Substantial increases in retail concentration (particularly in Europe) raise concerns about the welfare implications for consumers. In a formal model, we argue that retailer market power reduces upstream firms incentives to introduce new products. On the basis of a survey of firms in German food...

It is well documented that a large share of new products does not survive their first year in the market. Research reported in this paper examined the relationship between product quality and innovation success. In contrast to existing product innovation literature that focused on industrial...

The last couple of decades have seen an increased retail concentration around the world, particularly in Europe. Views on the welfare implications of this severe change are controversial. Consumers might benefit because larger stores (owned by larger retailer chains) offer more product choices....

Product innovation is a competitive strategy in food industry. Successful product development management is a key determinant of a firm's performance. In recent years functional foods, which are innovative food products that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition, have become...

Using the structure-conduct-performance approach it can be argued that diversification raises barriers to entry which have a positive influence on the profitability of firms. This study examines the effect of product diversification on the profitability of 25 German food industry sectors from...

The increasing concentration of retailing in many countries (particularly in Europe) is a cause for concern for competition authorities. In a formal model, we argue that retailer market power influences upstream firms` incentives to introduce new products. On the basis of a survey of German food...

This paper analyses the flexibility decision of firms. In particular we (a) ask whether the flexibility choice is influenced by market structure (concentration, market growth, ...), (b) compare the firms' actual choices with welfare maximising flexibility decisions (c) investigate the...