This thesis consists of three independent chapters on entry deterrence. The first two chapters consider the use of contracts as a barrier to entry, while the final chapter examines the possibility of firms expanding their product lines to deter entry in a vertical differentiation model. In Chapter 1, the role of exclusive dealing contracts in the liner shipping industry is investigated. It is shown that if the entrant is capacity-constrained, exclusive dealing contracts can be an effective entry barrier, even if the entrant has a lower cost. Chapter 2considers an industry with two stages of production. It is shown that an upstream incumbent is able to deter the entry of a more efficient producer by establishing long-term contractual relations with downstream firms, provided the downstream firms are in direct competition against each other. Chapter 3 considers the question of entry deterrence in a one-dimensional market where goods are differentiated by quality. It is shown that an incumbent firm may decide to produce several products solely for the purpose of deterring entry. Again, it is possible that a lower-cost entrant is deterred. In all three chapters, the welfare consequence is clear: social welfare is lower, since more efficient entrants are excluded from the market.

This study investigates two strategic issues that small pioneering companies should always place emphasis on. Barriers to entry and first mover advantages carry such strategic significance that it should be a priority of any pioneering company, regardless of size. Contemporary studies have questioned the absolute ability of barriers to entry to thwart the entrance of new competitors in an industry, or the sustainability of first mover advantages. The implication being that barriers to entry and first mover advantages should not be high on a strategic agenda, as initiatives in this regard can be overcome by companies with superior resources, or due to the diverse strategies and objectives of companies. This study considers the case of a small pioneering company and analyses the competitive environment of the industry it intends to enter. The analysis utilises Porter's Five Forces Framework in a modified form. The framework was chosen as it considers the structural determinants of an industry, from which competitive pressure elements such as barriers to entry and first mover advantages can be identified and analysed. This modification is necessary as first mover advantages are typically separate considerations for pioneering companies in strategic formulation. This analysis considers the Five Forces of competitive pressure, but replaces first mover advantages with competitive rivalry, due to the particular circumstances encountered by pioneering companies. The relevant determinants of competitive pressure are then identified and ranked, in terms of priority, to give guidance to the strategic planning, formulation and implementation process. The analysis stops short of developing a full strategic plan but is sufficient to highlight the competitive issues that will need to be considered. The case study illustrates how barriers to entry and first mover advantages can still be fundamental to the strategic development process, regardless of the resources and strategy of potential entrants. The case study also proposes a model that spatially depicts the prioritisation of the ensuing strategic issues that are precipitated when analysing Porter's Five Forces Framework. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Comm. (Economic and management sciences))-University of Pretoria, 2004. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-134).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Münster, 2005.

This thesis consists of three independent chapters on entry deterrence. The first two chapters consider the use of contracts as a barrier to entry, while the final chapter examines the possibility of firms expanding their product lines to deter entry in a vertical differentiation model. In Chapter 1, the role of exclusive dealing contracts in the liner shipping industry is investigated. It is shown that if the entrant is capacity-constrained, exclusive dealing contracts can be an effective entry barrier, even if the entrant has a lower cost. Chapter 2considers an industry with two stages of production. It is shown that an upstream incumbent is able to deter the entry of a more efficient producer by establishing long-term contractual relations with downstream firms, provided the downstream firms are in direct competition against each other. Chapter 3 considers the question of entry deterrence in a one-dimensional market where goods are differentiated by quality. It is shown that an incumbent firm may decide to produce several products solely for the purpose of deterring entry. Again, it is possible that a lower-cost entrant is deterred. In all three chapters, the welfare consequence is clear: social welfare is lower, since more efficient entrants are excluded from the market. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

This thesis aims to explain the evolution and transformation of the microchip industry. It focuses on the changes and prediction of the future state including its causes and consequences. The analysis starts on the general description of the market and continues through its subjects ending on relationships between them. This serves as a source of information to the prediction in the final part of the thesis. In the beginning the products, which are taken into consideration in this work (namely CPUs, GPUs and APUs), are described. Following this, there is an analysis of the competition environment that defines a structure of the market upon which further work is based. (Three levels; the manufacturer of photolithographic machines, makers of the chips and their designers and OEM and aftermarket subjects.) The penultimate part defines the barriers to entry to this market and three categories are drawn up: economic, technical and geoeconomic, which are applied to every level of the market. Thus all prerequisites to a successful prediction are satisfied. In the last part of the thesis the prognosis is made and defined, along with its assumptions and limitations. In the concluding part of this work the consequences and results are summarized.

Background: Sweden and Germany are closely linked with one another, with cultural similarities, long history of trade and close geographic proximity. Germany is an attractive country for Swedish companies to establish in due to its central location in Europe and its position as Europe's biggest economy. The EU also makes Germany more attractive with the benefits that member states gain from their membership. There are cultural differences that can be difficult for Swedish companies to identify during their establishment.   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the barriers to entry that Swedish start-ups face when entering the German market. To mitigate the barriers, strategies and preparations for a market entry is examined.  Method: The study was performed as a multiple case study conducted through a qualitative research strategy with an abductive approach. 11 semi-structured interviews were performed for the collection of empirical data.   Conclusion: The results of the study show that Swedish companies are affected by liability of foreignness, competition and culture in several ways. Respondents described the competition on the German market as fierce. They also emphasise the importance of research prior to market entry. Another aspect is the importance of the geographical location of establishment. Germany should not be seen as one big market but as several smaller ones. Knowledge in the German language is also very important for Swedish companies, especially for communicating with domestic German companies. The main cultural aspects are the language barrier, differences in business structure and formalities.

Retail automotive literature that examines how the distance between a retail automotive facility and the prospective purchaser affects market performance is limited. Primary data for this study indicates that distance and purchase in the retail automotive sector move in opposite directions. This study examines similar goods that have high barriers of entry and proposes other methods of increasing market reach. This is a study of the conditions that affect the market performance for imported luxury vehicles. First, is the effect of distance on purchase decisions. Vehicular sales drop the further away a customer is from a car dealership. We call this phenomenon distance decay. Distance decay is defined as: the interaction between two locations declines as the distance between then increases. Secondly, when similar brands are viewed as substitutes, the consumer will choose the brand with the closest automotive service department to their residence or place of employment. Thirdly, door-to-door selling can decrease distance decay. Lastly, pick-up and delivery service can decrease distance decay. Data from 30,936 prospects and individuals who entered, phoned, or emailed a dealership inquiring about purchasing a new Audi were used in the study. These prospects will be categorized by who intended to buy and who actually purchased a car. In addition to the prospects, data from 6,153 individuals who purchased a new Audi from four Audi dealerships in the greater Philadelphia area and from the framed field experiment were used in the study. These categories will then be further labeled by ZIP code and city to determine the effects of distance. Then, possible solutions will be performed on test groups to determine what alternatives from other industries can be used to improve market performance involving long distances. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

As medidas antidumping são uma exceção ao livre comércio e como tal deveriam ser usadas com restrição. No entanto, desde o GATT 1947 há preocupação com o uso abusivo de tais medidas, podendo ser o mecanismo utilizado não apenas para possibilitar a recuperação da indústria doméstica prejudicada pelas importações objeto de dumping, objetivo do Acordo Antidumping (AAD), mas com o fim de proteger a indústria nacional da concorrência estrangeira. Desta forma, o objetivo do presente trabalho é apresentar as principais características do AAD firmado ao final da Rodada Uruguai que culminou na constituição da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC), incluindo seus antecedentes históricos e a possibilidade de aplicação discricionária, demonstrando como uma norma surgida no plano internacional em decorrência de um acordo multilateral vem sendo utilizada pelo Brasil, com a finalidade de se demonstrar a possibilidade de uso das medidas antidumping como barreira à entrada no mercado brasileiro. Confirmada a possibilidade de uso abusivo desse instrumento de defesa comercial, ainda que no plano teórico, uma vez que não é possível analisar os efeitos reais das medidas aplicadas, serão apresentadas as formas de contrabalanço ao protecionismo atualmente existentes no próprio AAD e sua incorporação e utilização pelo Brasil bem como a possibilidade de questionamento de tais medidas como práticas anticompetitivas com fundamento na legislação antitruste perante as autoridades de defesa da concorrência. Serão ainda analisadas outras possibilidades de contrabalanço ao uso exacerbado das medidas antidumping em debate e viabilidade das mesmas no cenário atual em que se verifica, de um lado, o aumento de uso de tais medidas pelos países Membros da OMC, destacando-se o Brasil e, de outro lado, impasse nas negociações multilaterais, cabendo aos Membros tomarem decisões unilaterais sobre a aplicação de tais medidas, seu grau de intensidade e forma de aplicação a depender da proteção que se pretende garantir à indústria nacional. / Antidumping measures are an exception to the free trade and as such they should be used with restrictions. However, since GATT 1947 there is a concern regarding the abuse in the use of such measures, being possible the use of the instrument not only to make possible the recovery of the domestic industry that was injured by the dumped imports, purpose of the Antidumping Agreement (ADA), but also with the purpose of protecting the domestic industry of the foreign competition. Thus, the purpose of this Masters Thesis is to present the main aspects of the ADA signed as a result of the Uruguay Round, that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including its historical background and the possibility of discretionary application, being demonstrated how a rule emerged in an international level as part of a multilateral agreement has been used by Brazil. The purpose is to demonstrate the possibility of the use of the antidumping measures as a barrier to entry in the Brazilian market. Being confirmed the possibility of the abusive use of this trade defense instrument, even if only in theory, since it is not possible to analyze the actual impacts of the applied measures, it will be present the possibilities to counterbalance the protectionism that are established in the ADA, namely the public interest clause and the lesser duty rule, and their adoption and use by Brazil and possibility of challenging such measures as anticompetitive practices based on the antitrust law before the Brazilian Antitrust Authority. Additional possibilities under debate and their feasibility to counterbalance the abuse in the use of the antidumping measures will also be analyzed in the actual scenario where, on one hand, there is the increase of such measures by WTO Members in general and mainly Brazil and, on the other hand, there is an impasse in the multilateral negotiations. The Members will have to unilaterally decide on the implementation of such measures, the level of its intensity and form of application depending on the intended protection to ensure the domestic industry.