We develop a reputation model to study the concurrent use of trademarks and certification for foodproducts with a regional identity, known as geographical indications (GIs). The model extendsShapiro’s (1983) approach to modeling reputation to a situation in which two technologies for...

The introduction of a new product generation forces incumbents in network industries to rebuild their installed base to maintain an advantage over potential entrants. We study if backward compatibility can help moderate this process of rebuilding an installed base. Using a structural model of...

This paper analyzes a procurement setting with two identical firms and stochasticinnovations. In contrast to the previous literature, I show that a procurer who cannot charge entry fees may prefer a fixed-prize tournament to a first-price auction since holding an auction may leave higher rents...

Theoretically and experimentally, we generalize the analysis of acquiringa company (Samuelson and Bazerman 1985) by allowing for competition ofboth, buyers and sellers. Naivety of both is related to the idea that higherprices exclude worse qualities. While competition of naive buyers...

This paper analyses price competition under product differentiation when goods are defined ina two dimensional characteristic space, and consumers do not know which firm sells whichquality. Equilibrium prices consist of two additive terms, which balance consumers' relativevaluation of goods'...

We analyse firms' incentives to provide two-way compatibility between two network goodswith different intrinsic qualities. We study how the relative importance of verticaldifferentiation with respect to the network effect influences the price competition as well as thecompatibility choice. The...

Der Beitrag behandelt die erst kürzlich in der Zeitschrift „Die Betriebswirtschaft“durch Haller (2004) aufgeworfene Frage, ob und inwiefern ein funktionierendes QualitätsmanagementEinfluss auf die Wirtschaftlichkeit von deutschen Unternehmen nimmt. Konkret wird im Rahmen einerempirischen...

We propose a framework for analyzing transformations of demand. Such transformations frequently stem from changes in the dispersion of consumers` valuations, which lead to rotations of the demand curve. In a wide variety of settings, profits are a U-shaped function of dispersion. A high level of...

This paper considers the impact of reviewers on sales of products of quality unknown to consumers. Sales occur simultaneously after consideration by a reviewer with a known level of bias. Consumers observe the reviewer`s decision and a private signal. We find that: (a) with flexible prices and...

The trend towards Internet self-regulation is driven both by gov-ernments that feel reluctant to invest in direct regulation (because offreedom of speech concerns or high cots of monitoring and enforce-ment) and by the industry that is under the threat of rising publicconcerns over content...