Constantine Manasakis

Certification of corporate social responsibility activities in oligopolistic markets

We investigate the impact of alternative certifying institutions on firms’ incentives to engage in costly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities as well as their relative market and societal implications. We find that the CSR certification standard is the lowest under for‐profit private certifiers and the highest under a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), with the standard of a welfare‐maximizing public certifier lying in between. Yet, regarding industry output, this ranking is reversed. Certification of CSR activities is welfare enhancing for consumers and firms and should be encouraged. Finally, the market and societal outcomes of CSR certification depend crucially on whether certification takes place before or after firms’ CSR activities. On fait enquete sur l’impact de diverses institutions de certification sur les incitations des entreprises a s’engager dans des activites couteuses pour assurer la responsabilite sociale ainsi que sur les implications relatives de ces sortes de certification pour le marche et la societe. On decouvre que le standard de certification est le plus bas pour ceux qui certifient les organisations du secteur privea but lucratif, et le plus eleve pour ceux qui certifient les organisations non‐gouvernementales, et que le standard d’un certificateur public qui viserait a maximiser le bien‐etre tombe entre les deux. Pour ce qui est de la production industrielle, l’ordre est inverse. La certification des activites de responsabilite sociale ameliore le bien‐etre des consommateurs et des entreprises, et devrait etre encouragee. Finalement, les impacts economiques et sociaux de cette certification dependent de maniere cruciale du fait que la certification a eu lieu avant ou apres ces activites.

Using data envelopment analysis to measure hotel efficiency in Crete

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to: study the relative efficiency between hotels operating under a brand and hotels operating independently, on the island of Crete, Greece; identify the inefficiency causes; and suggest managerial implications to relevant business experts and managers in order to increase hotel efficiency in Crete and in other tourism destinations with similar characteristics.Design/methodology/approach – The sample is constituted by 50 superior hotels (luxury and class A) operating in Crete in 2008: 25 hotels are operating as totally independent and 25 hotels are operating under a brand. The efficiency for the above hotels is estimated through the data envelopment analysis methodology.Findings – First, nationally branded hotels are relatively the most efficient; internationally branded are the least efficient, while those operating under a local brand and the independent ones lie in between. This efficiency ranking can be explained by the interplay between operating under a brand a...

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility by a Local Firm Against a Multinational Enterprise

The present work considers competition between a local firm and a multinational enterprise (MNE). The MNE has a competitive advantage in terms of lower unit costs and plans to enter the local firm’s market either through exports or through FDI. The local firm may strategically become “socially responsible” and follow a “doing well by doing good” strategy by investing in socially responsible activities along its value chain. Investments in corporate social responsibility (CSR) increase the responsible firm’s equilibrium output and profit as well as consumer surplus and total welfare in its country. The multinational firm’s incentives to serve the foreign country through FDI are mitigated in the average consumer’s valuation for CSR in the responsible firm’s country implying that CSR investments by local firms give space for inward FDI by low-cost multinationals targeting consumers without environmental and social responsibility consciousness. Policy suggestions are also discussed.

R&D Investments Fostering Horizontal Mergers

We study a homogenous good triopoly in which firms first choose their cost-reducing R&D investments and consider alternative merger proposals, and then compete a la Cournot in the ensuing industry. We identify conditions under which both horizontal mergers and non integration are sustained by Coalition-Proof Nash equilibria (CPNE). These conditions involve the effectiveness of the R&D technology, as well as the distribution of the bargaining power between the acquirer and the acquiree, which determine the allocation of the incremental profits generated by the merger. We show that whether firms follow duplicative or complementary research paths, sustaining a merger generally requires a sufficiently effective R&D technology that creates endogenous cost asymmetries and renders the merger profitable, and a moderate distribution of bargaining power that allows to spread the benefits of the merger. We examine the welfare effects of mergers and obtain clear policy guidelines.

Certification of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities in Oligopolistic Markets (Certification Des Activités De Responsabilité Sociale Des Compagnies Dans Des Marchés Oligopolistiques)

We investigate the impact of alternative certifying institutions on firms’ incentives to engage in costly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities as well as their relative market and societal implications. We find that the CSR certification standard is the lowest under for‐profit private certifiers and the highest under a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), with the standard of a welfare‐maximizing public certifier lying in between. Yet, regarding industry output, this ranking is reversed. Certification of CSR activities is welfare enhancing for consumers and firms and should be encouraged. Finally, the market and societal outcomes of CSR certification depend crucially on whether certification takes place before or after firms’ CSR activities. On fait enquete sur l’impact de diverses institutions de certification sur les incitations des entreprises a s’engager dans des activites couteuses pour assurer la responsabilite sociale ainsi que sur les implications relatives de ces sortes de certification pour le marche et la societe. On decouvre que le standard de certification est le plus bas pour ceux qui certifient les organisations du secteur privea but lucratif, et le plus eleve pour ceux qui certifient les organisations non‐gouvernementales, et que le standard d’un certificateur public qui viserait a maximiser le bien‐etre tombe entre les deux. Pour ce qui est de la production industrielle, l’ordre est inverse. La certification des activites de responsabilite sociale ameliore le bien‐etre des consommateurs et des entreprises, et devrait etre encouragee. Finalement, les impacts economiques et sociaux de cette certification dependent de maniere cruciale du fait que la certification a eu lieu avant ou apres ces activites.

Certification of corporate social responsibility activities in oligopolistic markets: Certification of corporate social responsibilities

We investigate the impact of alternative certifying institutions on firms’ incentives to engage in costly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities as well as their relative market and societal implications. We find that the CSR certification standard is the lowest under for‐profit private certifiers and the highest under a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), with the standard of a welfare‐maximizing public certifier lying in between. Yet, regarding industry output, this ranking is reversed. Certification of CSR activities is welfare enhancing for consumers and firms and should be encouraged. Finally, the market and societal outcomes of CSR certification depend crucially on whether certification takes place before or after firms’ CSR activities. On fait enquete sur l’impact de diverses institutions de certification sur les incitations des entreprises a s’engager dans des activites couteuses pour assurer la responsabilite sociale ainsi que sur les implications relatives de ces sortes de certification pour le marche et la societe. On decouvre que le standard de certification est le plus bas pour ceux qui certifient les organisations du secteur privea but lucratif, et le plus eleve pour ceux qui certifient les organisations non‐gouvernementales, et que le standard d’un certificateur public qui viserait a maximiser le bien‐etre tombe entre les deux. Pour ce qui est de la production industrielle, l’ordre est inverse. La certification des activites de responsabilite sociale ameliore le bien‐etre des consommateurs et des entreprises, et devrait etre encouragee. Finalement, les impacts economiques et sociaux de cette certification dependent de maniere cruciale du fait que la certification a eu lieu avant ou apres ces activites.