Publication database

This paper analyzes the technology commercialization strategy of an innovating firm when the incumbent firms possess specialized commercialization capabilities. According to the predominant framework, if the innovation is protected by a strong appropriabilty regime the optimal strategy is to license the innovation to an incumbent product firm. This paper argues by contrast that if the innovating firm has the ability to learn from its commercialization experience, its optimal strategy may be to commercialize alone or to pursue a hybrid arrangement (called co-promotion) whereby it licenses the innovation but retains the rights to participate in the commercialization process. The paper develops a game-theoretic model of the technology commercialization process and derives the conditions under which these different strategies are equilibrium outcomes. It then uses these to explain the pattern of arrangements pursued by biotech firms attempting to commercialize products in the pharmaceutical industry between 1978 and 2008. The results show that a firm is significantly more likely to use the hybrid strategy when there is a higher probability of commercializing a subsequent product in the same product field in future, when there are more firms competing to license the innovation, and when it is in a stronger financial position.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

We test the proposition that individuals may experience a self-control conflict between short-term temptation to be selfish and better judgment to act pro-socially. Using a dictator game and a public goods game, we manipulated the likelihood that individuals identified self-control conflict, and we measured their trait ability to implement self-control strategies. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that trait self-control exhibits a positive and significant correlation with pro-social behavior in the treatment that raises likelihood of conflict identification, but not in the treatment that reduces likelihood of conflict identification.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

Critical Mass is a common feature of technology diffusion processes. We develop a structural model of demand with network effects to provide a rigorous definition of critical mass as a function of installed base, price and network effects. Using data from the digital cellular telephony market, we identify critical mass phenomena and find that differences in the critical mass point in different countries rest mainly on different countries' socioeconomic characteristics and the extent of competition in a country. This application illustrates that our demand model can be operationalized easily and can generate theoretically grounded empirical insights about critical mass phenomena.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

This paper argues that empirical economic analysis in court proceedings is subject to important economic and legal restrictions, cumulating in a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and practicality. We draw lessons from two influential German court cases - the paper wholesaler cartel decision of 2007 and the cement cartel decision of 2009. We characterise the trade-offs arguing that they need to be well understood, made transparent, and that decisions on how to proceed in light of these trade-offs have to be taken upfront by the court. In this respect, we believe that the three-step procedure (design, application, and robustness checks) followed by the German court in the cement case is well suited to meet the appropriate legal standard and requirements, both with respect to accuracy and practicality.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

A pdf file of this working paper may be available at INSEAD.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for the monitoring of new technology introduction in a B2B environment. We focus on B2B environments, i.e. on projects where a new technological solution is implemented (and often jointly developed) with a client being either a company or an organization. In such a situation, where a supplier and its client agree to implement a new technology, both are exposed to a risk. The management of these risks can be handled through a couple of approaches: control or trust. The management literature has put a lot of attention on these two modes that play an important role because they drive the quality of the relationship between partners. We will explore their respective roles and build a methodology to monitor them along the life of a buyer-supplier relationship aiming at implementing new technology.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

This paper is concerned with the tension between consumer persuasion and freedom of choice. We study how assertive language (as in the slogan Just do it!) affects consumer compliance in hedonic vs. utilitarian contexts. Previous literature consistently claimed that forceful language would cause reactance and decreased compliance. However, we find in four studies that assertive persuasion is effective in contexts involving hedonic goods and hedonically framed utilitarian goods. Our hypotheses emerge from sociolinguistic research and confirm the relevance of linguistic research in consumer behavior.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).

International standards have the potential to both promote and hinder international trade. Yet empirical scholarship on the standards-trade relationship has been held up due to some methodological challenges: measurement problems, varied effects, and endogeneity concerns. We are able to surmount these challenges while considering the impact of one particular standard on the country-pair trade flows between 91 nations over the 1995-2005 period. To deal with these challenges, we measure the degree of standardization via the penetration of ISO 9000 in individual nations, allow ISO diffusion to manifest via multiple (quality-signaling, information/compliance-cost, and common-language) effects, and use instrumental variable and panel data techniques to overcome endogeneity concerns. We find strong evidence in support of ISO 9000 involving a common-language effect that enhances country-pair trade; yet, the evidence is more mixed with regard to the quality-signaling and information/compliance-cost effects. While we find ISO-rich nations (most notably European) to clearly benefit from the worldwide diffusion of standardization, ISO 9000 represents a de facto trade barrier for nations (e.g., the US and Mexico) lagging behind in terms of adoption.

 

View all ESMT Working Papers in the ESMT Working Paper Series here. ESMT Working Papers are also available via SSRN, RePEc, EconStor, and the German National Library (DNB).