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In this paper, we analyze the dynamic-pricing decisions of differentiated products for retailers operating in a competitive environment, for a finite-time horizon, limited initial inventory, and in the presence of the reference effect. Customers learn from the past prices of retailers and form their estimate of sales prices, called the reference price effect, and use it to make a decision on choosing a retailer to make a purchase. The demand is uncertain, and the customer choice behavior is modeled based on a Multinomial Logit model, modified to incorporate the reference effect. The complexity of the problem increases under conditions of competition and demand uncertainty and cannot be analyzed using conventional methods. Therefore, we have used a neural network-based algorithm called Revenue-Based Neural Network (RBNN) to dynamically calculate the competitive price in order to increase the retailer's revenue. We have analyzed the effect of competition and the performance of RBNN algorithm under two scenarios: a monopolistic situation in which a retailer uses the RBNN policy to maximize its revenue, and a duopolistic situation in which one retailer uses the RBNN strategy and the other uses an adaptive policy called Derivative Following (DF). The results of the experiments show that the pricing policy under duopolistic conditions highly affects the income of retailers in the presence of reference price. The RBNN policy outperforms the DF policy due to the learning process on the customers' reference price. By charging higher prices in the RBNN strategy, the seller trades off the current revenue with the long-term revenue resulting from formation of higher levels of the reference price in customers' minds and earns more revenue than its competitor overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Honey is a healthy, nutritious and natural food that contains minerals, enzymes, and vitamins that give a person nutritious and organoleptic property. It is produced on all five continents and its consumption varies from country to country due to cultural reasons and eating habits (FAO, 2022). Honey production in the world has increased from 771,114 tons in 1971 to 1,770,119 tons in 2020, with an annual growth rate of 1.84 percent (Knoema, 2022). Honey plays an effective role in ensuring global food security, and its market structure is dictated by its production efficiency. Given the limited resources of the agricultural sector, the optimal use of natural resources by improving technological efficiency in honey production would help ensure sufficient food for the increasingly growing world population (kavand et all., 2014; Hosseinzad & Koopahi, 1999). One of the factors affecting the efficiency of honey production is competitive and efficient markets. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to determine the structure of the honey market in the provinces that produce this product and its relation to the technical efficiency of the producers. Material and methods: This study uses the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) to study the market structure of honey-producing provinces in Iran. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index is calculated by squaring the market share of each competing production unit in the industry and then summing the resulting numbers. For this purpose, two different scenarios are considered. In the first scenario, the HHI was calculated based on the share of production of the counties and in the second scenario, it was calculated based on the number of apiaries in each county. To estimate the technical efficiency, the stochastic frontier Cobb-Douglas production function was used. For this purpose, first, the HHI values were considered as inefficient function variables and then the inefficiency function along with the Cobb-Douglas frontier function using maximum likelihood method was estimated and the technical efficiency values of the provinces were calculated. The data used in this study for 2019-20 have been obtained from the results of the census of Iranian apiaries. Excel2013 software was used to calculate Herfindahl-Hirschman index values and Stata15 software was used to estimate the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function. Results and discussion: Our findings show that the mean value of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index based on the first scenario in 2019 is 0.23 and in 2020 is 0.24. Therefore, Iran’s honey market during the studied years turns out to be monopolistic competition. The mean value of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index according to the second scenario for 2019 and 2020 was calculated as 0.16 and 0.17, respectively, which indicates that the country's honey market was competitive during the years under review. According to the results of CobbDouglas Stochastic frontier production function, inputs including; apiary, labor and hive have a positive and significant impact on honey production. The average efficiency during 2019-20 according to the first scenario is 61.2% and according to the second scenario is 64.2%. According to the first and second scenarios, it is possible to increase the efficiency by 38.8% and 35.5%, respectively. The results of the inefficiency function also confirmed that increasing the value of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (i.e. increasing the degree of monopoly and distance from the competitive market) has a positive effect on inefficiency (negative effect on efficiency). Conclusion: In conclusion, the results indicated that Iran’s honey market in recently years was has changed to monopolistic situation. This event has caused to decrease the efficiency of apiaries. So it can be possible to increase the efficiency of apiaries through stablishing competitive structure in honey market. In this case motivating for investment in modern production technologies and related industries can help to competitive circumstances in the honey market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2010 the container terminal of Piraeus has—under the management of the Chinese operator COSCO Shipping—established itself as a hub in the global supply chains as well as a critical node in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The sharp increase in container handling volumes, and the terminal's further interconnection with dozens more ports, have helped turn Piraeus into a global infrastructure. The article commences from an understanding of the port as an anomalous space where heterogeneous and overlapping powers, jurisdictions, actors and interests articulate and at times clash. It then turns to the port's ongoing digitalisation and introduces the concept of 'information space' to explain the ways that information reflects and reproblematises the governance of Piraeus. More specifically, it focuses on the launch of a digital platform for the exchange of information between port users and the coordination of its operations. By interrogating the frictions and turbulent negotiations that followed the platform's introduction, the paper explores the political, economic, and geographical transformations associated with the emergence of information as a key spatial agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does trading in one venue affect the quoting strategies of market makers in other venues? We develop a two-venue imperfect competition model in which market makers face quadratic costs when absorbing shocks. Nonconstant marginal costs imply that absorbing a shock in one venue simultaneously changes marginal costs in all other venues. Moreover, market makers strategically choose which shock(s) to absorb. These two forces may intensify competition, leading to enhanced liquidity. Using Euronext proprietary data, we track individual best bid and ask quotes of intermediaries in each venue. We uncover evidence of strategic cross-venue market-making behavior which is uniquely predicted by our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As institutions, schools hold a place of significant value for their stakeholders. Selznick (1957/1984) recognised that institutions require a particular type of leadership that is concerned with the promotion and protection of values. Although not a new theory, institutional leadership has not received much attention by both researchers and practitioners since its formation, which has given way to the more familiar concepts of transactional and transformational leadership. A systematic literature review was carried out to survey what enactments of institutional leadership are taking place in different institutions and what impact Selznick's theories still have on leadership practice. A thematic analysis of the literature found institutional leaders acting in five areas: (1) managing institutional identity, (2) leading followers, (3) managing the external environment, (4) organisational management, and (5) management of the self. The findings could be useful to school leaders who seek to adopt a leadership style that ensures the survival of their institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roughly three million households in the United States own mobile homes that are on rented spaces in mobile home parks. Investments in mobile home parks are highly profitable. However, in recent decades, as urban areas densify and alternate land uses, such as condominium projects, commercial centers, or high end subdivisions, become more profitable, mobile home park closures have become widespread and are now becoming a national concern. When a mobile home park closes, it usually wipes out the owner's entire investment in the mobile home and displaces the mobile home owner. Park closures are a large problem, as appellate courts have noted for decades, because of the "captive" nature of mobile home park tenancies and the role of public regulations in severely limiting the possible locations of mobile homes. As a practical matter, after they are moved from the factory and installed on a plot of land, "mobile" homes cannot be relocated. Generally, they are only sold in place, an unavailable option when a park closes. Concerns about the dire consequences of closures have led many states and localities to adopt legislation with one or more of the following requirements: 1) extended notice periods for evictions in order to close a mobile home park, 2) financial mitigation for displaced home owners, 3) bars on closures of parks, and 4) mobile home park only zoning applicable to land with existing parks. In some states, the protections and required mitigations are substantial, while in most they are only nominal. Now that there is substantial public interest in adopting new protections and augmenting existing protections, appellate courts in six states have reached conflicting conclusions about the constitutionality of such laws, which square up park owners' rights against public rights to provide mobile home owners with security of tenure. In light of the high economic stakes associated with conversions, increasing mitigation requirements for closures or restrictions on closures, and the fact that validity of new tenant protections has always been subject to legal challenges, it is virtually certain that there will be more challenges to closure laws. This Article discusses the circumstances leading to the demands for closure legislation, the types of legislation that have been adopted, and the constitutional issues that have been raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, Digital transformation has significantly shifted human activities from physical space to cyber space. When users access the internet, uniform resource locator (URL) data are autogenerated. Using URLs, this study presents a novel framework for exploring cyber space structure from the perspectives of complex networks and activity fragmentation. Web domains within URL data are metaphorically regarded as 'digital locations,' and consecutive digital locations form 'cyber trajectories.' Human activities that occur at digital locations are semantically labeled and used to generate activity-based motifs. Motifs are defined as frequently occurring processes in cyber trajectories. Based on this, three network types are constructed: Global cyber human activity network, including all trajectories, and space-dependent and motif-dependent cyber human activity networks, focusing on specific regions and motifs. A case study conducted in Jilin, China, using approximately 4.3 gigabytes of URL data, revealed: 1) Cyber human activity patterns exhibit strong regularity and clustering of several types, with metropolitan regions favoring simpler patterns; 2) Cyber human activity networks demonstrate heavy-tailed and hierarchically polycentric structures; 3) The importance of websites in information dissemination increases super linearly along with their increased connectivity. This work deepens our understanding of cyber space functionality, offering insights into cyber information propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This text provides an overview of economist John Kenneth Galbraith's reputation and contributions. While highly regarded as a social critic and public intellectual, Galbraith received little recognition from the economics profession. He emphasized the importance of considering history, politics, and institutions in understanding economic changes and criticized neoclassical economics for its failure to address issues of power and corporate influence. Galbraith believed that countervailing forces, such as government regulation and consumer protection, were necessary to counterbalance corporate power. The text also discusses the relevance of Galbraith's ideas in the digital age, where tech giants exert significant control and influence. [Extracted from the article]

What strategies do state institutions use to maintain their existing unpopular policies? To what extent are citizens content with these strategies? This article presents a model classifying the various methods state institutions use to manage unpopular policies while keeping these core policies intact. The model demonstrates that state institutions manage unpopular policies by using three strategies, adjusted accordingly to counteract societal discontent: (1) disregard, (2) accommodation of under-the-legislative-threshold alternatives, and (3) partial institutional modification. To test this model, I compare three religion-based policies in Israel: marriage, public transportation on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), and kosher food inspection in public institutions. Each policy is an example of the different measures taken by state institutions to mitigate societal discontent without changing the core of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Chinese-listed firms with Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) play a crucial role in advancing the outward investment policy of China. Board diversity can be vital, and intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) showing future earnings can build investor confidence in these firms. This study examines these two relationships in Chinese-listed firms with BRI projects during a predictable business outlook period (2019, pre-Covid period) and unpredictable business outlook period (2020, Covid period). Design/methodology/approach: The study used least squares regression that analysed the target population comprising 79 listed Chinese firms with BRI projects in 2019 and 2020. The China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database provided board diversity data. Analysing annual reports using content analysis provided the ICD data, collected by following an established intellectual capital (IC) coding framework in the literature. After collecting board-related data, the study calculated the diversity between boards in firms (diversity of boards – DOB) using cluster analysis. The study estimated the diversity within each board (diversity in boards – DIB) using Blau's Index. Findings: The findings indicate that in the predictable business outlook environment, DOB positively associates with ICD, and DIB negatively associates with ICD. In the unpredictable business outlook environment, the DIB and DOB interaction negatively associates with ICD, and DOB positively associates with ICD. Research limitations/implications: The findings apply to Chinese-listed firms with BRI projects and further research is required to generalise findings beyond them. This study used annual reports to collect ICD, but a future study could examine BRI firms' social media and website disclosures. The attributes selected for board diversity dimensions can contribute to bounded findings, and future studies could expand the board diversity attributes included. Practical implications: The findings provide insights into firms' board composition and structure associated with ICD. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies providing empirical evidence about board diversity and ICD of Chinese-listed firms with BRI projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked by the European Commission to provide scientific assistance with respect to the evaluation of applications received in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 concerning basic substances. This evaluation was requested by way of a specific mandate from the European Commission following the submission of an application for approval of eggshell powder as a basic substance to be used in plant protection as a fungifuge on grapevines. This report summarises the outcome of the consultations with Member States and EFSA, and presents EFSA's scientific views on the individual comments received including the overall conclusions with the main findings on the application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study which is positioned in the ambit of control research investigates the impact of ex ante contractual completeness on opportunistic behaviors and ex post transaction costs, while assessing how these affect relationship termination intention. This study aims to examine alternative attractiveness as a necessary moderator of the nexus between transaction cost and relationship termination intention. Design/methodology/approach: Data gathered from 211 companies in South Korea that have installed and run outsourced vending machines are analyzed and used to validate the study's theoretical and empirical contributions. Findings: The findings, which rely only on data from companies that outsource and those that run outsourced vending machines, show that contractual completeness negatively affects both active and passive opportunism. The study also discovers that active opportunism positively affects both bargaining costs and monitoring costs, whereas passive opportunism has a positive and direct effect on maladaptation costs but a negative effect on monitoring costs. It further finds that both bargaining and maladaptation costs have positive and direct effects on relationship termination intention, while monitoring costs have a negative effect on the same. Furthermore, it is observed that alternative attractiveness moderates the relationships between bargaining costs and relationship termination intention, as well as maladaptation costs and relationship termination intention. Practical implications: This study demonstrates that contractual completeness can serve as an important ex ante control mechanism, whereas the two types of opportunism can raise transaction costs. Furthermore, alternative attractiveness is identified as a driver of the impact of transaction costs on relationship termination intention. Originality/value: A key point of the departure of this study is that it examines the moderating role of alternative attractiveness in the relationship between transaction cost and relationship termination intention. The paper also advances the control literature by emphasizing the critical role that contractual completeness plays in reducing the occurrence of (both active and passive) opportunism in business relationships (especially companies that outsource). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heuristic rules are appropriate, if a decision maker wants to set the price of a new product or of a product, whose past price variation is low, and budget limitations prevent the use of marketing experiments or customer surveys. Whereas such rules are not guaranteed to provide the optimal price, generated profits should be as close as possible to their optimal values. We investigate eleven pricing rules that do not require that a decision maker knows the price response function and its parameters. We consider monopolistic market situations, in which sales depend on the price of the respective product only. A Monte Carlo simulation that is more comprehensive than extant attempts found in the literature, serves to evaluate these rules. The best performing rules either hold price changes between periods constant or make them dependent on the previous absolute price difference. These rules also outperform purely random price setting, which we use as benchmark. On the other hand, rules based on arc elasticities or on a loglinear approximation to sales and prices, turn out to be even worse than random price setting. In the conclusion, we discuss how heuristic pricing rules may be extended to deal with product line pricing, additional marketing variables (e.g., advertising, sales promotion, and sales force) and a duopolistic market situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Container ports play a crucial role in global maritime trade by serving as key transportation hubs for the movement of goods. Their performance differs due to unique local characteristics, creating a need for benchmarking to improve. Trends in trade patterns, supply chains and maritime transport operations can substantially impact on the cargo handling requirement at ports and therefore port performance. The aim of this research is two-fold; first, to examine the current situation, main trends and disruptions affecting maritime container transport and ports, and second, to investigate the key criteria for assessing and benchmarking port performance. Regarding the first objective, for the investigation of the global trends in the liner shipping and container port sector, desk research is performed. Regarding the second, a framework is developed by identifying five areas of interest based on the strategic value of data and selecting the best available data. This allows creating a two-layer data framework that enables the collection of data at the country and port level. The developed framework is applied to gather relevant data points for various container ports, and allows drawing conclusions on the performance of the framework. The results of this research contribute to the understanding of container port performance and may serve as a valuable resource for port operators and researchers in the field. By examining the specific factors that influence port performance, this study provides a foundation for enhancing the comparability of container port operational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the emerging triad competition between the US, China and the EU, the control over infrastructures is increasingly contested. This paper asks how this conflict of connectivity influences the EU's infrastructure policy and what specific factors play a role when translating these global shifts into strategies. We develop a political-economic perspective that highlights the relevance of infrastructures for capitalist production and the pattern of dependencies between actors. Viewing the triad competition in infrastructural terms, we argue that the EU is in the process of becoming a geopolitically and geoeconomically oriented infrastructural policy actor. Two cases in the field of high-tech infrastructure are studied more deeply: the EU's development of the satellite navigation system Galileo and its strategy on 5G. They show that – despite the EU's geoeconomic approach – the particular mode of global competition in combination with internal political factors can hinder the translation of geoeconomic ambitions into specific policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding market liquidity and trading dynamics in one of the most innovative and volatile markets in the world, is crucial from the standpoint of both regulators and investors. In contrast to stocks, very little is known about the functioning of cryptos around extreme returns (ERs). Using high-frequency order-book and trade data for the 8 most widespread cryptos on 16 trading platforms over three years, we examine the contemporaneous and lagged influence of trading activity and liquidity on the occurrence of extreme returns (ERs) in a logistic regression framework adapted to rare events. Despite its huge volatility, we show that the trading and liquidity dynamics on the crypto market around ERs is not orthogonal to what traditional markets experience in stressful conditions. The number of trades is a particularly robust driver to explain the occurrence of ERs, followed by the relative spread. The same drivers are identified for traditional markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer's choice study described as the state of decisions and actions which influence the purchase behavior. The purchase process is influenced by inheritably hidden factors that create stimuli to purchase repeatedly or switching among the products. A statistical model is constructed to capture and quantify the relationships between the attitudes of the consumers. The statistical model used for the estimating the optimum possible sequence probabilities in repeat purchase and switching behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercialization of the American film industry has affected the development of cinematic product placement. A similar but distinct situation has happened in China. The difference is that the Chinese film industry achieved considerable commercial progress in a short time from the late 1990s to the 2000s. This rampant commercialization was customarily accompanied by resistance coming from inside the Chinese film industry. This resistance valued artistic integrity in relation to the impact of business interests. Therefore, during this period, Chinese film professionals first resisted, then tried, and eventually accepted product placement. With attention to the historical development, this article aims to investigate the connection between the localization of product placement and the Chinese film industry's commercialization, and how the connection causes this cinematic advertising practice to develop its own cultural peculiarities in such context. It also reveals the causes of the formation of these peculiarities, from the perspective of the country's ideological shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the impact of Small Blockholders' (SBH – with 5% to 10% of voting rights) heterogeneity and their access to private information on the demand for audit services. By promoting enhanced audit services, we expect SBH to have a moderating effect on the relation between Large Blockholders (LBH – more than 10% of voting rights) and audit fees in a context of low shareholder protection. Drawn on Swiss public firm data over the 2002–2019 period, our results show that the presence of SBH flattens the concave relation between ownership concentration and audit fees found in prior studies. This moderating effect is mainly driven by the uninformed SBH, who given their lower – compared with informed SBH – access to private channels of information, are more likely to rely on audited public financial statements. Our findings contribute to the literature on the role of SBH in the company's corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American antitrust law is at a crossroads, characterized by calls from the Biden Administration and members of Congress to "break up" big technology companies. Traditional measures for conducting merger reviews and enforcement actions have been challenged, with suggestions that the evolving digital economy warrants new standards to promote competition. This Article examines the founding principles of antitrust law and reviews major media and technology cases brought against motion picture studios, IBM, and Microsoft, to help analyze the long-term impact of such cases. The author, a former technology executive and law professor, advocates new laws to protect and value data privacy and personal information, but warns against revising anti-competition principles to new constructs that can shift with the political winds and cause economic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the police are captured, victims avoid incorporating police into their resistance strategies and instead target police and state agents with extralegal violence. Important academic work has focused on questions such as the causes of the unprecedented rise of violence in various countries and the various patterns of cooperation and conflict between the state and criminal actors. Trejo and Ley demonstrate compellingly that this variation could be better explained by partisan alignments between the federal government and the nation's 32 states. Bergman and Fondevila argue that the expansion of incarceration has not contained crime, but instead has contributed to the increase of drug crimes, extortion, property crimes, and violence. [Extracted from the article]

American, Islamic, and Jewish law all limit the enforcement of private law agreements in cases of oppression and exploitation. But each system uses a different justification. The common thread among the three legal systems is the opposition from jurists to enforce contracts with a fundamental aspect of oppression. The reasoning for preventing oppression within the law is distinct to each legal system. The American legal system roots the justification in preserving free will and ensuring actual consent to contract. Islamic law provides justifications based on the divine vision for an equitable and just society articulated in the Quran. Jewish law argues for such protections based on the halachic duties of care that everyone is obligated to uphold toward their fellow humans. While each system seeks to protect vulnerable parties from oppression and exploitation, they all have weaknesses. This Article, for the first time, puts these legal traditions into conversation with each other to identify how the strengths of each system can create more robust protections within the other legal traditions. Specifically, this Article identifies the development of economic duress in American law, the subjective standard of Islamic law, and the societal duties of Jewish law as providing rich elements of how legal systems can develop to ensure private law is not used as a means of oppression. The Article concludes by applying each doctrine to demonstrate the way in which the "juristic chemistry" of comparative legal application can lead to a more just society for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Artl@s Bulletin is the property of Purdue University Press 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.)

I discuss from an economic perspective two of the most recent suggestions to reform the peer review system: (a) payment to referees; (b) ex post peer review. I show that strong economic arguments militate against these ideas. With respect to payment to referees I use results from the economic analysis of prosocial behavior and the private production of public goods, which show that the supply of monetary incentives has the paradoxical effect of reducing the willingness of agents to collaborate, insofar as they substitute intrincic motivation with extrinsic motivation. With respect to ex post peer review, I show that it fails to offer sufficient incentives to researchers, since it is anonymous, depersonalized, and weak in its marginal impact on publishing decisions. I take this argument to criticize the lack of theorizing, in the side of radical proponents of Open access, about the conditions for transition from the subscription model to the Open model. It is this lack of critical attention to economic arguments that has led to the unintended but dramatic outcome of a net increase in the cost of scientific publishing, as documented in very recent papers. Finally, I advance a proposal for admitting payments to referees, but not as individuals but as groups of researchers. I offer this idea to open discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the business model of surveillance capitalism has emerged in the IT industry. This model has turned out to be highly profitable, but, if left unchecked, will very likely undermine the foundations of liberal democracies and quality of life on this planet. It involves customized advertising and behavior manipulation, powered by intensive gathering and cross-correlation of personal information. There are significant indirect costs of this model, including loss of privacy, supporting surveillance by both the state and corporations, undermining the democratic process, other kinds of automated attempts of behavior manipulation, and excessive consumerism with its attendant environmental costs. Turning to what could be done, we propose a co-development of regulation and technology, as well as the key roles that can be played by citizens and civil society organizations. The regulatory measures are intended to safeguard privacy, require true informed consent, and to foster interoperability (even among rival firms, nonprofit organizations, and others). We also identify key enabling technologies, including open source, APIs to support interoperability and portability, encryption, and peer-to-peer systems. Finally, we discuss the crucial role of ownership structures for these IT services and argue for an ecosystem approach as a counter narrative to surveillance capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking a historical perspective, we analyze the economic growth of GAFA companies, and how they fit into the indicators that measure global human development. We explore the limits of growth -assuming that economic growth is inherent to good economic performance- by studying these cases, which are relevant insofar as they lead global economic growth in the new digital-based ("ethereal") economy. Our methodological approach contrasts the growth patterns of GAFA companies with general human growth parameters. This case-to-global study finds clear trends, suggesting that the ethereal economy is constrained only by the limits of human growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telefónica became a private company in the 1990s, and since the liberalization of the telecommunications sector, it has operated in the most competitive local market in Europe. The company has tried to compensate for the loss of hegemony in its country with a strong position in other European and Latin American markets. Among its diversification projects, following in the footsteps of AT&T, its attempt to transform itself into a global TV company stands out. This article analyzes the evolution that this Spanish company has undergone in the last 30 years. The most relevant factor in its role as a pay-TV service provider is that it has been forced to face a substantial economic outlay to have original content and a position of supremacy in the purchase of sports broadcasting rights. Our results indicate that today two visions coexist within Telefónica: One committed to maintaining a pay-TV model, and another that considers that paid content should occupy a secondary role, limiting itself to being a mere platform aggregator, after forming continuous alliances with Netflix, Disney+, and DAZN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Policy & Internet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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 discusses the internationalization of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) in light of a redefined network effects framework to incorporate an original institutionalist perspective. Contradicting common wisdom, this approach shows that rather than slowing down in 2015, the strategy to internationalize the RMB has been redirected towards the creation of network effects, thereby directly challenging the institutions—such as the petrodollar system, creditworthiness, among others—that support the United States dollar's hegemony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

President Ronald Reagan encouraged allied countries to aid in the accelerated development of Norwegian gas resources to squeeze Russian gas out of the European market. Reagan's initiative had ramifications for European countries dependent on Russian gas. This article sheds new light on the early 1980s pipeline crisis and the way Norway was drawn into it. The main research basis is in the use of original American documents. This gives insight into internal deliberations in the US government during 1981–83 regarding US initiatives on European energy security. Unfortunately, Norwegian Governmental archives are inaccessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I propose verifying whether, in the context of “high-tech” capitalism, large companies have reinforced their control over innovation. The new digital economy has often been associated with the emergence of a market democracy which is favourable to new entrants through the adoption of innovative entrepreneurial approaches. The economic evolution resulting from the digital economy seems to call into question the findings of the theory of monopoly capitalism formulated in the context of industrial capitalism, which gives a central place to giant companies. The identification and exploitation of innovative opportunities were thus considered to be the prerogative of large firms, thus limiting the possibilities of market entry. Based on the analysis of 10,900 patent applications, I demonstrate that the control of innovation by Big Tech companies in the digital industry is stronger than in other industries and less favourable to new entrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most serious threat to ecosystems is the global climate change fueled by the uncontrolled increase in carbon emissions. In this project, we use mean field control and mean field game models to analyze and inform the decisions of electricity producers on how much renewable sources of production ought to be used in the presence of a carbon tax. The trade-off between higher revenues from production and the negative externality of carbon emissions is quantified for each producer who needs to balance in real time reliance on reliable but polluting (fossil fuel) thermal power stations versus investing in and depending upon clean production from uncertain wind and solar technologies. We compare the impacts of these decisions in two different scenarios: (1) the producers are competitive and hopefully reach a Nash equilibrium; (2) they cooperate and reach a social optimum. In the model, the producers have both time dependent and independent controls. We first propose nonstandard forward–backward stochastic differential equation systems that characterize the Nash equilibrium and the social optimum. Then, we prove that both problems have a unique solution using these equations. We then illustrate with numerical experiments the producers' behavior in each scenario. We further introduce and analyze the impact of a regulator in control of the carbon tax policy, and we study the resulting Stackelberg equilibrium with the field of producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) depend heavily on external resources to sustain their operations and program delivery. Their financial sustainability depends on their ability to attract donors' resources, which is a challenging task in the resource-scarce external environment. Our study investigates the impact of two strategic orientations – market orientation and internal market orientation – on the success of NPOs at attracting resources. Based on survey data gathered from 360 NPOs having field operations in India in the space of environment, livelihoods, and natural resource management, and using the Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method, we find that market orientation and staff retention predict resource attraction by NPOs. Internal market orientation has an indirect impact on resource attraction through staff retention. The study also finds that bigger NPOs attract more resources than smaller ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to alleviate the range anxiety of electric vehicle users (EVUs), several researches focus on facilitating the efficiency of fast-electric vehicle charging stations (fast-EVCSs) using artificial intelligence (AI). This paper first proposes a fast-EVCS revenue maximization pricing policy using an AI approach, and we argue that the AI algorithm can learn to abuse EVUs information for maximizing its revenue. In order to investigate the hypothesis, firstly, a simulation environment is developed using vehicle performance models and an EVU’s charging station selection game. Then, we formulate the charging station revenue maximization problem as a Markov decision process (MDP) and propose a personalized dynamic pricing policy using a model-free reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm. From numerical simulation results, it is found that if the RL approach focuses solely on increasing revenue of the fast-EVCSs, it can learn to misuse personal information without any human intervention. To prevent such abuse, we suggest intuitive guidelines for policymakers and urban planners via numerical experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the (r ∣ p) hub–centroid problem under the price war, which was recently proposed in the literature. The objective is profit maximization by choosing the best hub and spoke topology, with the corresponding price structure, in a leader–follower setting. Because this bi–level optimization problem is NP–hard, the use of metaheuristics is a natural choice for solving real–size instances. A variable neighborhood search algorithm is designed as a solution approach for the leader. The characterization of optimal routes under the price equilibrium is given in order to simplify and improve the algorithm. When it comes to the follower, we have shown how to reformulate in a linear fashion the initial non–linear model. The computational experiments are conducted on the CAB instances. The results of these experiments are thoroughly discussed, highlighting the effects of different parameters and providing some interesting managerial insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceived in the 1930s as a way to renew free market liberalism, neoliberal doctrines aim to institute a competitive order that would regulate the market as well as society. Yet, interpretations of how competition should be enforced have varied throughout history. The European Union, with its ordoliberal origins, tends to follow an interventionist approach while the United States, where the Chicago School has gained influence, fears that inadequate public interventions may diminish global efficiency. The digital revolution and the appearance of the Tech Giants introduces a new challenge. Faced with massive increasing returns to scale, the competition authorities initially reduced their interventionism to enjoy more market efficiency. But the emergence of digital platforms and the will to protect personal data from abusive uses pushes them now to adopt a new strategy for more interventions that goes beyond the economic and efficiency issues. This article argues that the neoliberal vision is no longer accurate to regulate the digital economy. It shows that the platform economy is not an alternative way to manage the market, but an alternative to the market itself. To face these issues, a completely new conception of public regulation is therefore needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze the reciprocal relation between total quality management (TQM) and innovation (product innovation and process innovation) and their impact on operational and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: The data were obtained from a survey of 205 manufacturing companies. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to evaluate the research model. Findings: The results reveal that there is a reciprocal relationship between TQM and innovation. Moreover, the findings indicate a significant positive effect of product innovation and process innovation on operational performance and insignificant direct impact of TQM on operational performance. However, this effect is significant when it is mediated through product innovation and process innovation. Research limitations/implications: This paper helps practitioners to understand how TQM practices support both product and process innovation and the role of the latter in promoting the implementation of TQM practices and ensuring operational performance. Originality/value: This study presents an innovative approach since it is among the first research studies that provide empirical evidence to a reciprocal association between TQM and innovation. Additionally, this paper examines the dimensions studied in different aspects. It considered financial performance and operational performance, and with respect to innovation, this dimension was analyzed through two different perspectives, namely product innovation and process innovation. This study is also among the first and few research studies that have studied the mediating effect of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effects of nominal wage rigidity on inflation persistence and unemployment using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for the Tunisian economy. The model is estimated by using the Bayesian approach for a small open economy, allowing to simultaneously introduce nominal wage rigidity and unemployment in the labor market. Our main finding is that in the Tunisian context, the interest rate effects are mainly limited by the wage policy. The paper also provides estimates of the nominal wage rigidity implications on unemployment. Indeed, in a context of wage rigidity, a tightening monetary policy results in a slowdown in the activity level and an increase in the unemployment rate. A 1% increase in the interest rate causes prices to decrease by only 0.02%, while the unemployment rate rises by 0.2%. These results have important considerations for the monetary authorities in Tunisia. Dealing with nominal wage rigidities would be necessary in order to allow a better transmission of the monetary policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing homes are the quintessential example of vital service captivity. Consumers need vital services when they can no longer fulfil their basic needs on their own and their only choice is to delegate them to the market (e.g. care services for long-term and chronic illnesses, eating assistance at mealtimes). The service is referred to as 'captive' because older people are generally unwilling to use it, and when they have to, their options are limited. For elderly consumers, there is 'no exit possible', and as such they must integrate the service into their sense of self. The paper aims to (1) identify strategies for coping with vital service captivity and (2) present the identity negotiation mechanisms that lead people to choose one strategy over another. The study was conducted over a 6-month period in three nursing homes. Data collection includes semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participant observations, and micro-interviews with consumers – elderly residents and their families – and nursing home staff. Its main contribution is to highlight that coping with vital service captivity is a differential process. Consumers implement multiple coping strategies simultaneously, and these strategies are linked to three areas: routinization, socialization, and assimilation of a new social status. Moreover, implementing coping strategies means striking a balance between 'disengagement' and 'engagement' that not only takes into account former life trajectory, future prospects, and social comparisons, but also any changes in physical or cognitive skills and family support. Understanding these coping strategies and identity negotiation mechanisms highlights some unintended consequences on residents' well-being, such as the importance of standardizing how the service is organized because it provides a stable framework, or the importance given to the well-being of all stakeholders (other consumers, staff) as a result of the community living situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a better understanding of negative consumer–brand relationships in social-media-based anti-brand communities from a consumer culture theory (CCT) perspective. In particular, it investigates the purpose and the meaning of the consumer participation in online anti-brand communities, also through the analysis of the ways in which they express negative feelings toward the hated brands. Design/methodology/approach: This study applies a "symbolic netnographic" method to six anti-brand communities related to four global brands, namely, Apple, Nestlé, Uber and McDonald's. Moreover, several interviews were conducted with anti-brand community administrators. Findings: The findings show that the main reason for consumers to join anti-brand communities is a desire to participate in the construction of new meanings and values of modern consumption, translating their ideological incompatibility with certain brands into negative engagement and activism aimed at destroying the hated brand's image and reputation. Furthermore, the findings reveal that brand anthropomorphism is a frequent means of communication also used in the context of negative consumer–brand relationships, to strengthen the battle against the hated brand in a more frontal and direct manner. Research limitations/implications: Although this research provides some initial insights into negative consumer–brand relationships in the social media anti brand communities, the paper also has some limitations. The netnographic approach should be analyzed within more and different anti-brand communities. In this investigation, the authors perceived how difficult it is to obtain feedback from communities and to secure the collaboration of their administrators. There is also a need for research on other potential factors that can play a key role in negative consumer–brand relationships in social-media anti-brand communities, such as cultural capital or the impact of cultural perceptions. Moreover, future research should focus on different types of products and brand services, such as hedonic vs. utilitarian brands, as these might generate different types of consumer behavioral responses. Finally, a further direction for future research would be to consider the set of "brand recovery strategies" that can be implemented by companies to deal with negative consumer–brand relationships, including the identification of situations in which "not acting" could be preferable. Practical implications: Understanding the antecedents and types of negative consumer–brand relationships enables companies to identify "brand recovery strategies" for managing negativity in the appropriate manner. Moreover, negative feelings toward brand could even be an opportunity for improving branding management. Originality/value: This research improves on previous few studies dealing with online anti-brand communities from a CCT perspective. Firstly, it provides a holistic perspective of negative consumer–brand relationships in general and specifically of brand hate, thus advancing our understanding of the sociocultural dynamics of negative consumer–brand relationships; secondly, it provides new insights into the brand anthropomorphism phenomenon emerging in the negative feelings context. Overall, this research contributes to knowledge for both academics and managers as to why, how and for what purpose consumers experience negative engagement toward certain brands in the specific context of social-media-based anti-brand communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]