This study is structured as a set of three essays which focus on the economics of information technology in the retail banking industry. Employing a game-theoretic analysis, the first paper explains the economic reasoning behind the trend in retail banks in the U.S. to develop most of their...

This dissertation examines the following three issues that are relevant to retailers. In the first essay, we examine category management from an analytical perspective. The practice of category management involves a strategic alliance between a retailer and a leading national brand at the...

This first chapter develops an economic model of the firm linking current financial and non-financial measures to future earnings for retail banks. The data support the associations among current financial and non-financial measures predicted by model, suggesting that the economic model is...

This dissertation analyzes specific issues in the distribution of air travel. In three separate chapters, I analyze (1) the nature competition among online travel agents, (2) travel agent commission overrides as an explanation of dispersion in quoted ticket prices and (3) the response of a...

This dissertation analyzes the conditions that explain the dynamism of socio-territorial systems of firms and examines how these systems can foster local industrialization and reduce urban poverty in Peru. The theoretical argument builds upon the concepts of external economies, industrial...

While there is a general impression expressed by many in the media and among policy makers that the economy is becoming more globalized and internationally competitive, these claims are not agreed upon among economists. This dissertation attempts to clarify the validity of these crucial claims...

The Mexican maquiladora industry was thirty-four years old in 1999, the second summer of my field work. Many maquiladora workers are second and in a few cases third generation in their families in the industry. This dissertation is about the spaces they have negotiated. Maquiladora workers live...

Why do some workers who apparently perform similar tasks and exercise similar job skills get paid very different wages? And, why do firms have the boundaries we observe; in particular, why do firms using closely related production technologies and serving closely related markets specialize...

This dissertation deals with the relationship between executive compensation and corporate control. The chapters II and III deal specifically with the effect, on the compensation of a chief executive officers (CEO), of changes in the perceived threat of a hostile takeover of their firm. Chapter...

This dissertation explores competitive market dynamics and firm configurations of resources and capabilities as a complex adaptive system using a computer simulation. The work is an extension of the broad literature on strategy-environment alignment, integrating concepts from the organizational...