increase the originator's post-entry market shares, but has no effect on prices. These findings indicate that market segmentation based on price sensitivity appears less likely in the presence of brand name prescriptions. To enable price competition, there is a need for quality assurance among otherwise substitutable generic drugs.

This paper studies how carbon pricing affects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international transport, production, and consumption of traded goods by modeling the international transport sector explicitly. Strategic behavior of a transport firm generates a novel mechanism of carbon leakage across borders and sectors. The effectiveness of carbon pricing depends on whether the backhaul problem (i.e., the imbalance of shipping volume in outgoing and incoming routes) is present. If the backhaul problem is absent, carbon pricing is effective in reducing global GHG emissions. With the backhaul problem, carbon pricing on goods production results in cross-border carbon leakage. However, strategic freight-rate setting by the transport firm mitigates this leakage. The opportunity for foreign direct investment (FDI) also affects carbon-pricing effectiveness because the transport firm tries to deter FDI. Surprisingly, carbon pricing in the transport sector may not affect GHG emissions at all. Moreover, domestic carbon pricing on goods production may decrease GHG emissions from both transport and foreign production even if there is no domestic production under FDI.

We use novel entrepreneur-backer data to study the extent to which spillovers arise between projects displayed on crowdfunding platforms. We find that backers decide to back a particular project based on past contributions not only to that project—as documented by prior work—but also to other contemporaneous projects—a novel result. Our difference-in-differences estimates indicate that such “cross-project spillovers” account for 4% in the increase of contributions that projects generate on a daily basis. We show that recurrent backers are an important transmission channel of cross-project spillovers: By initiating social learning about project existence and quality, recurrent backers encourage future funding by other backers. Our results demonstrate that even though contemporaneous projects compete for funding, they jointly benefit from their common presence on the platform. These findings have significant implications for digital platform management and competition dynamics.

Do agreements among competitors regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) promote public-interest objectives? We address this question theoretically and experimentally in a duopoly framework in which firms choose between offering a “fair” and an “unfair” good to consumers. When the unfair good is traded, a negative externality is imposed on a third party. We vary whether or not the firms are allowed to coordinate on the type of good they sell, while remaining in price competition. We experimentally find, as the theory predicts, that only pairs of firms with low other-regarding preferences take the opportunity to coordinate CSR to differentiate their products, implying an increase in trade of the fair good. Yet there is an indication that consumers are harmed on balance. In the total sample, there is no significant impact on the fraction of fair goods traded, average market prices, producer surplus, and consumer surplus. Other-regarding preferences seem more important drivers of socially responsible behavior than opportunities for firms to coordinate their CSR activities.

We study the substitution between fixed and mobile broadband services in South Africa using survey data on 134,000 individuals collected between 2009 and 2014. In our discrete-choice model, individuals choose fixed or mobile voice and data services in a framework that allows these services to be considered substitutes or complements. We find that there is substantial heterogeneity in the perception of these services as substitutes/complements. We use our model to simulate the uptake of fixed and mobile broadband across various demographic groups under different policy interventions, including (i) a reduction in mobile data prices, (ii) an expansion in fixed-line coverage, (iii) a widespread distribution of computers, and (iv) broader Internet access in schools and workplaces. Our results suggest that, when applied in isolation, these interventions do not significantly increase Internet access among poorer households. In particular, the uptake of fixed broadband would remain limited, even if accessible to all households. This is because many households prefer mobile Internet access, perceiving it as a substitute for fixed broadband.