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What archetypes emerge from prominent episodes of product launches? This essay examines a set of episodes in information technology history that led to significant changes in industry leadership. It highlights that, in all of these instances, there is an example of a "visionary" archetype—an individual or a set of leaders who promulgate a unique view for addressing a business opportunity, which they use as they launch a new product. These archetypes are couched as insiders or outsiders depending on the firm's status before the new product launch, and incumbent market leaders are insiders. The narrative arc is similar, as the visionary first encounters resistance and crises, must overcome challenges, and usually has to overcome skeptics via a product launch that gains market acceptance. However, the narratives of insiders and outsiders differ systematically based on their market position, leading to asymmetric approaches to market competition. This review stresses the importance of visionaries in industrial change brought about by product entry. It raises questions about integrating such narratives into the analysis of significant changes in market structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore how and why a local conglomerate in Sri Lanka (Pride-H) decided to introduce Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual (LGBT) inclusivity to their policies and practices, contravening legal, social and religious strictures. Under the interpretive research paradigm and qualitative research design, an embedded case study approach was employed. In-depth interviews and publicly available information were used as data for the study. Theoretically, this paper draws on institutional logics perspective and organizational filters. The findings reveal that the decision and initiative for LGBT inclusivity at Pride-H emerged through interconnected sequences and logics – specifically, the convergence of social justice and corporate logics. Additionally, certain organizational attributes, such as being a market leader, one of the largest conglomerates in the country, possessing an extensive customer and stakeholder base, and demonstrating a commitment to values of equal treatment, functioned as filters to counteract conflicting state, cultural, and religious strictures (logics). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document a novel strategic motive for family business groups to utilize their internal capital markets (ICMs) during financial crises. We find that crisis-period group ICM activity is targeted toward exerting product market dominance over standalone rivals. Groups make significant post-crisis gains in market share that are concentrated among affiliates (and industry segments within affiliates) operating in highly competitive product markets, where capturing such gains is difficult in normal times. These patterns are observed only in emerging markets, suggesting that ICMs enable groups to exploit crises to realize long-term competitive advantages only when rivals face chronic financing frictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of a model incorporating two manufacturers in a competitive carbon emissions trading market with varying degrees of market competitiveness. Among them, the manufacturer is in a limited market leadership position, and the game process lies between the Stackelberg game and the Cournot game. Additionally, the Pareto solution sets at various model periods are investigated. In addition, the model examined the effect of dynamic government adjustments on carbon emission limitations. The paper conducts an analysis of the fundamental factors contributing to system instability and evaluates the influence of various factors on the model's stability. At the same time, we also discussed the influence of government adjustment strategy on retail decision‐making and stability. The results highlight that the instability of the system is mainly caused by the adjustment strategy of the market leader, whereby the system becomes increasingly unstable as the market leader's position becomes stronger. In addition, the government's implementation of carbon emission limits will promote market stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transfer: Zeitschrift für Kommunikation & Markenmanagement is the property of Deutsche Werbewissenschaftliche Gesellschaft and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The study tests risk-taking and risk-aversion capabilities while distinguishing between business group firms and stand-alone firms and considering oil price volatility. Second, this attempt to study the linkage between risk-taking during market down movements and when the firms have established themselves as product market leaders. Third, this study analyses the "sentiment" state, where it explores the reaction of corporations when the market is in the negative direction, and lastly, it explores the linkage between product market competition and risk-aversion. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses financial information for 1,273 non-financial companies and other required data from various sources. The study employs panel data and utilizes different empirical methodologies, including the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator, to test the stated hypotheses. Findings: We find that the business group firms have more risk-taking proficiencies compared with the stand-alone firms. Moreover, this study discovers that the corporates avoid taking risks when the market is not performing well. Also, when the market is down and crude prices are high, the management expects high earnings in the future, willingly takes risks and shows that product market leaders do not follow the risk-aversion strategy. Practical implications: The empirical results indicate that oil price movement can restrict management's behaviour when choosing a risky investment project. Management should develop a robust policy that follows the group of firms. In the policy, the management should describe the level of risk that may be taken by the firm and implement it when required. Originality/value: Since we do not find any studies in this context, then there is a major and essential gap in the literature that this study should fill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study optimal reinsurance for an insurer and two reinsurers in the market through stochastic game theory. The relationship between the insurer and reinsurers is described by a Stackelberg model, where reinsurers, as market leaders, set prices for reinsurance treaties, and the insurer, as a price taker, determines reinsurance demand. Furthermore, we employ a Nash game to model the price competition between the two reinsurers who adopt different premium principles: the variance premium principle and the expected value premium principle. Both the insurer and reinsurers aim to maximize their respective mean-variance cost functions, leading to a time inconsistency control problem. This issue is resolved using a corresponding extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation in the game-theoretic framework. We find that the insurer will adopt propositional and excess-of-loss reinsurance strategies with two reinsurers, respectively. Moreover, under an exponential claim size distribution, there exists a unique equilibrium reinsurance premium strategy. Our numerical analysis illuminates the effects of claim size, risk aversion, and the interest rates of the insurer and reinsurers on the equilibrium reinsurance and premium strategies, enhancing the understanding of competition in the reinsurance market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have demonstrated that tangible and intangible transaction costs influence spatial price differences. The difference between the prices at which producers sell their goods, and the prices at which consumers purchase them is exacerbated by transaction costs. This indicates that farmers receive a lower price from buyers, who then charge consumers a greater price at urban marketplaces. However, existing documentation provides limited information on the relationship between spatial price differences and their drivers. Most research focused primarily on the co-movement of prices and the co-integration test, with little attention paid to the effects of transaction costs on spatial price differences. Thus, the paucity of information in the literature motivated the undertaking of this specific study. Therefore, this study assessed the impact of transaction costs on spatial price differences of maize in the Njombe District of Tanzania. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and employed to collect information from maize traders. Also, checklists were used to collect information from market leaders. Both descriptive and quantitative analyses were undertaken. In the descriptive analysis, means and percentages were generated. On the other hand, in the quantitative analyses, the Ravalion model which is based on the co-movement of prices, was modified to fit the study in question and estimated. The outputs generated from the modified model were used for inferences. The estimated model results showed that transaction costs (transportation costs, years of schooling, bribery, and the number of maize bags carried in one trip) have significant effects on spatial price differences. Moreover, market leaders revealed that because of the poor quality of the roads, individual farmers find it challenging to deliver their produce to the Njombe market. Consequently, they obtain a low price when they sell their produce at the farm level. The study recommends deliberate measures to reduce transaction costs, such as improving urban and rural infrastructure, simplifying bureaucratic procedures that provide room for corruption, and, finally, promoting large-scale production or collective actions to reduce transaction costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A destination card has been widely used by destination management organizations to coordinate the complementary tourism supply. Such coordination, which involves pricing a destination card, is challenging when a foreign tour operator is present. Though the literature shows that cooperative pricing between a destination management organization and a tour operator increases total profits, the most advantageous profit sharing for a destination has not been addressed. With a theoretical model of base and add-on products, this paper identifies the arrangement between a public destination management organization and a foreign tour operator that will accrue the highest profits for a destination. It is found that the most profitable option for a destination is a cooperative agreement in which the foreign tour operator is offered the same profits as a price leader under non-cooperation. This result comes from the fact that non-cooperation entails an unstable situation in which the tour operator is not willing to relinquish price leadership. The findings are of practical interest to help achieve economic sustainability in tourism destinations that rely on foreign tour operators and seek to coordinate their complementary tourism supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marketplace has become focal point in the ecosystem of electronic commerce, particularly in Indonesia, which has seen rapid growth in the usage of online platforms. Two major marketplaces, Bukalapak and Blibli, stand out as leaders in this market. This study aims to compare the features and user experiences between these two platforms. Employing a survey with 50 respondents, the research found Bukalapak to outperform Blibli in all usability and user satisfaction metrics measured by the USE Questionnaire. While the overall UI/UX advantage for Bukalapak was slight (3.13%), Bukalapak was perceived as better in usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning, and user satisfaction. These findings suggest that Bukalapak has a slight UI/UX advantage over Blibli, but further research with a larger sample size is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the operating benefits of the distribution network and reduce the energy consumption costs of small-micro-industrial parks, an electricity market clearing considering small-micro-industrial parks is proposed based on the Stackelberg game. First, an optimal operating model of multiple stakeholders is established for integrated energy suppliers, the electricity market, and small-micro-industrial parks. In this model, an optimal electricity supply model for integrated energy suppliers is established with the goal of maximizing the operating benefits. A market clearing optimization model is established for the electricity market with the goal of maximizing the social surplus profit. In addition, an energy utilization optimization model is established for the small-micro-industrial parks with the goal of minimizing the energy procurement costs. Second, with the electricity market as the leader, the integrated energy suppliers and the small-micro-industrial parks as the followers, a leader-follower game strategy is proposed based on the Stackelberg game theory to achieve the maximizing benefits for multiple stakeholders. Finally, the simulation indicates that the proposed strategy can find the best profit point during the game process and achieve a balance between supply and demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Indian pharmaceutical industry has contributed significantly to global healthcare by securing superior-quality, inexpensive and reachable medicines worldwide. However, supply chain management (SCM) has been challenging due to constantly shifting requirements for short lifecycles of products, the convergence of industry and changeable realities on the ground. This study aims to identify, assess and prioritize the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the pharmaceutical SCM environment in India. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis and recognizes strategies to utilize the advantages of the strengths and opportunities, rectify weaknesses and resolve threats. Findings: A variety of strategies that could have a positive effect on the Indian pharmaceutical business are presented. Findings and suggested strategies can significantly advance knowledge, enhance understanding and contribute to the growth of a successful SCM for the Indian pharmaceutical sector. Originality/value: This paper would act as a roadmap to greater comprehension of the market leaders and market leaders' operating climate. The findings from this study will offer academic scholars and business practitioners deeper insights into the environment of SCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether auditor market power is associated with audit quality. Regulators around the world have repeatedly expressed concerns about the high levels of supplier concentration, the limited number of audit suppliers in the audit market, and the potential adverse consequences of their (alleged) market power. Using U.S. data from 2009 to 2017, we examine the effect on audit quality of two competing measures of auditor market power: (a) a "traditional" market concentration measure (Herfindahl index) and (b) a competing measure derived from spatial competition theory (i.e., market share distance from the closest competitor). Following Aobdia, we infer audit quality from two measures of financial reporting quality: (a) the level of absolute abnormal accruals, and (b) the incidence of financial statement restatements. Our results indicate that industry market share distance is positively associated with audit quality, but we do not find an association between market concentration and audit quality. In addition, we find that the positive association between market share distance and audit quality only holds when the incumbent auditor is a market leader, although industry leadership itself is not significantly associated with audit quality. These findings suggest that audit quality is positively affected by a market leader's industry market share dominance over its competitors rather than by industry specialization per se. JEL Classification : M4; L0 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leveraging real options theory, we have constructed a utility‐based model to examine the influence of uncertainty, risk aversion, and competition on the optimal entry timing for green manufacturers and traditional manufacturers, as well as the degree of greenness for follower products. Our analysis reveals that increased uncertainty and risk aversion enhance the value of investment opportunities for manufacturers, thereby raising their investment thresholds. Even though competition reduces the value of market entry for the leader compared to monopoly, its investment thresholds are unaffected by competition. More interestingly, consumer green preferences exhibit a non‐monotonic impact on green enterprise's entry timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a sequential model of vertical product differentiation in which consumers are loss-averse, I analyse how firms compete to sell the reference product when they set prices. I find that there are two subgame perfect equilibria: one where the reference point for all consumers is the higher-quality product; and the other where the reference point is the lower-quality product. However, applying the risk-dominance criterion, I obtain that the sole risk-dominant equilibrium is for the higher-quality firm to sell the reference product. Since the hedonic price of the higher-quality product is the highest, consumers do not suffer any psychological disutility in the risk-dominant equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the equilibrium and price discovery relationships between credit default swap (CDS) and bond markets through the symmetric and non-symmetric cointegration approaches, focusing on Turkish sovereign markets. While the findings, obtained using the threshold autoregressive (TAR) and momentum threshold autoregressive (MTAR) models, confirm the asymmetric and nonlinear cointegration relationship between CDS and bond markets described in a limited number of studies in the relevant literature, they also, in contrast to other relevant studies, reveal the importance of data frequency and structural breaks in price discovery research. In this context, the results show that the CDS market is the leader in price discovery in high-frequency data and after the first sub-period, and the bond market is the leader in price discovery in low-frequency data and before the first sub-period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Review of Accounting Studies (RAST) recently completed 25 years of publication. We provide a descriptive analysis of RAST's characteristics that should interest the stakeholders who have been part of the journal's evolution. We benchmark RAST's characteristics against the other top accounting journals: Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, the Accounting Review, and Contemporary Accounting Research. We provide information on RAST's most prominent subject matter themes, methodologies used by RAST authors, the journals citing RAST, RAST's most highly cited papers for different periods, and affiliated institutions and countries of RAST's most prolific and cited authors. Results show that RAST has developed unique expertise in valuation and financial statement analysis, arguably becoming the market leader despite being the youngest journal among its peer group. It now publishes the highest number of articles among non-association journals. RAST continues to make inroads into Asian countries emerging as new research centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Due to significant implications for resource and food sectors that directly influence social well-being, commodity price comovements represent an important issue in agricultural economics. In this study, we approach this issue by concentrating on daily prices of the corn futures market and 496 cash markets from 16 states in the United States for the period of July 2006 – February 2011 through correlation based hierarchical analysis and synchronization analysis, which allow for determining interactions and interdependence among these prices, heterogeneities in price synchronization, and their changing patterns over time. As the first study of the issue focusing on prices of the futures and hundreds of spatially dispersed cash markets for a commodity of indubitable economic significance, empirical findings show that the degree of comovements is generally higher after March 2008 but no persistent increase is observed. Different groups of cash markets are identified, each of which has its members exhibit relatively stable price synchronization over time that is generally at a higher level than the synchronization among the futures and all of the 496 cash markets. The futures is not found to show stable price synchronization with any cash market. Certain cash markets have potential of serving as cash price leaders. Results here benefit resource and food policy analysis and design for economic welfare. The empirical framework has potential of being adapted to network analysis of prices of different commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial introduces the nexus between family firms, hidden champions, and regional development from an economic geography perspective. Family firms constitute the backbones of most local and regional economies, and some of them are even so-called hidden champions, which are global leaders in their market niches. At the same time, both entities are spatial sources of heterogeneity able to empower regions with difficult-to-imitate competitive and locational advantages that originate from the stickiness of their economic actors. It is mainly an empirical task to prove if this regional distinctiveness results from the structures and embeddings that family firms and hidden champions stand for (e.g., regional persistence and local rooting), and from the practices how these entities are owned, governed, managed (e.g., long-term business relations with [local] suppliers, customers, labour force, international excellence). By outlining three infant research directions on family firms and hidden champions from an economic geography perspective, this editorial frames the field, introduces and locates the contributions in this special issue therein, and calls for a spatially informed view on this rising cross-disciplinary field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the integration of Hidden Champions – little-known highly innovative global market leaders – in rural regional innovation systems (RIS) in Germany. These firms are analyzed in relation to their integration into a RIS framework, which differentiates two subsystems: knowledge generation and diffusion, and knowledge application and exploitation. The relevance of firm-internal and firm-external regional influencing factors on rural RIS integration is examined. The article proposes that Hidden Champions are weakly integrated in RIS due to their international sales focus and high technological specialization. To test this premise, 57 expert interviews with Hidden Champions and regional actors were conducted. It was found that key influences for RIS integration of this firm type are ownership structure, firm size, organizational status, location economies, and urbanization economies. Family businesses are on average more integrated than other firm types, but vary significantly in their integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hidden Champions (HCs) are defined as market leaders in niche markets. They represent the success of the German Mittelstand like no other group of firms. However, little is known on how HCs contribute to regional development. Given their export strength, regional embeddedness, and strong vertical integration we expect HCs to have a profound effect on regional development. Using a German dataset of 1,645 HCs located in 401 German districts, we analyze the effect of HCs on a variety of regional development dimensions. Our results show that HCs are not equally distributed across regions and influence regional development. Regions with a higher number of HCs show strong regional economic performance in terms of median income. Moreover, HC intensity affects regional unemployment and trainee rates as well as regional innovation in terms of patents. Surprisingly, we did not find an effect of regional HC intensity on regional R&D levels and GDP. We can further conclude that the effect of HCs is not limited to the particular region in which they are located but that sizable spillover effects exist. Besides its contribution to the regional development literature, our study adds to a better understanding of the HC-phenomenon. Implications for regional policy makers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining the econometric interrelationships of rice export prices of India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, the U.S. Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, this study examines the most influential rice-exporting countries in the international rice export market. The sampled countries are the source of more than 80% of the global rice exports. In the process, this study relies on online data portals of the United Nations and country-level sources for aromatic and non-aromatic rice export price information from India, Pakistan, and Thailand. This study employed the Prais-Winsten and Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) estimation processes with the error correction procedure. Combining the findings from both models, this study concludes that in terms of interactions, the non-aromatic long-grain rice price of the U.S. and the aromatic rice price of Pakistan are the most correlated prices in the international rice market. Considering the number of countries influenced by the price of a given country, our results indicate that Vietnam is the price leader in the non-aromatic long-grain market, followed by Argentina, Brazil, and India. India, the largest exporter, is the fourth top price leader. In the case of aromatic rice, Thailand is the absolute leader. Many countries in Asia and Africa rely on rice imports to meet domestic demand, where the food security situation is already precarious. Based on the findings, this study suggests closely monitoring rice production and export trends of Vietnam, Argentina, Brazil, India and Thailand to provide early warning when necessary to better manage supply shocks in the international rice market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the intensive cola war in the Indian market, Hector Beverages Private Limited introduced ethnic drink as a competitive strategy to attract Indian consumers. This move aims to attract Indian consumers by not only offering health benefits and nutritional value but also providing a sense of connection to the past and emotional satisfaction through old memories. Paper Boat, an ethnic and nostalgic beverage brand of Hector Beverages, has disrupted the Indian beverage industry, challenging market leaders to provide innovative and nutritional drinks. The case study highlights Paper Boat's innovative value proposition and nostalgia marketing campaigns, while also examining the competitive strategies of major players in the Indian beverage industry. The case study also raises important questions that Hector Beverages must consider remaining relevant in a changing market and retaining its competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the main findings of a content analysis of the coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in the Brazilian TV news program, Jornal Nacional, undertaken as part of an international study of coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war on television news in nine countries. Jornal Nacional was selected as the first news program to be broadcast nationwide in Brazil, which is still the country's market leader for private TV. The content analysis included a 10-day sample of 66 news items from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022 and the following seven weeks, classified according to thematic categories. The results showed a coverage characterized by a panoramic view of the conflict and the presence of a diversity of angles and points of view. Most of the news focused on the civilian situation, sanctions applied to Russia by the United States and the European Union, and daily news about the battlefield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every company aspires to have a positive image, an impression one gains through experience with a thing; it is a compilation of a person’s perceptions of the company, reputation for creating jobs, and willingness to share social responsibility. This study aims to explore the leadership style in building a positive company image for good employees and the image development process according to the targets that have been planned and formed. This study aims to describe the characteristics of a particular individual, situation, or group, as well as highlight the phenomena that occur when the research takes place and present the data as they are. This study describes and interprets data relating to the situation and is used to examine the condition of natural objects where the researcher is the key instrument. This research was conducted using qualitative methods with a naturalistic approach due to the natural conditions and objects. This study used qualitative methods to collect in-depth meaningful data. The data collection method utilized primary data that was collected directly from respondents by researchers, as opposed to previously collected data: interviews, observations, and documentation yield research that were obtained directly from researchers. Primary data were obtained directly by the author through interviews with parties within organizations regarding the leadership style of the fresh market leader in constructing a positive company image among employees. Secondary data were obtained by quoting from other sources, such as various types of data obtained through literature studies, such as library books, and so on, for reference in research. This study concludes that the company’s image in the eyes of its employees can also be constructed effectively, as the type of leader is one way to construct an image, particularly in the eyes of the internal public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sigmae is the property of Universidade Federal de Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article provides an overview of the global market for odor neutralization and elimination in industrial and domestic environments. The company Croda aims to be "climate-, land-, and people-friendly" by 2030 and meet consumers' needs for sustainable products. It also discusses companies' investment plans in sustainable products and services, as well as the commitments of major market leaders to reduce their ecological footprint. The global air care market is expected to reach $19.74 billion by 2030, with consumers demanding more effective odor control products. Croda is working on developing a more sustainable odor neutralization technology to meet the requirements of the future household cleaning industry. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: To elucidate which markers of ultra-processing (MUP) and their combinations are best suited to detect ultra-processed food (UPF). Design: The study was based on the 206 food and 32 beverage items of the Oxford WebQ which encompass all major foods consumed in the UK. For each Oxford WebQ question, ingredient lists of up to ten matching different commercial products (n 2146) were researched online using data from the two market leaders of groceries in the UK sorted by relevance (Tesco) and by top sellers (Sainsbury's), respectively. According to the NOVA classification, sixty-five MUP were defined, and if the ingredient list of a food product was positive for at least one MUP, it was regarded as UPF. The percentage of UPF items containing specific MUP was calculated. In addition, all combinations of two to six different MUP were assessed concerning the percentage of identified UPF items. Setting: Cross-sectional analysis. Participants: None. Results: A total of 990 products contained at least one MUP and were, therefore, regarded as UPF. The most frequent MUP were flavour (578 items, 58·4 % of all UPF), emulsifiers (353 items, 35·7 % of all UPF) and colour (262 items, 26·5 % of all UPF). Combined, these three MUP detected 79·2 % of all UPF products. Detection rate increased to 88·4 % of all UPF if ingredient lists were analysed concerning three additional MUP, that is, fibre, dextrose and firming agent. Conclusions: Almost 90 % of all UPF items can be detected by six MUP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to study the relationship between market capitalisation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings of the companies in the European Union (EU). Methodology: The authors analysed a sample of 1,456 companies over five years, from 2016 to 2020. The ESG combined score and market capitalisation of the companies were observed. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the observed variables. The companies from twenty-one EU Member States have been analysed due to data availability. Results: The results showed that a negative correlation is statistically significant, which confirms the results obtained in previous research. Since the ESG scores are measured on a scale where a higher value means a lower rating, the results can be interpreted as valid, and they show that higher ESG ratings positively correlate with the company's market capitalisation. Conclusion: According to the analysis results, the correlation between ESG ratings and market capitalisation has improved over the years. In the first two years of the analysis, the correlation was weak, while it became stronger in the last three years of analysis. It is crucial for companies to understand this information since it gives them recommendations for future actions. ESG reporting can improve their market position. Since ESG reporting is still voluntary, companies which incorporate ESG reporting into their business strategy can become market leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses three projects of economic significance that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) completed in the last year: First, we discuss the dynamic competition concerns that were at the heart of the CMA's analysis of the Meta/GIPHY merger; this was the first case of a competition authority's blocking an acquisition by one of the 'Big Tech' firms. Second, our work on the road fuels market study examined pricing behaviour in an important consumer-facing market and found that competition had weakened because historic price leaders have been taking a less aggressive approach to pricing, Third, we established a new research centre—the Microeconomics Unit—to bring economic expertise on competition, innovation, and productivity closer to regulatory and policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) under price competition in a product differentiated duopoly and formulate an extensive endogenous timing game where firms choose ECSR and subsequently choose prices. We show that a successive sequential‐move appears in the equilibrium wherein an ECSR leader adopts a lower degree of ECSR and thereupon chooses a price leader. Therefore, the firm with a low degree of ECSR becomes a price leader while the firm with a high degree of ECSR becomes a price follower but earns higher profits, that is, a second‐mover advantage with ECSR‐induced higher costs appears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of the digital economy, building an internationally competitive manufacturing industry with intelligent manufacturing as its main focus is the only way to promote the transformation of a country into a manufacturing power and achieve high-quality economic development. To explore whether Digital transformation can improve the core competitiveness of traditional manufacturing enterprises, and what factors affect this process, this study establishes the core competitiveness system of enterprises through the principal component analysis(PCA) method and discusses the above issues through the construction of a double difference model. The results of this research from China's traditional manufacturing industry are as follows. (i) The digital transformation of enterprises has significantly improved their core competitiveness and has a certain time lag effect. (ii) In the process of enterprise digital transformation, enterprise management capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and enterprise operational efficiency will positively enhance the results of enterprise digital transformation. (iii) The enhancement of core competitiveness caused by digital transformation is more significant for the market leaders and laggards. (iv) Compared with non-state-owned enterprises, the Digital Transformationn of state-owned enterprises has a more obvious effect on promoting their core competitiveness. (v) In comparison with enterprises with low government subsidies, the Digital Transformation of enterprises with high government subsidies plays a more significant role in promoting their core competitiveness. In addition, this study proposes policy guidance and practical guidance for digital transformation to accelerate the promotion of core competitiveness of traditional manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to study whether international niche market leaders (INMLs) gained their leading position as early mover or diligent follower, and assess whether they leveraged hard or soft forms of technological, supply pre-emption and customer lock-in advantage mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical material stems from qualitative and quantitative data on a sample of 20 niche companies from the Basque Country (Spain) that operate in business to business markets. Findings: The sample predominantly followed an early entrant strategy and applied soft measures to reach niche market leadership. Research limitations/implications: Findings imply that early entering fosters conquering leadership in niche markets, that pioneer advantage is easier to sustain in niches than in mainstream markets, and that soft measures are more effective in niche markets than in larger markets. A limitation to our findings is that they follow from explorative research on a sample of firms from a reduced geographic setting. Practical implications: Hidden champions and INMLs can be important sources of technological progress and economic value for the localities that host them. Therefore, despite their traditional low profile and the fact that they are not always the largest firms around, policymakers may want to pay more attention to this type of companies. Originality/value: Tot he best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to research entry timing and its outcome for market leadership with regard to niche players or hidden champions-type of firms. It introduces an original taxonomy to operationalize and distinguish between hard and soft measures to leverage advantage mechanisms related to market entry timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm growth in creative industries, which are characterized by craftmanship, imagination, artistic quality and innovativeness, is a conundrum. By means of a matched pair case study design of market leaders and followers in seven creative industries in the Netherlands, the present paper seeks to tackle this conundrum. It suggests that for entrepreneurial firms to develop (instead of stagnating or demising), founders need to fit in, or understand the value creation and conversion processes in vigor within their industry. For firms to grow by means of an expansion of their markets, founders need to stand out, or create resource advantages vis a vis other firms in the industry, which could lie in an internationalization or a digitalization vantage. Not despite of, but because of their quality focus, which accrues to reputation advantages and impact, creative firms succeed in growing. Lessons are drawn from how and why firms in creative industries develop and grow. These may contribute to firm growth assessment practices and process theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Organic farming is a farming concept whose development is justified by proenvironmental measures. In recent years, there has been a steadily increasing market demand for goods supplied by organic farms. An important objective of organic farming, which is emphasised in EU regulations, is to respond to consumer demands, which is related both to changes in the structure of consumption and to environmentally friendly consumer attitudes. As a result, there is an increasing demand for organic food. The aim of the article is to present the differentiation of EU countries in terms of the development of organic agriculture, based on selected indicators presenting the supply and demand side of the organic food market. Methodology: The assessment of development of the organic food market in EU countries was carried out on the basis of annual data from 2012 to 2021. Dynamic measures and development trend models were used to characterise the time series. In a second step, the EU countries were classified by development of the organic market using a synthetic variable. Findings: Demand for organic food is increasing, both in economically more developed countries and in developing countries. Nevertheless, sales of organic food in overall food sales are still low, as they do not on average exceed 3,7%, while there are countries like Denmark where they even reach 13%. In addition to the presentation of the diversity of EU countries in terms of the level of the organic food market, the dynamics of change in the selected indicators in 2021 in comparison with 2012 are also shown. The most dynamic changes in the food market in terms of the number of producers and the area of crops are observed in the new Member States, i.e. Croatia, Bulgaria and Latvia. Originality: The article presents the organic food market leaders in terms of organic food producers, area occupied and volume of sales worth. It then identifies the countries with the most dynamic changes taking place in this market in 2021 in comparison with 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past weeks, news reached us from The Central Country: China is repositioning itself in the field of hydrogen and intends to take the lead in various fuel cell and hydrogen markets around the world. When it came to the solar and wind energy sectors, or even battery-electric mobility, China stimulated them with its extensive subsidy programs and the People's Republic quickly advanced to the position of global market leader. Will we now see the same development in the H2 and FC sectors? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how Siemens's molecular imaging group incorporated design thinking principles into R&D to regain market leadership. Marked departures from its past practice included a "universe of possibilities" for lifetime customer value; multi-iteration "leapfrog concepting" ahead of prototyping; and adherence to an "innovation metric" that enabled simultaneous consideration of customer value and business cost. These elements gave rise to a dynamic capability, "creative forbearance," which supported the innovation team's unbridled creativity while building in patience for introducing new features to its product platform. This case illustrates how design thinking can be integrated in settings replete with technological and customer complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]