November 2006 most likely marks the launch of Sony’s PS3, the successor to PS2. Later, Nintendo is expected to launch the Wii, the successor to the GameCube. We answer the question in the title by analyzing the diffusion of the earlier generations of these consoles, and by using a new model...

We propose a dynamic direct mailing response model with competitive effects, where purchase and promotion history are incorporated. We then map the dynamic competitive interactions amongst the firms sending the mailings. We investigate the short- and long-run impact of a direct mailing on the...

In this paper we try to assess the potential application of neural networks as a modelling tool for complex evolutionary processes. The concept that we wish to investigate is the one of compound learning, that is the fact that, in a complex environment, what and how much economic entities learn...

The reason for contradictory predictions of the models studying the impact of competi¬tion on innovation is the varying assumptions with respect to competition or innovation type. Thus, we study how the impact of competition changes with different types of innova¬tive Output. In particular, we...

The reason for contradictory predictions of the models studying the impact of competi¬tion on innovation is the varying assumptions with respect to competition or innovation type. Thus, we study how the impact of competition changes with different types of innova¬tive Output. In particular, we...

The wave of privatization in the 1980s and 1990s increased productivity of many previously state owned enterprises (SOEs). However, governments often do not have su±cient support to privatize SOEs. We provide evidence that threatening privatization and market competition (entry of new firms)...

This article examines the relationship between works councils and the closure of manufacturing establishments in Germany. The relationship varies according to circumstances and type of establishment. For the subsample of single-establishment firms, the estimates show that works council presence...

Using a simple but general two-stage framework, this paper identifies the circumstances under which increasing competition leads to more cost-reducing investments. The framework can, for instance, capture increasing substitutability for different types of oligopoly models or changes from Cournot...

This paper investigates the strategic impact of organizational design on product market competition. In a duopoly model of horizontal and vertical product differentiation, each firm's manager can impose a product location, or delegate responsibility to select product location to his subordinate....

The integration can be used in a strategic way to weaken the short-term competition, by raising the rivals’ costs, or long term - by increasing input costs, to prevent potential competitors. It represents the unification of production, distribution, sales and/or any other economic processes...