In the ICT sector, product-software is an important factor for the quality of the products (e.g. cell phones). In this context, open source software enables firms to avoid quality competition as they can cooperate on quality without an explicit contract. The economics of open source (OS) versus...

This paper considers a dynamic model of the evolution of open source software projects, focusing on the evolution of quality, contributing programmers, and users who contribute customer support to other users. Programmers who have used open source software are motivated by reciprocal altruism to...

This paper analyzes the sources of quality of a pharmaceutical product. After identifying eight quality dimensions, a framework of hypothetical sources that contribute the most to shape those dimensions is established. The framework, based on Garvin's pioneering work, is applied to case studies...

This paper examines the dynamic process of quality adjustment in cases where the economy lacks a sufficient number of markets for coordinating the level of attributes that configure the qualities of products. It shows that an adjustment process through the development and selection of...

Der Gartenbau hat sich zu einem der weltweit dynamischsten Agrarsektoren entwickelt. Der Anbau von Obst und Gemüse birgt insbesondere für Entwicklungs- und Schwellenländer ein erhebliches Potential, um landwirtschaftliche Einkommen zu steigern und die ländliche Armut zu reduzieren....

If buyers do not observe the quality of a product and production of quality is costly, market allocations can be very inefficient. Certification intermediaries are institutions that provide information about quality to buyers. The amount of information in the market determines the incentives...

In this paper we extend the model of vertical product differentiation to also consider information disparities about the extent of quality differences. Equilibrium prices turn out to depend not only on the share of informed consumers but also on uninformed consumers beliefs about quality...

Consider a two-product firm that decides on the quality of each product. Product quality is unknown to consumers. If the firm sells both products under the same brand name, consumers adjust their beliefs about quality subject to the performance of both products. We show that if the probability...

We analyze vertical product differentiation in a model where a good's quality is unobservable to buyers before purchase, a continuum of quality levels is technologically feasible, and minimum quality is supplied under competitive conditions. After purchase the true quality of the good is...

This paper analyses the quality provision of interrelated market firms under different market structures both theoretically and empirically.A theoretical model is built,where a media firm offers newspapers in a primary market and advertising space in the secondary market.Furthermore,the media...