Firms selling multiple quality-differentiated products frequently alter theirproduct lines when a competitor enters the market. We present a model of multiproductmonopoly and duopoly using a general “upgrades” approach that yields a powerfulanalytical framework. We provide a simple...

This paper evaluates alternative strategic models of competition and market structure inonline retailing, and makes comparisons with traditional retailing. Online consumers areless concerned than traditional consumers about spatial characteristics and moreconcerned about hidden quality...

Dieser Beitrag wägt Vorteile und Nachteile verschiedener Flexibilisierungsstrategien ab, die der Stabilisierung des Beschäftigungsniveaus dienen. Insgesamt zeigt sich, daß Arbeitszeitflexibilisierung durch Arbeitszeitkonten alternativen - kurzfristig ausgerichteten - Anpassungsmechanismen aus...

The presented paper proves that working time arrangements, which include hours flexibilityand enable hours deposits, are appealing under product market uncertainty. The modelintegrates efficiency wage arguments into an implicit insurance-contract environment, thusextending the existing...

This paper contributes to recent research on work organization as a key success factor.

This paper investigates the determinants of vertical integration. We first derive a number of predictions regarding the relationship between technology intensity and vertical integration from a simple model with nancial imperfections andincomplete contracts. Then, we investigate these...

With adverse selection, diseconomies of scale associated with hierarchies may induce the implementation of a second-best technology. This occurs whenever rents to lower tiers of the hierarchy increase faster than total surplus. This is more likely with longer hierarchies.

We examine how information technology (IT) contributes to organizational change,labor demand, and improved productivity in the public sector using a new paneldata set of police departments covering 1987-2003. While IT adoption is associatedwith increased administrative and organizational...

We apply the property rights theory of Grossman-Hart-Moore in the musicindustry and study the optimal allocation of copyright between the artistswho create music and the labels who promote and distribute it. Digital tech-nology opens up a role for new intermediaries. We …nd that entry of...

In this paper we study the joint decision process of changing the structure of jobs and layingoff individual workers in a firm that downsizes its workforce. A hierarchical decision model isproposed and estimated using personnel data from a firm in demise comparing thecharacteristics of the...