This dissertation consists of three essays on strategic and tactical issues in product design. The first essay presents a dynamic investment game in which firms that are initially identical develop assets which are specialized to different market segments. The model assumes there are increasing...

Human nature does not like change, and unfortunately, in some areas, changes must be made. From an economic standpoint, firms have to adapt to new technologies, the size of markets change constantly as a result of globalization, and customers' needs are never-ending and wide-ranging. In a word,...

This paper examines the stock prices of Chinese companies dual-listed in the A and H share markets between January 2006 and March 2008. While most previous studies have concluded that the A share market does not have significant exposure to the Hong Kong market, I find that following the...

This thesis contains three separate essays that deal with word of mouth. In the first essay, "Promotional Chat on the Internet," we analyze the firms' incentives to anonymously supply positive reviews of products in chat rooms and other recommendation sites. This, in turn, lowers the credibility...

Consolidation in the financial industry has progressed rapidly in many countries. In the United States, large financial corporations, such as Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, formed complex financial groups and conglomerate structures composed of a commercial bank, a securities company, and an...