This paper studies strategies pursued by banks in order to differentiate their services and soften competition. More specifically we analyze whether bank's ability to avoid losses, its capital ratio, or bank size can be used as strategic variables to make banks different and increase the...

We present an empirical model of firms' strategic behavior in the presence of switching costs. Consumers' transition probabilities embedded in firms strategic interaction are used in a two-stage game to derive structural estimable equations of a first order condition, market-share (demand), and...

We show that social capital improves the viability of stakeholder-oriented firms operating in competitive markets. Studying exits from the population of Norwegian savings banks after deregulations, we find that banks located in communities with high social capital have a higher probability of...

Stakeholder oriented governance systems are often thought to hamper efficiency. We show that social capital improves the viability of stakeholder-oriented firms in competitive markets. Studying exits from the population of Norwegian savings banks after deregulations, we find that banks located...

We introduce a theoretical model predicting that banks' interest rate markups follow a lifecycle pattern. Due to endogenous bank monitoring by competing banks, borrowing firms initially face a low markup, thereafter an increasing markup until it falls for old firms. By applying a large sample of...