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The aim of the paper is to investigate what impacts that offline stores will have on their existing competition as retailer firms introduce online stores to compete with rivals.Since online markets become much mature and prevalent recently,retailer firms catch up on the trends and operate online stores in succession.On account of online stores' convenience and vast potential customers,the introduction of online stores must have a great influence on those offline stores that already in the market.Therefore,we analyze the threat that offline stores may confront with lots of perspectives after online stores¡¦ introduction.In addition,under the circumstances that the government imposes sales tax on online stores and offline stores,we compare their after-tax profits with their pre-tax profits while online stores are vulnerable to evade taxation.

The development of online game in Taiwan is matured and there are also many derived products about it. The total output value of online game industry is still growing at present and the growing rate is at about 8.5% in 2010. There are still many issues worthy to be discussed at the same time. First of all, this research classified the virtual products of online game. Secondly, by analyzing the documents about network externality, the research discussed the effect that those products could influence online game players. Next, with the game model which constructed in the research, the interaction of ¡§paid-player¡¨, ¡§free player¡¨ and ¡§potential player¡¨ were discussed. Finally, the research also analyzed the consumer behavior under different situation of network externality and gave some pricing reference for online game firms. There is the conclusion of the research. To maximum the profit, the online game firms must set higher price for those virtual products which may have negative effects compared to those products which do not have negative effects.

The e-book reader has become one of the most popular consumer electronics goods since the Amazon Kindle first launched in the end of year 2007; it has led the trend of e-book worldwide. E-book reader not only sold very well in North America, the sales increased very fast in Asia and Europe. According to FIND (2010), the global total sales of e-book reader is 3.6 million pieces in 2009, and it increased almost 80% in 2010. This shows that the e-book reader has become more and more popular. Taiwan is the most important country of e-book reader supply chain, which not only predominate the key techniques and patent but also takes OEM / ODM orders worldwide. Despite the advantage of the hardware development, the use of e-book readers is not common in Taiwan. Therefore the purposes of this research are to explore the factors that would influence user¡¦s adaptive behavior of e-book readers. This research based on technology acceptance model (TAM), and extends with ¡§Compatibility¡¨, ¡§Observability¡¨ and ¡§Perceived complementarity¡¨ as external variables to investigate the factors influencing consumer usage of e-book reader. The analytical results are as below: 1. ¡§Compatibility¡¨ has positive significant effect on both ¡§Perceived Usefulness¡¨ and ¡§Perceived Ease of Use.¡¨ 2. ¡§Observability¡¨ has positive significant effect on both ¡§Perceived Usefulness¡¨ and ¡§Perceived Ease of Use.¡¨ 3. ¡§Perceived complementarity¡¨ has positive significant effect on both ¡§Perceived Usefulness¡¨ and ¡§Perceived Ease of Use,¡¨ but has no significant effect on¡§Behavioral Intention.¡¨ 4. Both ¡§Perceived Usefulness¡¨ and ¡§Perceived Ease of Use¡¨ have positive significant effect on¡§Behavioral Intention.¡¨

The network externality function plays a very important role in the study of economic network industries. Moreover, the consumer group dynamic interactions coupled with network externality concept is going to play a dominant role in the network goods in the 21st century. The existing literature is stemmed on a choice of externality function with certain quantitative properties. The utility function coupled with the network externality function is used to investigate static properties of rational equilibrium. The aim of this work is to systematically initiate a development of quantitative effects of the concept of network externality and its influence on the characteristics of network market equilibrium. We introduce several basic concepts, notably, network externality process and network goods. Formulating a principle of network externality, we developed a mathematical dynamic model (1) for the network externality process. A closed form solution of the mathematical model was determined and analyzed (2). The presented qualitative and quantitative analysis provides a systematic and unified way of constructing the existing network externality function. The solution process is called "Generalized Network Externality Function (GNEF)". Moreover, our study of quantitative description, parametric representation of attributes and sensitivity analysis of network externality process provides a tool for planning, policy and performance for network goods (3). In the absence of desired data set, we presented an illustration to exhibit the significance of GNEF. We used two types of data sets on the US banking asset and deposit. Employing nonlinear regression methods and data sets, we developed statistical models for the US banking asset and deposit, and constructed two normalized the US banking deposit models (4). Finally, using the concept of theory of relative growth and GNEF (4), we developed two dynamic models for the network externality for the US banking asset with respect to the US banking deposit as a financial market share (5). Incorporating the GNEF (2) in the consumer utility function, a concept of market share adjustment function is introduced and utilized to develop dynamic models for existing rational and static expectation processes (6). In fact, the role and scope of dynamic models of market share adjustment process are extended to the well-known adaptive expectation and its extension process (7). Using a fixed point theorem and the method of upper and lower solutions of discrete time processes, the existence of equilibrium states of developed dynamic models of market share adjustment processes are established in a systematic way (8). Furthermore, the qualitative properties (stability and oscillatory) of equilibrium states are investigated in terms of model and speed of adjustment parameters. Moreover, the system parameter space is decomposed according to qualitative properties (stability, instability and oscillatory) and the type of expectation processes. Very recently, the idea of local network externality is utilized to characterize the rational equilibrium (under fulfilled expectation assumptions). From the study on two-scale network dynamic model of human mobility process an eco-socio-culture interactions, we note that heterogeneity in the network goods consumer community generates a local network externality. Furthermore, dynamic models of adaptive expectation processes (6,7) for network goods provide tool to extend the characterization of rational equilibrium study to static, current and lagged adaptive types equilibriums. Here, we treat the consumer decision to be a dynamic process. We formulate a dynamic structural representation of a consumer network structure, structure of utility function and decision rule under the influence of local network externality concept (9). For the consumer network structure, we generalize the one-dimensional Hotelling location line model to multi-dimensional location (10). This formulation generates a mathematical model for a consumer decision dynamic process (11). The byproduct of the dynamic model leads to an agent-based simulation model (12). The simulation model is employed to investigate different types of consumer decision dynamic market equilibriums. Moreover, prototype illustrations are given to exhibit the association between network attributes and its market equilibriums. We extend the work of two firms (duopoly) into multi-firms (oligopoly and monopolistic competition). This work shed light on the policies for manager to meet performance goal of their firm in network goods industry. In future, we propose to extend this work to incorporate random fluctuations, to remove restrictions and the local and global economic framework in the 21st century.

WiMAX與3G是目前無線行動寬頻接取技術中，最有可能成為主流的兩種技術。3G進入市場的時間較早，優勢在於具備強大的移動性。但是與其配合的終端裝置大部分為無法執行太多任務的手機，因此在內容服務上並無法獲得良好的發展。另一方面，WiMAX以低成本、高傳輸速率、良好行動性為訴求，緊隨著WiFi的成功之後開始進入無線行動寬頻接取服務的市場。不過一般預期WiMAX早期的應用終端裝置以行動性不高的筆記型電腦為主，並逐漸往高行動性的手持裝置發展。本研究主要探討的主題在於，當WiMAX以新進者的形態進入3G已存在的無線行動寬頻市場時，這兩種相近的技術產生何種競爭與合作的關係。 本研究以產業資料及文獻回顧整合出的探討角度來探討WiMAX與3G可能的競合狀況。另外，本研究也採取專家意見法來獲得實務業界對WiMAX與3G競合狀況的看法，以補足僅以文獻與次級資料探討本研究主題的不足。本研究檢視與整理WiMAX與3G在技術上的表現後發現，WiMAX在技術上的表現在目前及未來的兩三年之間都優於3G的相關技術標準。而藉由系統產品的特性與網路外部性、標準競爭與數位匯流的角度來探討WiMAX與3G可能的市場表現特性與競爭合作關係後也發現，WiMAX相對於3G具有低成本的特性，但3G在安裝基礎、線路普及率、全球工作頻段的一致性上，則有WiMAX未能具備的絕對優勢。因此何者能成為市場上主流的無線行動寬頻接取技術，尚未能有明確的定論。 WiMAX與3G在一開始的關係是合作大於競爭，而隨著WiMAX進入市場的時間越長，兩者之間的關係也由合作慢慢轉為競爭。而主要影響WiMAX與3G競爭關係的關鍵變數有四個：政府對WiMAX發展的態度、快速建立消費者期望的能力及對終端裝置產品發展趨勢的掌握、無線行動寬頻服務需求的成長狀況。WiMAX與3G 何者能確實影響或掌握四項關鍵變數的變化，將能真正成為市場上無線行動寬頻接取技術的主流。 / Among all kinds of broadband wireless access technologies, WiMAX and 3G are the 2 most potential candidates to dominate the future broadband mobile date service marrket. On the one hand, 3G moves into the market earlier and has the advantage of high mobility and popular existed 2G, 2.5G subscribers as bases. However, the content service on 3G doesn’t get prospered due to the complemental terminal devices comprise mostly handheld phones which aren’t capable of performing complicated tasks. On the other hand, WiMAX tries to follow the success of WiFi, and positions as the low cost, high data rate, and metropolitan area mobile solution in the broadband mobile data service. The most possible complemental terminal devices for WiMAX in early stage are notebooks which don’t provide high mobility, and will gradually migrate to handsets with high mobility then. This study tried to figure out the competition and cooperation between WiMAX and 3G when WiMAX as a new comer move into the broadband mobile data service market with 3G already existed in it. This study discussed the possible competition and cooperation between WiMAX and 3G based on the industrial data and related literatures. Professions interviews were also included to supplement with the practical viewpoint of telecom operators. From the technical perspective, WiMAX has better performance and will lead 3G for next 2 to 3 years. From the perspective of systematic product, network externalities, standard competition, and digital convergence, WiMAX surpasses 3G in lower cost, and 3G is superior to WiMAX in larger installed base, potential subscribers and consistent international radio band. As a result, there is no clear conclusion can be made which of WiMAX and 3G can dominate the broadband mobie datea service market in the future. WiMAX will cooperate more than compete with 3G in telecom operators at its early movement into the market. As the time pass by, WiMAX will compete more than cooperate with 3G. The four critical variables to influence the competition between WiMAX and 3G are: the government attitude to WiMAX development, the ability to establish the consumers’ expectation, response to mobile terminal devices trend, and the growth of the wireless mobile broadband demand. Either WiMAX or 3G has the potential to be the mainstream in the wireless mobile broadband market provided that which can influence or respond to the four variables above better.

現今的科技產品環境，當新產品進入市場時，因為舊有產品使用者建構的網路外部性下，不容易開拓其市佔率。過去討論網路外部性的文獻中，大多僅探討一項新產品與舊有產品競爭的情況。然而，現實中往往出現多項產品同時在市場上競爭。本文模型建立在Jassen and Mendys (2007) 上，來探討擁有較高網路外部性之舊產品，面臨同時出現兩項品質較好之新產品時，市場佔有率的分佈樣貌。此模型中，存在於市場上的消費者對品質及網路外部性的偏好為異質，且模型中的消費者每期皆會重複購買該產品。本文發現，三項產品同時存在於市場上的穩定均衡解不存在，且市場均衡解將會出現在僅剩品質最優的新產品及既存舊產品共存的市場下，品質居中的產品無法存活於市場。新產品品質與舊產品品質間的差距不大時，舊產品仍然主導市場；若新產品品質明顯優於既有產品品質時，則新產品會拿下整個市場。且當品質優勢超過八分之一時，新產品將很快地占領整個市場。 / The market today is a harsh environment for new firms introducing new technologies into it, because users of existing products have already constructed a tough network which cannot be shaken easily. On network externality, previous researches only analyzed the condition of one new product competing with one old product. However, in reality, there are often more than two products competing with each other in the market. Based on Jassen and Mendys (2007), our model further discusses the outcome of the competition between two new superior products and an old inferior product. Consumers have different preferences of the quality and network externality of a product, and buy one product in each period. The outcome reveals that there is no stable equilibrium solution, when three products co-exist in the market. Stable equilibrium solution exists when there are only two products, the best one and the worst one, in the market. The product with middle quality cannot survive. Also, old products can still possess the most part of the market when the quality differs subtly between new and old products. But when the quality of new products is apparently higher than that of old products, then new products could take over the whole market. We discovered that the quality difference must be greater than 0.125 for new products to dominate the market quickly.

With the development of the broadband and the digital technology, different medium could integrate and converge together and the boundaries become dimmer and dimmer. For example, Chunghwa Telecom¡¦s (CHT) Multimedia On Demand service crossed the boundary and entered the digital visual industry in March, 2004. CHT¡¦s MOD is based on the television and through ADSL to offer the digital interactive TV service, making broadband from the study to the living room. Above the service platform, it could not only transmit the visual message, but also the voice and data messages. This kind of business model will be the operational target of the broadband suppliers in the future. However, there are some problems on the promotional pace of CHT¡¦s MOD mow. Based on the results of the earlier researches, the reason why the interactive visual service could not promote successfully is the government and companies put too much emphases on the technical infrastructure, but they all neglect the market situation and the customers¡¦ usages. But, in order to popularize one kind of new media technology, understanding the conditions of the target audiences accurately is the most important mission. Therefore, this research will take CHT¡¦s MOD as an example to understand the key factors which will influence the target audiences to accept the new media technology. And we will see the viewpoints of users. This research will take the Technology Acceptance Model as the main framework and combine the innovation characteristics, such as the compatibility, Trialability and observability. Moreover, we also take subject norm, network externality and new media technology self ¡Vefficacy into account. Through our survey and analysis, we could also prove the originate TAM again and our extended model is more explicative than the originated one. As TAM says, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will influence the behavioral intention to use directly. And perceived usefulness is the most powerful variable in the model. Other variables will influence the perceived usefulness or perceived ease of use. For instance, subjective norm and network externality have the positive and remarkable effect on perceived usefulness. And new media technology self ¡Vefficacy has the direct effects on the perceived ease of use. On the other hand, among the innovation characteristics, the compatibility and observability have the direct effects on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, but trialability doesn¡¦t. That says, the more compatibility and observability are, the stronger perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are. From the outcome of this research, we could understand the key factors of affecting the behavioral intention to accept CHT¡¦s MOD. And it could be the reference for the operators. Furthermore, all variables included in this research will affect the behavioral intention intensely. When we talk about such kind of information system with entertainments, the motivational variables could be considered.

More and more enterprises plan to switch their legacy system to service-oriented architecture (SOA). SOA, the focus of recent software-engineering, modulizes the IT components as “services” which could be re-jointed with each other flexibly and reused to avoid building parts repeatedly. This methodology also yields network externalities (Katz and Shapiro 1986; Markus 1987) as a number of services are integrated. An enterprise could increase the number of services to earn network externalities but such benefits come with risks. / This study aims to evaluate the investment of SOA and justifies the switch of current systems to SOA. Since SOA investment is usually a long-term and risky project for most enterprises, uncertainty becomes an important evaluation factor of an SOA project. This research applies the real option approach to evaluate an SOA switching project which majorly justifies the uncertainties, and use Monte-Carlo simulation to do the option pricing work. We consider three components of uncertainty in the model– risk, exercise time and number of connecting services for reusing- and evaluate how the uncertainty relates to the value of an SOA project. Finally, this research deduces the investment strategies under uncertainties, and describes what advantages for real option SOA has which are SOA could reduce the investment friction.

Red-Hat Linux之CEO，Robert Yang曾對微軟行為作如此論述：「微軟很壞，但壞的很成功！」本文內容可分為三部分。首先在於釐清微軟成功之原因，針對形成微軟獨佔個人電腦作業系統之原因，做一有系統之經濟觀點分析：將軟體產業特殊之競爭策略層面考量與相關網路外部性理論經濟模型推論、驗證過程透過本文架構重新整合，發展出不同於一般管理文獻論述之方式以建立微軟獨佔地位之經濟理論基礎。第二部份針對微軟破壞競爭規範等違法行為作研究，主要針對微軟1998年對網景之反托拉斯此案，以美國司法部公布之事實認定書與休曼法為基礎，加以延申並做詳盡之探討。第三部分則針對微軟被宣判違反反托拉斯法後，政府在網際網路時代下執行反托拉斯法以回復競爭規範之角色、補救原則、措施做一探討並與AT＆T案例比較；最後並提出兩種分割方式經濟模型分析與最適分割條件之政策性建議。 / The CEO of Red-Hat Linux, Robert Yang, has made such comments on the behavior of Microsoft that:” Microsoft is very bad, but very successful.” This thesis mainly focuses on three parts. The first part is to clarify the reasons why Microsoft is so successful and analyze its monopolistic position on personal computer operating system market in light of a systematic、economic method combining strategic competitive characteristics of software industry with economic theories of network externalities, making its foundations of monopoly and distinguish from general managerial arguments through the framework of this thesis. The second part primarily focuses on the antitrust case of Microsoft’s behavior against Netscape proposed by DOJ in 1998. Basing on the DOJ’s findings of fact and the antitrust law of Sherman act, we made explorative research on the case. The third part is to explore the role、principles and methods of antitrust remedy enforcements by government under the era of networks and Internet and compare with the AT&T case in 1982. Finally, we compare between two different ways that divide Microsoft into two companies in light of economic analysis and propose policy recommendation about condition that will optimize upon exploiting such remedy method.