Orientador: Célio Hiratuka / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T02:06:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cunha_SamanthaFerreirae_D.pdf: 2834795 bytes, checksum: 993585882a5e7c78fde325513425305b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Estudos recentes, utilizando classificações de mercadorias com um alto grau de detalhamento, constataram em um mesmo produto e mercado de destino, grandes diferenças de preços entre os países exportadores. Estabeleceu-se a visão de que a especialização comercial ocorre no interior da categoria de produto, ao longo de variedades. A princípio, variedades são mercadorias sob um mesmo código, mas vendidas a valores unitários distintos (diferenciação vertical de produto). A literatura emergiu nos países desenvolvidos, preocupada com os efeitos da concorrência com as variedades dos países de baixos salários. Essa nova visão da especialização comercial é o ponto de partida para tratar de um tema de grande apelo no contexto atual, o da concorrência com os produtos chineses em terceiros mercados. O trabalho procura contribuir com o tema, investigando a importância do comércio em produtos verticalmente diferenciados na caracterização do padrão de especialização comercial do Brasil comparativamente à China, considerando os principais mercados consumidores de manufaturados brasileiros (ALADI, MERCOSUL e NAFTA). A análise observa diretamente os valores unitários dos fluxos de comércio para inferir sobre a qualidade relativa dos produtos exportados entre o Brasil e a China. Alternativamente, por meio de uma equação de regressão com dados em painel, utiliza dados de preço e quantidade exportados para estimar a influência da `margem qualidade¿ no crescimento das exportações para cada mercado de destino selecionado. O período de análise são os anos 2001 a 2010; os dados são oferecidos por uma nova base de dados de comércio internacional, a BACI. Em geral, as evidências encontradas mostram que o Brasil resistiu melhor a concorrência com os produtos chineses nos segmentos de preço médio e superior, pois foram os segmentos em que ampliou a sua participação (até 10,0 pontos percentuais); esse resultado é observado nas diferentes indústrias e mercados de destino selecionados. Em relação à importância da `margem qualidade¿ no crescimento das exportações, os resultados das estimações mostraram que há diferenças entre os países exportadores quanto à qualidade das exportações nos diferentes mercados de destino; os países de renda per capita mais alta tendem a exportar maiores quantidades, a preços até 12,0% mais altos. Isso significa que há espaço para os países em desenvolvimento aumentarem a qualidade de suas exportações, o que deve ser complementar ao esforço de diversificação da pauta de exportações / Abstract: Recent studies, using highly detailed commodity classifications, have found large price differences among exporting countries, considering the same product and destination market. The idea that trade specialization occurs within product, along varieties, was established. Originally, varieties are goods under the same code but sold with different unit values (vertical product differentiation). The literature has emerged in developed countries, worried about the effects of competition with the varieties of low-wage countries. This new approach to trade specialization is the starting point for discussing a topic of great appeal in the current scenario of competition with Chinese products in third markets. This study aims to contribute to the discussions on that topic, investigating the importance of trade in vertically differentiated products in characterizing the patterns of trade specialization of Brazil in comparison with China, considering the main destination markets of Brazilian manufactures (LAIA, MERCOSUR and NAFTA). The analysis uses directly the unit values of trade flows to infer the relative quality of exported products between Brazil and China. Alternatively, by means of a regression equation with panel data, it uses price and quantity data to estimate the influence of the quality margin in the growth of exports for each selected destination market. The period of analysis comprises the years 2001 to 2010; the data are made available by a new international trade database, BACI. In general, the results show that Brazil has better resisted to the competition with Chinese products in the medium and upper segments of the market, because those were the segments in which Brazil has expanded its share (up to 10.0 percentage points); the observed results hold among different industries and selected destination markets. Considering the importance of the quality margin in the growth of exports, the results showed that there are differences between exporting countries regarding the quality of exports in the different destination markets; countries with higher per capita income export larger quantities, with prices up to 12% higher. This means that there is room for developing countries to raise the quality of their exports, and this should complement the efforts of export diversification / Doutorado / Teoria Economica / Doutora em Ciências Econômicas

Background: Versioning is a product differentiation strategy where a product or service are distinguished or diversified in the intention of making it more attractive to a specific target group. It is often used to price discriminate and a way to profit maximize. Previous studies have mostly concerned software products in general. But with cloud based software products, specific conditions when versioning might occur. E-learning system are one specific software product that shifts more and more to the cloud and a specific market to study. Purpose: Differentiating a software product can be made in several ways but which features to use when versioning is not studied in previous studies, the conditions and reasons are unclear. The purpose of this study is to study cloud based e-learning providers to discover characteristics of feasible features when versioning. Method: To answer the defined research problem qualitative research methods was used in terms of interviews, documentations and observing artefacts. The research data was gathered through four case studies of different cloud e-learning provider, conducting of eight interviewees and four observations of their respective e-learning system. Additionally, articles and other documents was also analysed, that was provided by the companies of the case studies. Delimitations: This research was restricted so it focused on cloud e-learning providers’ perspective as they are those who use the versioning strategy. The limitations therefore only concerns e-learning and cloud services and are not generalized to all software products. Results: The results from the different data collection methods shows that feature characteristics mainly concerns market reasons with specific user preferences and customers with buying behaviors. E-learning systems brings technical reasons to why features are feasible, and the cloud have different service layers, each with different possible features to differentiate in. Costs is also a major concern when choosing feasible features for versioning. Conclusion: E-learning providers see the versioning strategy as an iterative process. Which features that are feasible for one versions seem to change over time as the market changes and product develops. Features are mainly related to the specific market. When versioning, features are separated between standard features for the whole system or segment specific features for one version. Features are also considered if they will add more value than the cost to develop. E-learning providers also develop features if they are economic and technological possible to develop, and if they are within the company’s scope.

States that owing to foresight and planning by Portuguese business executives, most firms in Portugal survived the difficult 1970s and 1980s and, as a consequence, are stronger in today's competitive internal and external challenges. Sets out the methodology used and gives data analysis and results in a descriptive way, with the use of explanatory tables. Closes by stating that time-based differentiation may offer new ways for firms competing in highly differentiated markets.

This paper considers the widely successful employee discount pricing (EDP) promotional program of 2005 to uncover the nature of competition in the US automobile industry, with a specific focus on the big three automakers. In contrast to previous research on automobile competition, this paper uses quarterly average dealer-level transaction price data to capture the short term nature of inter-firm competition that might be embedded in such promotional programs. In doing so, a structural oligopoly model of differentiated products is setup explicitly incorporating the nature of competitive interactions. Results imply that the overall nature of competitiveness in the US automobile industry is consistent with a static model of Bertrand behaviour without any changes in conduct among the big three during the EDP promotion period. These results corroborate the problems of inventory backlog faced by the big three in recent years and indicate that the EDP program has been more of a novel marketing intent on part of the big three to clear up such backlogs.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第18759号 / 経博第510号 / 新制||経||273(附属図書館) / 31710 / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 柴田 章久, 教授 三野 和雄, 教授 矢野 誠 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

This dissertation is a collection of essays on intellectual property rights and optimal product selection when innovation occurs sequentially. One of the highlights of this dissertation has been to show the possibility of full rent extraction by the patent holder when uncertainty in litigation is taken into consideration. The result of the theoretical model has practical policy implication regarding the design of an optimal patent system. The other highlight of this dissertation is to show the coexistence of maximal and minimal product differentiation in a sequentially growing market. This result sheds light on the simulation of a multi-dimensional product space. Brief Summaries of Chapters: Chapter 1 presents a survey of the historical, legal, and economic aspects of patents. The emphasis in this survey is to recognize the crucial elements in the current patent law practice and to initiate research projects thereof. Chapter 2 considers a model of sequential innovation in which patent infringement occurs and the outcome of litigation is uncertain. By recognizing the "diminishing returns to litigation" exhibited in the winning probability distribution function for the plaintiff, it is shown that a basic researcher holding a patent is able to extract all the profit facilitated by the basic innovation. More intriguingly, under rather general circumstances, broader patent breadth may diminish the patent holder's incentive to innovate. Chapter 3 extends the previous model to include a rule on the reasonable royalty to determine the damage award. In addition to the full rent extraction results, the extended model further reveals that the second innovator has incentive to "invent around" with close imitation or "invent enough" with a much improved product. Comparative statics with respect to parameters of litigation cost and granted patent breadth are performed. Among other things, it is demonstrated that an increase in patent breadth, and an increase of litigation costs may neutralize each other. Chapter 4 analyzes a model of two-dimensional product differentiation in which sequential entry occurs and the potential entrant outperforms the incumbent in innovating a new dimension. For a three-stage entry-variety-price duopoly, a unique subgame-perfect equilibrium is obtained and fully characterized. Most importantly, the entrant will completely utilize its capacity to innovate and achieve the principle of maximum differentiation with respect to the innovated variety. However, it is shown that with a sequentially growing product space, firms will not choose extreme opposite positions in all dimensions in order to soften price competition; the principle of minimum differentiation persists with respect to the traditional variety. / Ph. D.

There are three main chapters in the dissertation which fall in the areas of industrial organization and international economics. After the introduction and the literature review, I present two different models that highlight how the degree of substitutability between differentiated products on a market affects a new entrant's entry decisions. I further extend the benchmark model to discuss the implications of the government trade policy on the competition strategies. The last chapter investigates how the bilateral trade flows in various industries between the United States and China respond to Yuan/Dollar exchange rate fluctuations and a few other key variables. In the second chapter, I extend the Singh and Vivies (1984) model and the Hackner (2000) model by allowing for a multi-product duopoly, a domestic incumbent and a foreign entrant, with asymmetric costs in producing two differentiated products: high- and low-quality. If they engage in Cournot competition, in the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium, the foreign entrant will choose to supply both products when two varieties are more heterogeneous. If two varieties are more homogeneous, the foreign entrant tends to supply only one product. After extending the model to consider the tariff imposed on foreign imports, the simulation results suggest that, to increase domestic welfare, the government should allow cost-effective foreign entrants to enter, but keep cost-ineffective ones out of the domestic market. In the third chapter, I provide a thorough analysis of the Bertrand model with a setup that is similar to the Cournot model. When firms compete on prices, the SPNE differs significantly from that of the Cournot model. Depending on the relative marginal cost between two firms, there are circumstances under which the foreign entrant would choose to only enter into the low- or the high-quality market regardless of the degree of substitutability between two varieties. Furthermore, when the domestic government imposes a tariff on the foreign imports, the foreign entrant's entry decision changes with the tariff level. In the last chapter, unlike the existing literature which mainly look at the relationship between the exchange rate and the trade balance at the aggregate level, I attempt to investigate the short-run and the long-run impact of the Yuan/Dollar exchange rate on the US trade balance at the commodity level using a new methodology, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bounds Testing approach. As most articles found no short-run and long-run relationship between the exchange rate and the trade balance at the aggregate level ("aggregation bias"), I argue that different commodities may respond to the exchange rate fluctuations differently. Therefore, this study would offer us a better understanding on which US industries are more vulnerable to the Yuan/Dollar exchange rate fluctuations and which ones are strong players against Chinese competitors. In addition, I further explore other possible contributors to the US trade deficit such as income levels, China FDI inflow, and the US FDI outflow. / Economics

We study the optimal resource portfolio for a price-setter firm under a consumer choice model with supply and demand risks. The firm sells two products that are vertically differentiated, and has the option to invest in both dedicated and flexible resources. Our objective is to understand the effectiveness of the two hedging mechanisms, resource flexibility and demand management through production differentiation, under demand and supply risks. We show that the presence of consumer-driven substitution does not always reduce the need for the firm to offer differentiated products. In particular, when the firm faces demand risk and differential production costs, it might invest in the flexible resource and offer differentiated products for a wider range of parameters. Interestingly, more uncertainty (in the form of additional supply risk) does not always make the firm more eager to adopt a hedging mechanism. This depends on the relationship between resource risks, product attributes, and resource investment costs. On the other hand, when the firm invests in the flexible resource, this never completely replaces the dedicated resources, and always results in a "diverse" resource portfolio. While this happens in the supply risk setting mainly due to resource diversification advantage, it also happens in the demand risk setting due to the vertical differentiation between the products. Finally, in the absence of differential production costs, demand management by itself (without resource flexibility) becomes powerful enough to hedge against the demand risk, but not the supply risk, due to the additional resource diversification benefit of the flexible resource in the latter setting. / Ph. D.

Nous nous proposons, dans le cadre de cette thèse d'examiner des modèles économiques dans lesquels les firmes ont recours à différentes approches de publicité. Nous analysons les effets des investissements et des tarifs publicitaires sur les stratégies des annonceurs et des médias et nous étudions les différentes configurations de marché qui émergent à l'équilibre. Nous nous focalisons dans les Chapitres 2, 3 et 4 sur la publicité informative ciblée. Dans les chapitres suivants nous considérons que la publicité est persuasive et qu'elle peut créer des externalités aussi bien positives que négatives.Ces externalités peuvent être exogènes comme c'est le cas dans le Chapitre 5 ou endogènes (Chapitre 6).Plus précisément, nous examinons, dans le Chapitre 2, dans le cadre d'une différenciation horizontale, la concurrence en prix et en publicité informative ciblée. Dans le Chapitre 3, nous caractérisons l'équilibre d'un média qui a le choix entre éditer un seul journal général publié dans deux localisations géographiques ou bien éditer un journal local dans chaque localisation, donnant ainsi la possibilité aux annonceurs d'acheter des espaces publicitaires séparés dans chaque édition ou un package publicitaire pour les deux éditions. Nous posons dans le Chapitre 4 le problème du signal de la qualité d'une firme qui lance un nouveau produit, dont la qualité n'est pas connue par les consommateurs potentiels. La firme signale sa qualité à travers une publicité informative ciblée en choisissant la taille du marché niche. L'objectif du Chapitre 5 est de mettre en évidence les interactions directes qui existent entre le marché des médias et le marché des producteurs en considérant que le marché est caractérisé par des externalités de publicité aussi bien positives que négatives. Dans le dernier chapitre, nous étudions les incitations de deux firmes, différenciées par la qualité, à investir dans deux types de publicité : une publicité comparative et une publicité non-comparative. / In this thesis, we develop economic models in which firms invest in different types of advertising. We analyze the effects of the advertising investments and prices on the advertisers and media strategies. In addition, we study the various market configurations emerging at equilibrium. On this basis, we focus, in Chapters 2, 3 and 4, on the targeted informative advertising. In the following chapters, we consider persuasive advertising that create negative and positive externalities. These externalities may be exogenous (Chapter 5) or endogenous (Chapter 6).More precisely, we investigate in Chapter 2, through a horizontal differentiation framework, the price competition and targeted advertising investments when firms are able to perfectly target each type of consumer. In Chapter 3, we model a situation in which a printed media has the choice between editing a single national newspaper published in two cities, or editing two local newspapers allowing thus advertisers to buy separated or bundled ads. In Chapter 4, we investigate the best signalling strategy of a monopoly when introducing a new product with unobservable quality. The firm signals its quality to the potential consumers through informative targeted advertising i.e. by choosing the size of the reached consumer's market. The aim of chapter 5 is to highlight the strategic interaction between media and product markets when the market exhibits positive and negative advertising externalities. The last Chapter is interested in the optimal persuasive advertising and pricing decisions of two vertically differentiated firms given that each firm has the choice to advertise in comparative and/or non-comparative advertising.

To explore the potential of packaging design structures in menswear. While packaging design and fashion design are two distinctively different fields,their methodologies are distinctively similar.To compare packaging and garment design is therefore to compare their development process and purpose in terms of structure, material, color and print, as well as aspects concerning production and marketing. Both fields aim to create designs that are functional as well as aesthetically pleasing within their particular context; the fundamental contextual difference being that packaging is conceived for a product and garments conceived for a body. Focusing on structure, both packaging and fashion design may use product templates to facilitate mass production. In fashion design these templates are called construction patterns; in packaging design templates are called packaging nets or development nets. Both construction patterns and packaging nets are 2-d structures that gain a three dimensional form according to a construction system, e.g. constructing a box from a flat element using folding techniques. For this bachelor degree work the aim is to explore the potential of packaging design structures in menswear. The result is a lineup of outfits generated by the adoption of packaging nets as construction patterns for garments. Since the outfits are created using packaging design principles and methods, they challenge the contextual distinction both between garment and packaging, and between body and product. By considering garments as packaging for the body, the collection blurs the line between fashion design and packaging design. I believe that the intersection of these two branches of design allows us not only to discover new forms of expression and construction, but also to gain a new perspective on fashion design practice. In addition to structural properties, by also considering the graphic aspect of packaging design, this collection highlights the importance of product differentiation and thus serves as a starting point for future fashion experiments with product branding. / Program: Fashion Design