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This dissertation examines questions in industrial organization regarding the evaluation of antitrust and procurement policies. In the first two chapters, I examine whether antitrust agencies should consider the effects of product variety changes due to a merger. In the first chapter I test whether the merger had any effect on product variety directly. I find evidence of product variety changes due to a merger in the context of the MillerCoors merger of 2008. I find that the merged firm decreased the number of brands offered and offset this by increasing product variety in more successful brands. However, under a difference-and-differences framework, I find that product variety declined relative to that of other top competitors. In the second chapter, I examine the welfare effects of product variety changes and compare them to the welfare effects of prices to see what should be the priority of antitrust agencies. I estimate demand for the MillerCoors merger in the postmerger period, expanding on previous work in the literature. In a set of two counterfactuals, I test the value of new products created after the merger and the value of discontinued products lost after the merger. I find that the merger increased consumer surplus from changes in product variety. Benchmarking this to results in the literature, I find that the effects of product addition and discontinuation are approximately 34% and -4%, respectively, of the consumer welfare effects of the postmerger price changes in the presence of coordinated pricing found in prior work. In the third chapter, I provide a theoretical framework on how restrictions on firms participating in government procurement auctions affect local government procurement costs, firm participation for procurement decisions and firm investment decisions under the context of the Buy America Policy change in 2015. This policy increased the domestic materials requirement for federal funds to be used for purchases of transit goods, thereby r

En aquest projecte es presenta l’anàlisi de millores per al procés d’industrialització dels latiguillos, un component essencial en el sistema de fre d’una motocicleta. Més concretament, s’analitza el procés característic de l’empresa J.Juan Brake Systems, la qual forma part de les principals companyies que proporcionen sistemes de fre a clients arreu del món. En primer lloc, es presenta la metodologia actual seguida per desenvolupar els projectes en la qual s’inclou tant el procés de disseny com la posterior industrialització, el tipus de documentació i procediments necessaris i els membres que treballen a dur a terme totes les tasques imprescindibles. Els principals objectius d’aquest projecte són l’anàlisi de la situació actual de l’empresa i mitjançant la utilització de diverses eines com entrevistes, identificar la problemàtica real amb la finalitat de proposar una sèrie d’accions idònies per ser aplicades sense modificar en un alt grau la metodologia seguida actualment. A més, les accions resultats queden dividides en dos grups segons el grau de prioritat o dificultat d’aplicació. A partir de les propostes realitzades també, es busca l’aplicació de les millors propostes, per tant, es realitza un estudi de cadascuna d’elles tenint en compte tant avantatges com desavantatges i analitzant les possibles conseqüències en el moment de ser aplicades pels companys del departament de processos. Fent servir les millores proposades anteriorment, es desenvolupa la industrialització d’un latiguillo escollit d’un projecte real de l’empresa per dur a terme totes les tasques. Aquestes són les que actualment duen a terme els enginyers, per s’afegeixen les eines proposades a partir de l’anàlisi inicial. Finalment, s’aconsegueix l’aplicació i acceptació de la gran majoria de propostes fetes amb l’excepció de dues en particular. La simplificació dels arxius de consulta es troba en procés d’aplicació per què es troba a càrrec d’un altre departament., This project presents the analysis of improvements for the industrialisation process of brake hoses, an essential component in a motorbike's brake system. More specifically, it analyses the characteristic process of the company J.Juan Brake Systems, which is one of the main companies supplying brake systems to customers all over the world. Firstly, the current methodology followed to develop the projects is presented, which includes both the design process and the subsequent industrialisation, the type of documentation and procedures required and the members who work on carrying out all the essential tasks. The main objectives of this project are to analyse the current situation of the company and, by using various tools such as interviews, to identify the real problems with the aim of proposing a series of suitable actions to be applied without modifying to any great extent the methodology currently followed. Furthermore, the resulting actions are divided into two groups according to the degree of priority or difficulty of implementation. Based on the proposals made, the implementation of the best proposals is also searched for, therefore, a study of each of them is carried out, taking into account both advantages and disadvantages and analysing the possible consequences at the moment of their application by the colleagues of the Processes Department. Using the improvements proposed above, it is developed the industrialisation of a hose chosen from a real project of the company to implement all the tasks. These are the ones currently carried out by the engineers, but the proposed tools are added from the initial analysis. Finally, the application and acceptance of the vast majority of the proposals made is achieved, with the only exception of two in particular. The simplification of the consultation files is in the process of being applied because it is in the hands of another department, while the simplification of the flow of approval of changes has been rejected

With the rise of social platforms and digital media (e.g., videos, (live)streaming, and multi-media blogs), firms and brand owners increasingly depend on influencers to attract consumers, who care about both product quality and consumer-influencer interaction. Sellers thus compete in both influencer and product markets. We develop a theory to understand the influencer labor market and its interaction with product competition, under a plausible specification of influencers' value added. We find: (i) more powerful influencers sell better quality products for sellers with weaker direct-sale capacity, facilitating seller competition; (ii) advances in the intermediation technology can lead to non-monotonic changes in influencers' payoff and income inequality; (iii) style pluralism mitigates market concentration by horizontally differentiating the consumer experience but serves as either complements (intermediate style dispersion) or substitutes (small or large dispersions) to vertical product differentiation; and (iv) influencers may inefficiently under-invest in consumer outreach and unidirectional exclusivity can improve welfare in less competitive markets. Collectively, our findings highlight the novelty of the influencer economy and establish several theoretical baselines for future studies.

Did employee ownership preserve jobs and firm-level skill retention during the COVID-19 pandemic? In the United States, employee ownership (EO) primarily takes the form of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Using a longitudinal dataset composed of Department of Labor Form 5500 – CompuStat Fundamentals matched data from 2010-2022, this thesis examines the relationship between ESOPs and employment stability during the COVID pandemic for a large sample of public firms in the US. A fixed effects specification, controlling for a vector of firm characteristics and the national employment-to-population ratio, suggests that ESOPs had an employment-cushioning effect in public firms during the COVID-19 labor shock, with 2.5-5% higher average employee retention during the negative labor shock in 2020 compared to firms without ESOPs. This job-stability premium did not seem to persist in 2021, except for in firms with more than 10,000 employees, as government and financial intervention spurred a relatively quick, though industry-specific, economic recovery. However, in 2022, ESOPs are again associated with a job-growth premium across the board, displaying hiring rates an average 2% higher than firms without ESOPs. The size and sector of a firm seemed to partially determine the magnitude and significance of the ESOP’s stabilizing effect, with larger and more industrial firms seeing the most notable associations, though the correlation is evident across the sample. This labor-shock-absorbing relationship may have important implications for retaining firm-specific human capital through labor shocks, as well as for policymakers looking to preserve jobs during recessions and cut unemployment and welfare costs.

This paper builds on the literature on mission-oriented innovation policy, governance, transition studies and innovation systems, and develops a structural-functional approach to formatively evaluate mission governance from a Mission-oriented Innovation Systems (MIS) perspective. Central to this MIS approach is the mission arena, a governance structure where actors formulate and govern the mission, by mobilizing and directing other, preexisting system components. Their goal is to meet the mission by developing and diffusing innovative mission solutions and destabilizing harmful practices. The MIS approach involves a problem-solutions diagnosis and an analysis of structural, functional, and systemic barriers. To provide formative mission governance recommendations, the systemic barriers are then contrasted with the mission arena’s governance tasks. To illustrate the value of the MIS approach, we use a case study of the Dutch mission for sustainable maritime shipping. This case study illustrates a mission arena striving to increase coherence amongst different innovation system structures in semblance of a MIS. The mission arena configuration of actors shaped the mission formulation and negotiated governance actions. Dominant industry networks negotiated green growth as problem direction and non-committal governance actions, which are likely ineffective for inherently transformative sustainability missions. The paper concludes by identifying directions for further developing the MIS approach and the mission arena concept.

We analyze the impact on tourists’ arrivals after the bankruptcies of Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook. It draws on arrivals from the UK to Canary Islands and it employs a univariate and multivariate structural time series with level interventions. More interestingly, after Monarch exit, the policymakers applied a laissez faire strategy, which resulted in a 93.04% net loss of their level of traffic in Tenerife. However, after Thomas Cook exit, the policymakers intervened in the market proposing incentives to the incumbent airlines to cover the loss. It resulted in a 34.72% net loss of Thomas Cook level of traffic. Moreover, we provide details about the redistribution of the traffic among the incumbent airlines that diminished the net loss of passengers.

L'increment en el nombre de projectes, de vendes i conseqüentment de material i personal va propiciar una expansió accelerada de l'empresa. És per aquest motiu que l'any 2019, s’adquireix una segona nau industrial per a l'emmagatzematge de producte semi acabat i acabat. La velocitat a la qual es va produir aquest canvi va obligar a una ràpida adaptació. Aquest fet no va permetre dur a terme un estudi complet que permetés optimitzar aquest espai. En aquest treball final de Màster es realitza un estudi complet per a millorar l’organització industrial i la gestió logística d’aquesta empresa real de ventilació i filtració industrial. Aquest, se centra principalment en: • Analitzar i adaptar un sistema de gestió d’inventaris òptim. • Estudiar, dissenyar i presentar un nou magatzem per a l’empresa. Per al desenvolupament del primer punt s'han aplicat els coneixements previs adquirits. D’aquesta forma, s’ha pogut trobar un sistema de gestió d’inventaris adequat al model de negoci i al tipus de demanda que té. Un cop finalitzat aquest primer punt, el treball ha pogut avançar el segon punt. Per això ha estat necessari combinar els coneixements tant de l'assignatura de disseny de la cadena d'aprovisionament com de sistemes d'informació. S’han fet ús de les notes tècniques sobre dissenys de magatzems perseguint els objectius de maximitzar l’ocupació d’espai volumètric, minimitzar la manipulació de material i minimitzar els espais recorreguts. Els resultats d'aquest treball posen en evidència com aplicant les competències assolides en les diferents matèries cursades durant el Màster Universitari en Enginyeria d’Organització es pot realitzar una millora substancial en aspectes logístics, de producció i d’assignació de recursos en una empresa real., El incremento en el número de proyectos, ventas y consecuentemente de material y personal propició una expansión acelerada de la empresa. Es por este motivo que en 2019, se adquiere una segunda nave industrial para el almacenamiento de producto semi acabado y acabado. La velocidad a la que se produjo ese cambio obligó a una rápida adaptación. Este hecho no permitió realizar un estudio completo que permitiera optimizar este espacio. En este trabajo final de Máster se realiza un estudio completo para mejorar la organización industrial y la gestión logística de esta empresa real de ventilación y filtración industrial. Éste, se centra principalmente en: • Analizar y adaptar un óptimo sistema de gestión de inventarios. • Estudiar, diseñar y presentar un nuevo almacén para la empresa. Para el desarrollo del primer punto, se han aplicado los conocimientos previos adquiridos. De esta forma, se ha podido encontrar un sistema de gestión de inventarios adecuado al modelo de negocio y al tipo de demanda que tiene. Finalizado este primer punto, el trabajo ha podido avanzar el segundo punto. Por eso ha sido necesario combinar los conocimientos tanto de la asignatura de diseño de la cadena de aprovisionamiento como de sistemas de información. Se han utilizado las notas técnicas sobre diseños de almacenes persiguiendo los objetivos de maximizar la ocupación de espacio volumétrico, minimizar la manipulación de material y minimizar los espacios recorridos. Los resultados de este trabajo ponen en evidencia cómo aplicando las competencias alcanzadas en las diferentes materias cursadas durante el Máster Universitario en Ingeniería de Organización se puede realizar una mejora sustancial en aspectos logísticos, de producción y de asignación de recursos en una empresa real ., The increase in the number of projects, sales and consequently material and personnel led to an accelerated expansion of the company. It is for this reason that in 2019, a second industrial warehouse was acquired for the storage of semi-finished and finished products. The speed at which this change occurred forced rapid adaptation. This fact did not allow a complete study to be carried out to optimize this space. In this Master's final thesis, a complete study is carried out to improve the industrial organization and logistics management of this real industrial ventilation and filtration company. This mainly focuses on: • Analyse and adapt an optimal inventory management system. • Study, design and present a new warehouse for the company. For the development of the first point, the previous knowledge acquired has been applied. In this way, it has been possible to find an inventory management system suitable for the business model and the type of demand it has. Once this first point was completed, the work was able to advance the second point. That is why it has been necessary to combine the knowledge of both the subject of supply chain design and information systems. They have made use of the technical notes on warehouse designs pursuing the objectives of maximizing the use of volumetric space, minimizing the handling of material, and minimizing the spaces travelled. The results of this work show how by applying the skills acquired in the different subjects studied during the University Master's in Organizational Engineering, a substantial improvement can be made in logistics, production and resource allocation aspects in a real company.

When consumers are salient thinkers, as modeled by Bordalo et al. (2013), they place a relatively higher weight on the most outstanding - "salient" - attribute of a product in their purchase decision. The salient attribute is determined by the choice context, i.e., all available offers. As a consequence, profit-maximizing firms may set their quality and price strategically in order to draw consumers' attention to the attribute along which they have an advantage. This thesis summarizes, compares and contrasts behavioral industrial organization models investigating the implications of such competition, particularly on quality provision. The introduced models find that firms often have an incentive to deviate from the efficient quality level when consumers exhibit context-dependent preferences, and in some settings, the cost of this inefficiency is fully borne by consumers. In particular, in purchasing situations where consumers focus too much on prices, products with efficient quality may be crowded out from the market and be replaced by low-quality alternatives. This is especially undesirable in areas where consumers cannot judge the long-term consequences of their consumption decisions, for example, in the food industry. Research on consumers' relative preferences and the induced market outcomes therefore require policymakers' attention., Vanda Rajnai, Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2023

Monográfico: Estructura y dinámica de las cadenas globales de valor, Las transformaciones que durante las últimas décadas se han producido en la forma en que se organiza la producción y el comercio en el terreno de la economía mundial invitan a retomar y revisar la discusión en torno a las coordenadas conceptuales sobre las que se aborda el debate acerca de la competencia y la competitividad. En este trabajo se plantea una propuesta teórico-interpretativa para caracterizar la competencia en el marco de las cadenas globales de producción. Para ello se realiza un estudio de caso de la industria automotriz, a partir del cual se profundiza en el análisis de cómo impacta el proceso de modularización de la producción en la competencia entre las plantas ensambladoras de un mismo grupo empresarial., The transformations that have taken place in recent decades in the way in which production and trade are organised in the global economy invite us to revisit and revise the discussion on the conceptual coordinates on which the debate on competition and competitiveness is approached. This paper presents a theoretical-interpretative proposal to characterize competition in the context of global production chains. To this end, a case study of the automotive industry is carried out, from which we will also deepen the analysis of how the process of modularization of production impacts on the competition between assembly plants of the same business group., Instituto Complutense de Estudios Internacionales, TRUE, pub

When consumers are salient thinkers, as modeled by Bordalo et al. (2013), they place a relatively higher weight on the most outstanding - "salient" - attribute of a product in their purchase decision. The salient attribute is determined by the choice context, i.e., all available offers. As a consequence, profit-maximizing firms may set their quality and price strategically in order to draw consumers' attention to the attribute along which they have an advantage. This thesis summarizes, compares and contrasts behavioral industrial organization models investigating the implications of such competition, particularly on quality provision. The introduced models find that firms often have an incentive to deviate from the efficient quality level when consumers exhibit context-dependent preferences, and in some settings, the cost of this inefficiency is fully borne by consumers. In particular, in purchasing situations where consumers focus too much on prices, products with efficient quality may be crowded out from the market and be replaced by low-quality alternatives. This is especially undesirable in areas where consumers cannot judge the long-term consequences of their consumption decisions, for example, in the food industry. Research on consumers' relative preferences and the induced market outcomes therefore require policymakers' attention., Vanda Rajnai, Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2023

The transformations that have taken place in recent decades in the way in which production and trade are organised in the global economy invite us to revisit and revise the discussion on the conceptual coordinates on which the debate on competition and competitiveness is approached. This paper presents a theoretical-interpretative proposal to characterize competition in the context of global production chains. To this end, a case study of the automotive industry is carried out, from which we will also deepen the analysis of how the process of modularization of production impacts on the competition between assembly plants of the same business group., Las transformaciones que durante las últimas décadas se han producido en la forma en que se organiza la producción y el comercio en el terreno de la economía mundial invitan a retomar y revisar la discusión en torno a las coordenadas conceptuales sobre las que se aborda el debate acerca de la competencia y la competitividad. En este trabajo se plantea una propuesta teórico-interpretativa para caracterizar la competencia en el marco de las cadenas globales de producción. Para ello se realiza un estudio de caso de la industria automotriz, a partir del cual se profundiza en el análisis de cómo impacta el proceso de modularización de la producción en la competencia entre las plantas ensambladoras de un mismo grupo empresarial.

We analyze the impact on tourists’ arrivals after the bankruptcies of Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook. It draws on arrivals from the UK to Canary Islands and it employs a univariate and multivariate structural time series with level interventions. More interestingly, after Monarch exit, the policymakers applied a laissez faire strategy, which resulted in a 93.04% net loss of their level of traffic in Tenerife. However, after Thomas Cook exit, the policymakers intervened in the market proposing incentives to the incumbent airlines to cover the loss. It resulted in a 34.72% net loss of Thomas Cook level of traffic. Moreover, we provide details about the redistribution of the traffic among the incumbent airlines that diminished the net loss of passengers.

Ensuring that the record of Bitcoin transactions is secure uses a lot of computational power. Miners, who supply this power to the Bitcoin network, earn transaction fees and new bitcoins. Ultimately, though, bitcoin miners will earn only fees as the number of new bitcoins slowly declines to zero. As mining rewards wane, some experts say that Bitcoin will become vulnerable to attacks. Will Bitcoin transactions remain secure in the future? Our analysis focuses on the fact that mining some cryptocurrencies requires investment in specialized computing hardware. We look at the impact this fixed cost has on the feasibility of a profitable double-spending attack. We show that specialized hardware gives an added layer of protection to the Bitcoin network. As a result, things look less gloomy for the security of the Bitcoin transaction record. Smaller cryptocurrencies that rely on the same specialized hardware as larger ones may be less protected.

This article aims to theoretically examine the relation between prudential and antitrust regulation of banks. For this, we built a theoretical model that considers different situations of prudential regulation and their repercussions on the market power and the industrial organization of banks are evaluated. When market power is high, antitrust regulation is feeble, and therefore there is little competition. The theoretical results allow us to conclude that the market power of a bank is higher when prudential regulation is rigid, implying a conflict between prudential regulation and antitrust regulation. Finally, we show empirical evidence on this situation and propose a new regulation scheme to solve the problem for the case of Mexico., El objetivo de este artículo es examinar teóricamente la relación entre la regulación prudencial y antimonopolios de los bancos. Para esto se elabora un modelo teórico donde se consideran diferentes situaciones de regulación prudencial y se evalúan sus repercusiones sobre el poder de mercado y la organización industrial de los bancos. Cuando el poder de mercado es elevado significa que la regulación antimonopolios está siendo poco efectiva y, por lo tanto, existe poca competencia. Los resultados teóricos permiten concluir que el poder de mercado de un banco es más elevado cuando la regulación prudencial es rígida, lo que implica que existe un conflicto entre la regulación prudencial y la regulación antimonopolios. Por último, se ofrece evidencia empírica de esta situación para el caso de México y se propone un nuevo esquema de regulación para solucionar esta inconsistencia.

Explicació detallada d'un projecte real a escala industrial de reducció de costos i elements contaminants, basat en el disseny i implantació d'un sistema per millorar de la neteja de peces d'una planta productora de cilindres hidràulics. Es tracten temes de organització i lideratge de projectes, utilització de les tecnologies de transformació digital i indústria 4.0., metodologies productives com el Lean Manufacturing i eines emprades en el món de la millora contínua. També s'analitza els processos de disseny assistit per ordinador duts a terme en el projecte.

The paper examines the origin and conception of antitrust policies in Peru, highlighting the historical context, theoretical principles, motivations, values and interests that explain their adoption since the end of 1991. As a comparative reference, the paper delves into the origin and controversies on antitrust in the U.S. and post-war Germany. In contrast to these experiences, we show that competition rules in Peru were adopted without further discussion of their nature and objectives, ignoring the serious consequences of an excessive concentration of economic power on democracy and social order., El texto examina el origen y concepción de las políticas de libre competencia en el Perú, poniendo de relieve el contexto histórico, los principios teóricos, motivaciones, valores e intereses que explican su adopción desde fines de 1991. Como referencia comparativa se expone el origen y las controversias sobre el antitrust en EE.UU. y en Alemania de la posguerra. En contraste con estas experiencias, mostramos que las normas de competencia en el Perú fueron adoptadas sin mayor discusión sobre su naturaleza y objetivos, ignorando las graves consecuencias de una concentración excesiva del poder económico en la democracia y el orden social.

This dissertation broadly focuses on two topics in spatial competition. The first two chapters examine the role of regulation in growing shared micromobility market in Washington, DC. The third chapter looks at the fixed broadband market in Wisconsin, USA, and tries to offer insights into the observed spatial pattern of infrastructure upgrades by the incumbents in relation to the entry threat. In the first chapter, I build and estimate a model of shared micromobility market. The demand side of the market is represented by a standard random utility model. In order to estimate consumer preferences over price and non-price characteristics, I borrow a novel method that accounts for the observed zero market shares in the data. The supply side of the market is represented by a dynamic discrete choice incomplete information game. It is well-known that equilibrium calculation and estimation of these kinds of games are challenging. I employ a variety of concepts and methods that help accommodate those challenges to recover unobserved cost components for scooter operators. The second chapter builds on the model and estimation results from the first chapter. In this chapter, I conduct counterfactual exercises to analyze the welfare effects of regulation on Washington, DC micromobility market due to local authorities. I specifically focus on two scenarios. In the first scenario, I explore the effect of a policy that promotes equity in dockless vehicle use. I do so by implementing a subsidy to dockless vehicle use in low income neighborhoods. In the second scenario, I explore how welfare outcomes change when the local authority grants fewer permits of operation in the market. The third chapter aims to explore competitive practices in the fixed broadband industry in the United States. I find that in face of potential entry by fiber ISPs, incumbent cable modem ISPs strategically invest in upgrading their existing infrastructure. I do so by looking at two kinds of local markets: th

In an increasingly competitive market, businesses must bet on the improvement of their manufacturing processes. Today's challenges for all businesses are to produce more with fewer resources, faster and more efficiently. The adoption of the Lean Thinking mindset is one of the tactics that various firms have implemented in their persistent quest of efficiency and work process improvement. Lean Thinking is a concept that seeks to produce value while eliminating waste. It is not a goal or objective, but rather a method of achieving efficiency and effectiveness. The Lean concept was formed on the basis of the Toyota Production System. These systems generate a set of default rules with effective practises, allowing the firm to stand out during the 1973 Japanese economic crisis. The primary goals of this philosophy are to simplify procedures in order to boost production while decreasing expenses and rework. The purpose of this work is to investigate the implementation of this philosophy, its roots, tools and a critical analysis of its implementation. The research work will begin with a brief historical approach that will serve as a connection from classical organizational ideas to today, an exploration of the concepts and techniques that underpin a lean methodology, the critical factors adjacent to its implementation, and culminates with a detailed description of the requirements and steps for a company to become a “Lean Enterprise”.

The 2018 farm bill removed industrial hemp from the Schedule 1 Controlled Substance List. In response, states scrambled to enact hemp legislation. Some hemp flower producers report their hemp fields were cross- pollinated by a neighbor growing a different hemp cultivar. For hemp flower crops, cross- pollination reduces cannabinoid concentration levels within the flower; these concentration levels dictate flower price. We show that in a repeated game, once a sufficiently large percentage of growers decide to plant hemp fiber/seed crops, cross-pollination forces flower growers to convert to fiber/seed to avoid the negative network externality. Over time, a stable, suboptimal Nash equilibrium of reduced flower production results. The most important factor driving this tip to reduced flower production is pollen transmission rates between fields. This factor can be effectively reduced through either an auction-style quota system directed at seed and fiber cultivars or intertemporal zoning laws that dictate when a particular cultivar can be planted. As applications for hemp growing licenses swell, cross- pollination between farmers becomes increasingly likely. If left unchecked by policy, farm-level income and rural economic development will be suppressed.

Why do so many firms successfully bring innovative new products to market, only to fail shortly thereafter? I argue that early sales are critical in improving a product's characteristics, leading to more sales: the result is a ``bottle rocket" economy where a minor difference in initial trajectory leads a firm to accelerate to the heavens or just as rapidly crash to earth.Chapter 1 concerns the role of reliability growth in dynamics. A firm can observe problems encountered by early adopters and modify their blueprint accordingly. Trial-and-error thus allows successful products to become more reliable, and thus even more successful, posing a challenging ``competitive moat" to entrants. I apply this model to the market for space launches, showing that observable reliability growth explains the longevity of rockets from the 1950s, the expensive failure of the majority of new orbital launch vehicles, and the apparent backfiring of US sanctions meant to stem the growth of the Chinese space sector.Chapter 2 extends this model of reliability growth to software: crucially, automatic updates allow early adopters to benefit from continued product improvement. This results in a dynamic game of imperfect information: consumers adopt a product based on both current value and expected future improvements, while firms must decide if delivering on expectations is profitable. I find that firms release patches at a relatively steady rate until support is ended completely, and present an equilibrium where protracted steady patching serves as both a direct product improvement and a credible signal for long-term support.Chapter 3 concerns social influence in adopting a new product: users can delay adoption until network effects strengthen or social consensus is positive. I establish a micro-foundation for the canonical ``social influence" model of adoption, and develop a novel nonparametric estimator the heterogeneity of user preferences underlying an observed adoption curve. Using adop

This dissertation encompasses three works on nuclear power plants (NPPs). A theme common to all chapters is the question of why nuclear power has failed to achieve the success envisioned by its proponents, particularly when that success has been achieved at certain times and in certain places yet failed to continue into the present day or disseminate globally. I address my research questions with a theoretical framework informed by the study of political economy, which I argue is necessary to understand this politically-charged subject. In Chapter 1, I study lead time---the duration of construction and commissioning---which is an important determinant of the capital cost of NPPs. For an industry dominated by a handful of multinational firms, the degree of cross-national variation is surprising. NPP lead times have historically trended upwards over time in Western nations, and yet they are comparatively quick and stable in East Asia. I theorize that the institutional capacity and autonomy of subnational governments can partially explain these patterns in the data. Having assembled a novel dataset on the design specifications of the global population of NPPs, I empirically document a positive association between political decentralization and NPP lead time that is not explained by observed cross-country differences in NPP design. The results are suggestive of the hypothesis that political decentralization creates conditions that slow NPP construction for non-technical reasons. However, the findings are not robust to certain robustness checks and fail to rule out the possibility that unobserved differences in design explain this association.In Chapter 2, I study the operational reliability of NPPs, which has globally trended upwards since the 1970s. Previously, Davis and Wolfram (2012) showed that the transfer of NPP ownership from vertically-integrated utilities under cost-of-service regulation to independent power producers operating in competitive wholesale electric

Drawing on theory from development economics and industrial organization, I study the economics of rural firms and markets to understand how different types of shocks affect firm operations. I examine three types of shocks: technology, weather, and prices. I use a combination of randomized experimental variation and quasi-experimental variation to identify the effect of each type of shock on small firm outcomes. The primary outcomes are relational contracting with suppliers and customers, firm performance (sales, profits, hiring of workers), number of competitors, and changes to input and output prices.In the first essay, I evaluate how a technology shock designed to lower search costs affects how firms interact with their suppliers and customers. For small firms, search frictions interfere with learning about new suppliers in their upstream market, and raise the cost of meeting new customers in their downstream market. Using a randomized experiment of 507 small firms, I study the impact of a digital phonebook that lowers the cost of accessing new business and customer contacts. Participating firms are split into a control and treatment group with two variations: 1) a phonebook listing that is visible to upstream suppliers in urban areas, and 2) a phonebook listing that is visible to downstream customers in rural areas. I find that treated firms increase relational contracting with their suppliers and decrease it with their customers. Yet, there is no strong evidence that the number of new customers or suppliers increases. This pattern suggests that being listed in the phonebook caused firms to update their valuation of relational contracts and respond by negotiating better terms with suppliers and customers.In the second essay, I study how a weather shock that lowers agricultural production affects rural firms whose customer base experiences crop losses. In the absence of insurance and credit markets, the effect of adverse weather shocks on rural firms is ambiguous

This dissertation encompasses three works on nuclear power plants (NPPs). A theme common to all chapters is the question of why nuclear power has failed to achieve the success envisioned by its proponents, particularly when that success has been achieved at certain times and in certain places yet failed to continue into the present day or disseminate globally. I address my research questions with a theoretical framework informed by the study of political economy, which I argue is necessary to understand this politically-charged subject. In Chapter 1, I study lead time---the duration of construction and commissioning---which is an important determinant of the capital cost of NPPs. For an industry dominated by a handful of multinational firms, the degree of cross-national variation is surprising. NPP lead times have historically trended upwards over time in Western nations, and yet they are comparatively quick and stable in East Asia. I theorize that the institutional capacity and autonomy of subnational governments can partially explain these patterns in the data. Having assembled a novel dataset on the design specifications of the global population of NPPs, I empirically document a positive association between political decentralization and NPP lead time that is not explained by observed cross-country differences in NPP design. The results are suggestive of the hypothesis that political decentralization creates conditions that slow NPP construction for non-technical reasons. However, the findings are not robust to certain robustness checks and fail to rule out the possibility that unobserved differences in design explain this association.In Chapter 2, I study the operational reliability of NPPs, which has globally trended upwards since the 1970s. Previously, Davis and Wolfram (2012) showed that the transfer of NPP ownership from vertically-integrated utilities under cost-of-service regulation to independent power producers operating in competitive wholesale electric

Si bien algunas plataformas de mercados bilaterales, como los periódicos, han estado operando durante cientos de años, la prevalencia y el dominio más recientes de gigantes tecnológicos como FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix y Google) han transformado profundamente la economía global. A pesar de las actividades muy diferentes de estas empresas, una característica clave compartida es actuar como intermediario conectando dos o más grupos distintos de agentes económicos. Al suscribirse a una plataforma, cada agente crea valor para otros agentes en la plataforma. Debido a estas externalidades de red indirectas, las reglas que han sido diseñadas para los mercados tradicionales por la literatura de organizaciones industriales a menudo no son adecuadas para evaluar los resultados de mercado bilaterales. Esta disertación contiene tres ensayos que estudian varios temas sobre cómo operan y compiten las plataformas. En el Capítulo 1, estudio las fuerzas competitivas que determinan el impacto de una reducción del impuesto al valor agregado (IVA) para los periódicos digitales en los lectores y la oferta de noticias digitales. Primero, formulo un modelo de demanda y entrada de periódicos digitales en el que los periódicos compiten tanto por lectores como por anunciantes. Una reducción del IVA aumenta el número de lectores si la competencia de precios, la expansión del mercado y los efectos de emparejamiento de la entrada adicional superan el efecto directo de los precios en los consumidores. En segundo lugar, calibro los parámetros del modelo utilizando datos noruegos sobre lectores, precios e ingresos de periódicos digitales. El modelo calibrado implica que la reducción de la tasa del IVA por parte de Noruega en 2016 ha aumentado el superávit del consumidor y ha reducido la escasez de oferta de noticias en el mercado. Finalmente, exploro políticas alternativas: al tener en cuenta la doble vertiente de las noticias digitales, un subsidio publicitario de valor agregado es más efecti, While some two-sided market platforms such as newspapers have been operating for hundreds of years, the more recent prevalence and dominance of tech giants such as FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) have profoundly transformed the global economy. Despite these firms' very different activities, a shared key characteristic is acting as an intermediary by connecting two or more distinct groups of economic agents. By subscribing to a platform, each agent creates value for other agents on the platform. Due to these indirect network externalities, rules that have been designed for traditional markets by the industrial organization literature are often not adequate to assess two-sided market outcomes. This dissertation contains three essays that study several issues on how platforms operate and compete. In Chapter 1, I study competitive forces that determine the impact of a value-added tax (VAT) reduction for digital newspapers on readership and supply of digital news. First, I formulate a model of digital newspaper demand and entry in which newspapers compete for both readers and advertisers. A VAT reduction raises readership if the price competition, market expansion, and matching effects from additional entry outweigh the direct pricing effect on consumers. Second, I calibrate the model parameters using Norwegian data on digital newspaper readership, prices, and revenues. The calibrated model implies that the VAT rate reduction by Norway in 2016 has increased consumer surplus and has reduced the news under-supply in the market. Finally, I explore alternative policies: by accounting for the two-sidedness of digital news, a value-added advertising subsidy is more effective than a VAT reduction in increasing readership since it leads to a direct price decrease as well as additional entry. In Chapter 2, I study the incentives of an incumbent platform to use a long-term contract for sellers to deter efficient entry. Whether a long-term contract is an anti-competiti

The automotive industry is experiencing an in-depth transformation related to the transition towards electric, connected, autonomous and shared vehicles. This transition process reveals impacts on the architecture of the sector's global production chains, specifically, on product design, on the organization of production and logistics processes, and on the actors that participate in the chains. The objective of this paper is to offer some research notes about the main trends observed in this transformation process and to propose some key analysis dimensions to analyze the position of the Spanish automotive industry in this context of transition., La industria del automóvil está experimentando transformaciones profundas relacionadas con la transición hacia el vehículo electrico, conectado, autónomo y compartido. Este proceso de transición revela impactos en la arquitectura de las cadenas globales de producción del sector, en concreto, en el diseño del propio producto, en cómo se organizan los procesos productivos y logísticos y en los actores que participan en las cadenas. El objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer unas notas de investigacion acerca de las principales tendencias que se observan en este proceso de transformacion y plantear, aun de manera tentativa, algunas dimensiones de análisis clave para analizar la posición de la industria automotriz española en este contexto de transición.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Department of Economics, 2019., This dissertation is a collection of three papers studying both theoretical and applied aspects of mechanism design. In Chapter 1, we study competing auctions where each seller has private information about the quality of his object and chooses the reserve price of a second-price auction. Buyers observe the reserve prices and decide which auction to participate in. For a class of primitives, we show that a perfect Bayesian equilibrium exists for any finite market. In any such PBE, higher quality is signaled through higher reserve price at the expense of trade opportunities. But there might be bunching regions causing inefficiencies. In fact, in the large-market limit characterized by a directed search model, the interaction of adverse selection and search frictions entail distortion at the bottom: when either the buyer-seller ratio is sufficiently large or a regularity condition is met, there is no separating PBE in which the lowest-quality seller sets reserve price equal to his opportunity cost. This finding carries over to large finite markets and is consistent with observed behavior in auctions for used cars in UK (Choi, Nesheim and Rasul, 2016). In Chapter 2, we study games where a group of privately informed principals design mechanisms to a common agent. The agent has private information (exogenous) and, after observing principals' mechanisms, may have information (endogenous) about feasible allocations and private information from each principal. Thus, each principal may be interested in designing a mechanism to screen all this information, for which a potentially complicated message space to convey this information might be needed. In this project, we provide sufficient conditions on the agent's payoff such that any equilibrium in this setup has an output-equivalent equilibrium using only mechanisms with simple message spaces (direct mechanisms). Depending on the conditions, we propose two different notions of direct mechanisms and discuss their applicabilit

This thesis studies the potential of three business models to increase the circularity of our economy by reducing material consumption in production and/or consumption patterns with a focus on the strategic reaction between firms and consumers using the Industrial Organization toolbox. In particular: Chapter 1 studies the “coopetition” between a manufacturer and a platform to shed light on how the P2P market can be beneficial for both the environment and consumers, given the strategic interaction between the two firms. Chapter 2 analyzes the competition between a manufacturer of a primary product and a recycler that recycles the end-of-life products from the former, proving that an improvement of the collection system for recycling does not monotonically reduce the quantity of primary production. Chapter 3 studies the potential of a pay-per-use business model to be a win-win situation compared with the traditional selling business model, showing that pay-per-use does not always lead to higher profits for the firm and lower aggregate use levels from consumers. Together, the three chapters contribute to the discussion on the circular economy by stressing three important messages: (1) The ability to understand how the parts of a system interact to produce the behavior of the whole is critical when investigating the potential of the circular economy, (2) the new business models are not necessarily better than selling, and (3) there is no one-size-fits-all policy to correct the failure of the new business models to deliver the desired outcomes., (ECGE - Sciences économiques et de gestion) -- UCL, 2021

Why do so many firms successfully bring innovative new products to market, only to fail shortly thereafter? I argue that early sales are critical in improving a product's characteristics, leading to more sales: the result is a ``bottle rocket" economy where a minor difference in initial trajectory leads a firm to accelerate to the heavens or just as rapidly crash to earth.Chapter 1 concerns the role of reliability growth in dynamics. A firm can observe problems encountered by early adopters and modify their blueprint accordingly. Trial-and-error thus allows successful products to become more reliable, and thus even more successful, posing a challenging ``competitive moat" to entrants. I apply this model to the market for space launches, showing that observable reliability growth explains the longevity of rockets from the 1950s, the expensive failure of the majority of new orbital launch vehicles, and the apparent backfiring of US sanctions meant to stem the growth of the Chinese space sector.Chapter 2 extends this model of reliability growth to software: crucially, automatic updates allow early adopters to benefit from continued product improvement. This results in a dynamic game of imperfect information: consumers adopt a product based on both current value and expected future improvements, while firms must decide if delivering on expectations is profitable. I find that firms release patches at a relatively steady rate until support is ended completely, and present an equilibrium where protracted steady patching serves as both a direct product improvement and a credible signal for long-term support.Chapter 3 concerns social influence in adopting a new product: users can delay adoption until network effects strengthen or social consensus is positive. I establish a micro-foundation for the canonical ``social influence" model of adoption, and develop a novel nonparametric estimator the heterogeneity of user preferences underlying an observed adoption curve. Using adop

This dissertation encompasses three works on nuclear power plants (NPPs). A theme common to all chapters is the question of why nuclear power has failed to achieve the success envisioned by its proponents, particularly when that success has been achieved at certain times and in certain places yet failed to continue into the present day or disseminate globally. I address my research questions with a theoretical framework informed by the study of political economy, which I argue is necessary to understand this politically-charged subject. In Chapter 1, I study lead time---the duration of construction and commissioning---which is an important determinant of the capital cost of NPPs. For an industry dominated by a handful of multinational firms, the degree of cross-national variation is surprising. NPP lead times have historically trended upwards over time in Western nations, and yet they are comparatively quick and stable in East Asia. I theorize that the institutional capacity and autonomy of subnational governments can partially explain these patterns in the data. Having assembled a novel dataset on the design specifications of the global population of NPPs, I empirically document a positive association between political decentralization and NPP lead time that is not explained by observed cross-country differences in NPP design. The results are suggestive of the hypothesis that political decentralization creates conditions that slow NPP construction for non-technical reasons. However, the findings are not robust to certain robustness checks and fail to rule out the possibility that unobserved differences in design explain this association.In Chapter 2, I study the operational reliability of NPPs, which has globally trended upwards since the 1970s. Previously, Davis and Wolfram (2012) showed that the transfer of NPP ownership from vertically-integrated utilities under cost-of-service regulation to independent power producers operating in competitive wholesale electric

Drawing on theory from development economics and industrial organization, I study the economics of rural firms and markets to understand how different types of shocks affect firm operations. I examine three types of shocks: technology, weather, and prices. I use a combination of randomized experimental variation and quasi-experimental variation to identify the effect of each type of shock on small firm outcomes. The primary outcomes are relational contracting with suppliers and customers, firm performance (sales, profits, hiring of workers), number of competitors, and changes to input and output prices.In the first essay, I evaluate how a technology shock designed to lower search costs affects how firms interact with their suppliers and customers. For small firms, search frictions interfere with learning about new suppliers in their upstream market, and raise the cost of meeting new customers in their downstream market. Using a randomized experiment of 507 small firms, I study the impact of a digital phonebook that lowers the cost of accessing new business and customer contacts. Participating firms are split into a control and treatment group with two variations: 1) a phonebook listing that is visible to upstream suppliers in urban areas, and 2) a phonebook listing that is visible to downstream customers in rural areas. I find that treated firms increase relational contracting with their suppliers and decrease it with their customers. Yet, there is no strong evidence that the number of new customers or suppliers increases. This pattern suggests that being listed in the phonebook caused firms to update their valuation of relational contracts and respond by negotiating better terms with suppliers and customers.In the second essay, I study how a weather shock that lowers agricultural production affects rural firms whose customer base experiences crop losses. In the absence of insurance and credit markets, the effect of adverse weather shocks on rural firms is ambiguous

This thesis aims to analyze the rules of competition of the commercial launch industry between the years 2010-2020 to better understand the market and gain strategic insights for market share captivation or profitability. The industry is analyzed quantitively within the theoretical framework of Porter's five competitive forces. By the means of a Pooled OLS model, we conduct a regression analysis with five industry proxies that closely relate to Porter’s five forces to explain competition in the industry. The results provided us with enough evidence that quantitively applying Porter’s five forces with industry specific proxies leads us to a better understanding of competition in the commercial launch industry. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the strongest competitive force is the threat of buyers. While the threat of competitive rivalry, power of suppliers and new entrants are relatively weak but highly significant, the threat of substitutes is of very low significance to affect market competition. The result of the analysis is then used as a tool to provide strategic insights for industry actors for optimal positioning in the market. Finally, we present some suggestions for future research on the subject, as well as other industry analysis using the theoretical framework.

We employ a multi-equation structural model of the housing market to analyze the determinants of new housing prices in Medellin during 2009-2014. The model includes observed variables and unobserved variables, such as costs that are not included in the housing cost index, but that still affect prices. In the analysis, we employ an industrial organization framework to examine the interaction between microeconomic and macroeconomic variables. The results indicate that employment, economic growth, and public policies (subsidies) affect real housing prices positively, while inflation affects real prices negatively. In addition to the variables typically included in the analysis in prior research, we include several determinants of housing supply, including construction costs, and two market interest rates. © 2019 Universidad Nacional de Colombia.Cette recherche vise, à travers un modèle structurel, à identifier les facteurs déterminants du prix du logement neuf non social (non VIS) à Medellin, pour expliquer la formation de prix à partir de l'organisation industrielle du secteur. Les résultats montrent que l'emploi, la croissance économique et les politiques publiques (subventions) influent directement -l'inflation joue un rôle négatif- sur les conditions du marché du logement (CMV) ; en même temps, les CMV affectent l'offre et la demande, forces qui, à leur tour, ont une incidence sur la formation des prix du marché. En outre, cela révèle l'incidence des politiques publiques sur l'augmentation des prix. © 2019 Universidad Nacional de Colombia.Esta pesquisa busca, por meio de um modelo estrutural, identificar os determinantes do preço da moradia nova no VIS em Medellín, com o fim de explicar a formação de preços a partir da organização industrial do setor. Os resultados indicam que o emprego, o crescimento econômico e as políticas públicas (subsídios) influem diretamente -a inflação tem ingerência negativa- sobre as condições do mercado de moradia (CMV); simultaneamente

We analyze the main determinants of end user retail price according to characteristic of the Colombian electricity market, considering some key variables that determine the end user retail price. From the industrial organization approach, and using a panel data model, we analyze the influence of the vertical integration of the companies that participate in the electricity market on the regulated retail tariff, we control by network restrictions and by external factors such as the El Niño phenomenon. Based on the results found in the estimates, we propose a discussion on the current structure of the Colombian electricity market and a possible solution through prepaid electricity and smart meters that can provide better energy efficiency of the demand-side. © 2019 IEEE.

We analyze the main determinants of end user retail price according to characteristic of the Colombian electricity market, considering some key variables that determine the end user retail price. From the industrial organization approach, and using a panel data model, we analyze the influence of the vertical integration of the companies that participate in the electricity market on the regulated retail tariff, we control by network restrictions and by external factors such as the El Niño phenomenon. Based on the results found in the estimates, we propose a discussion on the current structure of the Colombian electricity market and a possible solution through prepaid electricity and smart meters that can provide better energy efficiency of the demand-side. © 2019 IEEE.

The internet is one of the most important services worldwide, its use and increase in coverage are between the main concerns of development agendas. These markets tend to be highly concentrated, and competition policies have few tools to differentiate between companies with market power or possible abuse of it. The development, innovation, and research in the technology and telecommunications sector is growing and is promoted by the government. There are many entrepreneurs that need broadband for their business; that is the main reason for studying this sector. In Colombia, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) made recommendations for the telecommunications market, including the Internet, to improve not only the indicators but also the policies. The competition policies for the internet market in Colombia generate an impact on consumers and of course on entrepreneurship. The competition policy is made for the companies that have direct contact with the final consumer, so the wholesaler can manage different prices and practices that can affect the final consumer but there is not a clear policy for them. The aim is to analyze the Internet market in Colombia between 2010 and 2015 in a theoretical and empirical way, what is the impact of vertical integration on companies, competition policies and especially in the entrepreneurship. In Colombia, 75% of the population lives in the urban area. According to data from the OECD, the gap in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in large and small companies is high, only 20% of small medium enterprises (SMEs) are connected to the internet; this figure is low, given that 96.4% of companies in Colombia are microenterprises. The competition policy for the internet sector in Colombia is focused on regulating the retail market, which has direct contact with the end users of the service. It is common to hear that the superintendence of commerce, industry, and tourism has sanctioned an e

Diese Dissertation analysiert drei unterschiedliche Märkte im Rahmen der digitalen Wirtschaft und bietet einen Einblick in die relevanten Wohlfahrtsimplikationen und politischen Vorschläge. Das erste Kapitel konzentriert sich auf den Crowdfunding-Markt und zeigt, dass asymmetrische Informationen zu einem höheren Preis bei Vorbestellung führen, was das Risiko von Moral Hazard verringert. Es weist auch auf den Konflikt zwischen dem Erfolg des Crowdfundings und dem Verhindern der Flucht des Entrepreneurs nach dem Erfolg hin. Das zweite Kapitel kombiniert theoretische Analysen mit einem Laborexperimente, um die Auswirkungen der Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) auf die Wahl von Verbrauchern bezüglich ihrer Privatsphäre zu untersuchen. Es zeigt, dass eine vorgeschriebene gemeinsame Nutzung von Daten zwischen Unternehmen dazu führt, dass Verbraucher vermehrt ihre Daten zur Verfügung stellen und dass Verbraucherwohl steigt. Dies ist eine gute Ergänzung für die Debatte der Europäischen Kommission über eine vorgeschriebene gemeinsame Nutzung von Daten in bestimmten Sektoren darstellt. Im letzten Kapitel wird die On-Demand-Plattform im Taximarkt erörtert, bei der der Preis flexibel ist und an die aggregierte Nachfrage und das Angebot angepasst wird. Gegen die eigene Intuition deutet das Ergebnis darauf hin, dass das Problem von zu wenig Angebot bei steigender Nachfrage möglicherweise nicht durch genügend neue Marktteilnehmer gelöst wird. Sozialplaner, On-Demand-Plattform und Dienstleister haben unterschiedliche Anreize für den Markteintritt., This thesis analyzes three distinct markets under digital economy and offers insight on the relevant welfare implications and policy suggestions. The first chapter focuses on the crowdfunding market and demonstrates that asymmetric information leads to a higher pre-ordering price which lessens the risk of moral hazard. It also points out the trade-off between making the crowdfunding succeed and preventing the entrepreneur from running away after the success. The second chapter combines theoretical analysis with laboratory experiment to explore the effect of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on consumer's privacy choice. It shows that mandating data sharing among firms leads consumers to give up more privacy and increases consumer welfare, which acts as a good supplement for European Commission's debate on the mandated data sharing in specific sectors. The last chapter discusses the on-demand platform in taxi market where the price is flexible and adjusted by aggregate demand and supply. Contrary to common sense, the result suggests that enough new entrants may not solve the problem of undersupply when demand surges. Social planner, on-demand platform and service providers have different incentives regarding when to enter the market.

The automotive industry is experiencing an in-depth transformation related to the transition towards electric, connected, autonomous and shared vehicles. This transition process reveals impacts on the architecture of the sector's global production chains, specifically, on product design, on the organization of production and logistics processes, and on the actors that participate in the chains. The objective of this paper is to offer some research notes about the main trends observed in this transformation process and to propose some key analysis dimensions to analyze the position of the Spanish automotive industry in this context of transition., La industria del automóvil está experimentando transformaciones profundas relacionadas con la transición hacia el vehículo electrico, conectado, autónomo y compartido. Este proceso de transición revela impactos en la arquitectura de las cadenas globales de producción del sector, en concreto, en el diseño del propio producto, en cómo se organizan los procesos productivos y logísticos y en los actores que participan en las cadenas. El objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer unas notas de investigacion acerca de las principales tendencias que se observan en este proceso de transformacion y plantear, aun de manera tentativa, algunas dimensiones de análisis clave para analizar la posición de la industria automotriz española en este contexto de transición.

This thesis aims to analyze the rules of competition of the commercial launch industry between the years 2010-2020 to better understand the market and gain strategic insights for market share captivation or profitability. The industry is analyzed quantitively within the theoretical framework of Porter's five competitive forces. By the means of a Pooled OLS model, we conduct a regression analysis with five industry proxies that closely relate to Porter’s five forces to explain competition in the industry. The results provided us with enough evidence that quantitively applying Porter’s five forces with industry specific proxies leads us to a better understanding of competition in the commercial launch industry. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the strongest competitive force is the threat of buyers. While the threat of competitive rivalry, power of suppliers and new entrants are relatively weak but highly significant, the threat of substitutes is of very low significance to affect market competition. The result of the analysis is then used as a tool to provide strategic insights for industry actors for optimal positioning in the market. Finally, we present some suggestions for future research on the subject, as well as other industry analysis using the theoretical framework.

Purpose: Employee participation is considered a fundamental pillar to implement continuous improvement. Based on this consideration, this article presents an action research case study in a large food manufacturer where employee participation is implemented. The experience has a two-fold objective: improve performance of the production system and make the participative philosophy deep-rooted among workers. Design/methodology/approach: The authors implement a structured participation system, establishing an approach of empowerment and focusing on the creation of suitable organizational structures. Under those premises, improvement teams were created on each of the firm’s production lines. Once the participation of the workers is finished, they were given a questionnaire to assess how deep-rooted the participative culture had become. Findings: The results show a remarkable improvement in the efficiency of manufacturing processes, as well as the consolidation of a participative philosophy. However, there are notable differences in the results obtained for each improvement team. Research limitations/implications: The differences obtained in the results highlight certain issues that future research must tackle. These include the way in which the staff should be rewarded for their participation or what the influence of the organizational context is when setting improvement objectives. Practical implications: The positive results obtained support the methodology proposed by the authors for structuring participation. Organizations can set up projects of this type to improve their competitiveness while at the same time strengthening the commitment of their personnel. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies in the field of employee participation that jointly assess the economic area and the cultural and organizational plane, Peer Reviewed

El present document té com objectiu estudiar els actuals mètodes de fabricació referent a la producció de taules de fingerboard, materials i processos, a fi d’implementar millores automatitzant o semi-automatitzant tasques. Junt amb aquest estudi previ, es proposarà el disseny d’una matriu que serà capaç d’augmentar significativament la producció diària de taules. Així doncs, es generarà un nou layout i una metodologia de treball per portar a terme els diferents passos per a la fabricació d’aquest producte. El criteri per al disseny d’aquests processos ha sigut arribar a fabricar taules de fingerboard tot mantenint els estàndards actuals, i es millorarà l’eficiència dels processos, augmentant la producció i reduint possibles falles de qualitat que existeixen en els actuals processos. Per finalitzar es veurà un anàlisis de la viabilitat del projecte en termes econòmics i d’empresa, estudiant el cost d’inversió mínima en maquinària, cost de la matèria primera, cost unitari de taula i es compararà amb els estàndards de fabricació actuals., The objective of this document is to study current manufacturing methods regarding the production of fingerboard decks, their materials and processes, in order to implement improvements by automating or semi-automating tasks. Together with this previous study, the design of a die will be seen that will be able to significantly increase the daily production of decks, also a new layout and work methodology will be generated to carry out the different steps for the manufacture of this product. The criteria for the design of these processes have been to manufacture fingerboards fulfilling the current standards, improving efficiency of the processes, increasing production and reducing possible quality failures that exist in current processes. Finally, an analysis of the feasibility of the project in economic and business terms will be seen, studying the cost of minimum investment in machinery, cost of raw material, unit cost for decks and comparison with current manufacturing standards.

The 2018 farm bill removed industrial hemp from the Schedule 1 Controlled Substance List. In response, states scrambled to enact hemp legislation. Some hemp flower producers report their hemp fields were cross- pollinated by a neighbor growing a different hemp cultivar. For hemp flower crops, cross- pollination reduces cannabinoid concentration levels within the flower; these concentration levels dictate flower price. We show that in a repeated game, once a sufficiently large percentage of growers decide to plant hemp fiber/seed crops, cross-pollination forces flower growers to convert to fiber/seed to avoid the negative network externality. Over time, a stable, suboptimal Nash equilibrium of reduced flower production results. The most important factor driving this tip to reduced flower production is pollen transmission rates between fields. This factor can be effectively reduced through either an auction-style quota system directed at seed and fiber cultivars or intertemporal zoning laws that dictate when a particular cultivar can be planted. As applications for hemp growing licenses swell, cross- pollination between farmers becomes increasingly likely. If left unchecked by policy, farm-level income and rural economic development will be suppressed.