Exploring privacy risks in information networks is analysing the dangers and hazards that are related to personal information about users of a network. It is about investigating the dynamics and complexities of a setting where humans are served by technology in order to exploit the network for their own good. In the information network, malicious activities are motivated by commercial factors in that the attacks to privacy are happening, not in the name of national security, but in the name of the free market together with technological advancements. Based on the assumption of Machiavellian Intelligence, we have modelled our analyses by way of concepts such as Arms Race, Tragedy of the Commons, and the Red Queen effect. In a number of experiments on spam, adware, and spyware, we have found that they match the characteristics of privacy-invasive software, i.e., software that ignores users’ right to decide what, how and when information about themselves is disseminated by others. Spam messages and adware programs suggest a hazard in that they exploit the lives of millions and millions of users with unsolicited commercial and/or political content. Although, in reality spam and adware are rather benign forms of a privacy risks, since they, e.g., do not collect and/or transmit user data to third parties. Spyware programs are more serious forms of privacy risks. These programs are usually bundled with, e.g., file-sharing tools that allow a spyware to secretly infiltrate computers in order to collect and distribute, e.g., personal information and data about the computer to profit-driven third parties on the Internet. In return, adware and spam displaying customised advertisements and offers may be distributed to vast amounts of users. Spyware programs also have the capability of retrieving malicious code, which can make the spyware act like a virus when the file-sharing tools are distributed in-between the users of a network. In conclusion, spam, spyware and virulent programs invade user privacy. However, our experiments also indicate that privacy-invasive software inflicts the security, stability and capacity of computerised systems and networks. Furthermore, we propose a description of the risk environment in information networks, where network contaminants (such as spam, spyware and virulent programs) are put in a context (information ecosystem) and dynamically modelled by their characteristics both individually and as a group. We show that network contamination may be a serious threat to the future prosperity of an information ecosystem. It is therefore strongly recommended to network owners and designers to respect the privacy rights of individuals. Privacy risks have the potential to overthrow the positive aspects of belonging to an information network. In a sound information network the flow of personal information is balanced with the advantages of belonging to the network. With an understanding of the privacy risk environment, there is a good starting-point for recognising and preventing intrusions into matters of a personal nature. In reflect, mitigating privacy risks contributes to a secure and efficient use of information networks.

This dissertation comprises three individual chapters. Chapter Two examines how free riding across neighbors influenced the diffusion of color television sets in rural China. Chapter Three tests for asymmetric information between a firm’s management and other investors concerning its patent output. Chapter Four discusses how knowledge stocks influence a patenting firm’s later diversification. Chapter Two documents the existence of a type of network effects - free riding across neighbors - in the consumption of color television sets in rural China, which reduces the propensity of non-owners to purchase. I construct a model of the timing of the purchase of a durable good in the presence of free riding, and test its key implications using household survey data in rural China. Chapter Three tests for asymmetric information between a firm’s management and other investors about its patent output by examining insider trading patterns and stock price changes in R&D intensive firms. It demonstrates that management has considerable information about its patent output beyond what is known to investors. It also shows that the predictive power of insider trading patterns on patent output comes from purchases rather than sales. Chapter Four discusses two sequential channels through which knowledge stocks may influence a firm’s later diversification. One is that firms with more knowledge are more likely to enter a new industry. The other is that firms’ businesses have a better chance of surviving, conditional on being formed. By examining U.S. public patenting firms in manufacturing sectors for 1984-1996, I find that knowledge stocks predict the likelihood of new industry entry when controlling for firm size. However, this predictive power is weakened when diversification effects are included. On the other hand, a survival study of newly established segments shows that initial knowledge stocks have significant positive effects on segment survival, whereas diversification effects are insignificant.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第23401号 / 経博第643号 / 新制||経||298(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)准教授 菊谷 達弥, 教授 関口 格, 教授 文 世一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

Causal inference on networks often encounters interference problems. The potentialoutcomes of a unit depend not only on its treatment but also on the treatments of its neighbors in the network. The classic causal inference assumption of no interference among units is untenable in networks, and many fundamental results in causal inference may no longer hold in the presence of interference. To address interference problems in networks, this thesis proposes a novel Network Embedding Matching (NEM) framework for estimating causal effects under network interference. We recover causal effects based on network structure in an observed network. Furthermore, we extend the network interference from direct neighbors to k-hop neighbors. Unlike most previous studies, which had strong assumptions on interference among units in the network and did not consider network structure, our framework incorporates network structure into the estimation of causal effects. In addition, our NEM framework can be implemented in networks for randomized experiments and observational studies. Our approach is interpretable and can be easily applied to networks. We compare our approach with other existing methods in simulations and real networks, and we show that our approach outperforms other methods under linear and nonlinear network interference. / Statistics

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When purchasing durable goods, consumers not only pay for current but also future consumption; consequently, forward looking behavior is an important consideration in durable goods markets. For example, anticipating that prices will go down in the future, consumers may delay the purchase today; such behavior has a significant impact on the firm’s marketing strategies. This dissertation investigates the impact of durability on two marketing strategies: new product introductions and supply chain design. The first part of this dissertation (Chapter 3) examines a durable goods manufacturer’s new product introduction strategy under different market environments where network effects and product compatibility are important. More specifically, this part explores the incentives of a firm to use either a replacement strategy or a skipping strategy—in the former, the firm commercializes the existing technology, while in the latter, it does not; in either case, an improved technology will be available in the future and the firm will introduce a new product at that time. Using a two-period analytical model with network effects, the analysis shows how the level of improvement in the new product, along with the type of compatibility between the products, interacts with network strength to determine the manufacturer’s optimal strategy. Under gradual new product improvement, there is a strict preference for replacement. In contrast, under rapid new product improvement, that preference only holds in markets with relatively high levels of the network strength; at lower levels of the network strength, skipping is preferred; interestingly, for moderate values of the network strength, the level of product improvement affects the manufacturer’s optimal choice differently under varying types of compatibility. The second part of this dissertation (Chapters 4 and 5) focuses on the supply chain design decisions of a durable goods manufacturer who is a sole supplier of an essential proprietary component for making the end product. Three different supply chain structures iii are considered. In the first, the manufacturer operates as a “component supplier” and sells the component to a downstream firm who then makes the end product. In the second structure, the manufacturer produces the end product using its component but does not make that component available to any other firms; here, the manufacturer operates as a “sole entrant”. Finally, the manufacturer can operate as a “dual distributor” who not only makes the end product using its own component, but sells the component to a downstream firm who then competes against the manufacturer in the end product market. The extant literature on the optimal choice among the above supply chain structures has focused mainly on static settings in a framework of price competition. By contrast, researchers predominantly use quantity competition to examine durable goods markets in dynamic (i.e., multiple time period) settings. Moreover, the literature notes diversity in optimal firm behavior under the two types of (i.e., price and quantity) competition. Therefore, to transition from supply chain design in a static setting to a more dynamic one where consumers are forward-looking, this part utilizes Chapter 4 to analyze the manufacturer’s choice using quantity competition in a static setting. This analysis (in Chapter 4) identifies precisely the shift in the manufacturer’s choice of supply chain structure when moving from price competition to a quantity competition framework. With that analysis as a benchmark, the next chapter focuses on the manufacturer’s choice in a dynamic setting. More specifically, Chapter 5 investigates the impact of durability on the optimality of the supply chain structures identified above. Using a two period setting, the analysis explores how the manufacturer’s preference for different supply chain structures is modified. The findings reveal that, e.g., when durability is taken into account, the manufacturer’s preference for the sole entrant role goes up, while the preference for the component supplier role goes down. Further, under certain conditions, the manufacturer may opt to be a dual distributor in the first period and then choose to become only a component supplier in the second period. The underlying rationale for such shifts in preference iv is directly linked to durability, which creates future competition and substantially reduces the manufacturer’s profitability in the long run. Interestingly, this negative impact varies across different supply chain structures. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the current literature on durable goods and enhances our understanding of the impact of durability on the optimality of distinct marketing strategies, and provides insights that are valuable to both academics and managers.

Many telecommunication companies are making considerable investments to take advantage of the new business possibilities offered by 3G mobile services. Previous research on mobile network, suggests potential consumers may not adopt these 3G services provided by telecommunication companies. Given that not all new mobile telecommunication technologies are accepted by the mass market in Taiwan. Thus, there is a need for research to identify the factors that affect consumer intention to subscribe third-generation (3G) mobile services. Based on the theoretical framework of Purchase Intention Model (PIM), network effects, perceived enjoyment and optimum stimulation level, an empirical study of the mass adoption of 3G mobile services in Taiwan was conducted. Data collected from 322 users in Taiwan confirmed our hypotheses and tested against the research model. The results support the proposed model in predicting consumer intention to subscribe 3G service. This study demonstrated that perceived over performance, relative advantage, network effects, perceived enjoyment and optimum stimulation level were key factors that resulted in individuals¡¦ subscription of 3G services. Lastly, several implications for innovation technology acceptance research and 3G service management practices are discussed.

Forms of abuse of dominance in the area of the Internet platforms The thesis is dedicated to the topic of abuse of dominant position in the area of the Internet platforms. Its aim is, firstly, to outline the challenges arising from the specific nature of the area, which might, from the competition-authorities' point of view, complicate the enforcement of competition law in the case of abuse of dominance. Secondly, the thesis tries to find the answer on the question to what extent these problems have been reflected in the existing decision-making practice. The structure of the thesis is divided into four main parts. The first part is an introduction. The second part provides an essential introduction to the area in question. It defines the term "Internet platform", provides an overview of the most important types of the Internet platforms and describes the specifics of the area in question, whose description is essential for the following parts. The third part analyses the problems that competition law may face in the context of possible abuse of dominance within the meaning of Art. 102 TFEU in the area of the Internet platforms. This section is divided according to three basic steps of a competition analysis of abuse of dominance, i.e. definition of the relevant market, the determination of market...

The concept of cloud computing describes a business model in which multiple service providers pool their resources to serve customers online. The ability to pool and assign resources as needed, to deliver services based on accurate usage metrics, to rapidly scale up or down, to deliver services on demand, and to give customers access from any location are just a few of the many benefits of cloud computing. Many organizations and people are interested in cloud computing, but they are also apprehensive of it because of concerns about data security, data availability, and other issues. In this thesis, the topic of vendor lock-in in cloud computing is investigated, as is the role that proprietary technology, contract terms, and network effects play in maintaining this issue in Swedish organizations. The research investigates the various ways in which these characteristics restrict businesses' ability to be flexible and independent by creating barriers that prevent them from switching cloud providers. The thesis addresses these concerns by presenting three potential solutions to the problem of vendor lock-in. These solutions include the utilization of open-source technology, the implementation of a multi-cloud, and an exit strategy. This thesis intends to assist organizations in controlling the risks that relate to cloud computing and vendor lock-in by giving guidance on the subject and providing solutions to the issues that have been identified.

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