John B. Meisel

A Dynamic Analysis of the Adoption of a New Technology: The Case of Optical Scanners

Two p roportional hazard models are used to investigate the differingeffects of marke t structure variables on the conditional probabilityof a firm initially adoptin g the new technology of optical scanners as the innovation spreads through the f ood store industry. During the early stage, leading firms with large average sto re size which are not members of chains and which operate in less concentrated m arkets with higher incomes and wage rates, tend to adopt scanners sooner. Later on, differences in seller concentration, market share, and size become less impo rtant as other firms follow prior adoptions. Copyright 1987 by MIT Press.

The impact of the Internet on the law and economics of the music industry

Business as usual in the music industry is over. Online music is a force to be reckoned with now and increasingly in the future. This paper first describes the current revenue streams and cost causers that characterize the traditional business model in the music industry. Then, the impact of the Internet on the current business model is described, especially as it relates to the distribution stage of the value chain in the record business. Also, the impact of the Internet’s disruption of the distribution stage on the state of existing copyright law, as manifested through the introduction of Napster’s peer‐to‐peer innovation, is explained. Third, an analysis of salient economic, political/legal, and technological issues arising from these changes on the entire industry is presented. Finally, the paper identifies characteristics of a viable business model in the music industry and offers lessons for other digital content industries.

Measuring the economic impact of institutions of higher education

Frequently institutions of higher education commission formal studies to measure their short-term economic impact on the surrounding regions. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss several of the methodological considerations which arise in the design and use of economic impact studies, as well as to present new evidence regarding the effectiveness of alternative survey methods for collecting the personal expenditure data frequently used in such studies. The survey results suggest that mail surveys may yield more accurate responses regarding important personal financial information than more costly telephone interviews. This paper also offers some guidance in the design of economic impact studies and points out some of the increasing pressures to integrate studies of short-term economic impacts with analysis of higher educations impact on long-term regional economic development.

Market Structure, Uncertainty, and Intrafirm Diffusion: The Case of Optical Scanners in Grocery Stores

This study uses monthly data on the adoption of optical scanners by sixty-three grocery chains in thirty-two large U.S. cities to identify the determinants of the rate of intrafirm diffusion. The methodology involves a two-stage approach that relates market environment characteristics to the estimated rate of intrafirm diffusion. The results indicate that firms with larger market shares adopt a new innovation (scanners) more quickly initially but diffuse the innovation through their stores more slowly than firms with smaller market shares. In addition, firms that lag competitors in the initial adoption of scanners tend to diffuse the innovation more quickly. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.

Cable television and competition : Theory, evidence and policy

There is currently widespread discussion in the USA of the merits of amending legislation to allow competition in the cable television market, notably from the telecommunications companies. This article explores what economic theory can contribute to this debate, and adduces empirical evidence on the effects of competition in the cable market where it presently exists. The authors conclude that blocking entry into cable, and indeed into telecommunications markets, is likely to be poor policy, and that increased competition would foster the development of an efficient modern broadband network.

The Senior Project: Using the Literature of Distinguished Economists

Senior capstone experiences can serve multiple purposes. Properly designed, they can assist students who are about to graduate to reflect on their baccalaureate journey, integrate general education with their major field of study, and demonstrate their mastery of disciplinary methods, oral and written communication skills, and critical thinking. Senior experiences are offered in several alternative formats, including the senior honors thesis, but honors theses are not necessarily appropriate for all students or all institutions. We introduce here another alternative: an active-learning project in which senior economics majors, guided by a team of faculty mentors, research topics linking the works of distinguished economists (e.g., selected Nobel laureates in economics and American Economic Association [AEA] presidents) with important objectives of general education. Such projects require majors to use their disciplinary skills to read, interpret, and apply original seminal contributions to the field; to contrast economic perspectives with the perspectives of other disciplines; to appraise the contributions and limitations of alternative ways of knowing; and to demonstrate their oral and written communication skills in a final assessment before graduation. We advocate such an approach as one of several options that could be made available to senior economics majors as a capstone exercise. We provide sample curriculum materials for those faculty who might wish to implement such a program and review recent literature critical of baccalaureate education in general and the economics major in particular. We then describe the senior project developed for economics majors at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE). We provide an example from an annotated bibliography that includes biographies of selected laureates and AEA presidents, lists of their selected works accessible to most undergraduates, and suggested topics for senior projects relating their works to issues addressed in general education. (The bibliography is available on request from the authors.)

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) development and public policy implications

Purpose – In the context of a current regulatory proceeding in the USA, the purpose of the paper is to argue for utilization of a new analytical framework to govern the regulation of the rapidly growing voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology. Specifically, the paper recommends replacement of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) existing vertical regulatory structure with a new conceptual paradigm, a layered or horizontal model that more closely mirrors the structure of internet communications.Design/methodology/approach – The paper briefly traces the evolution of the FCCs current regulatory structure and its previous treatment of internet telephony. Current petitions by individual telecommunications companies before the FCC and the agencys notice of proposed rulemaking on VoIP are analyzed and business and economic implications of VoIP are discussed.Findings – The paper finds that utilization of a layered model enables policy makers to target regulation to specific sources of market pow...

Intermarket Differences in the Early Diffusion of an Innovation

The rate of technological change, and the rate at which the new technology diffuses through an industry, is of increasing importance in evaluating the performance of firms in an industry. Recent research efforts to understand the diffusion process include the work of Benvignati [1], Mansfield [8], Mansfield, et. al. [9], Reinganum [11], and Romeo [12; 13]. Typically, the empirical analyses trace the diffusion of the same innovation in different industries or several innovations as they diffuse through a particular industry. In contrast to these previous efforts, this paper analyzes the diffusion of a single innovation in the same industry but across different geographic markets. Since the focus is on a particular innovation, one is able to control for variables, such as the capital cost of the innovation or the potential profitability of an innovation, that otherwise would vary significantly across innovations. Since the focus is on a particular industry, it is not necessary to control for industry specific characteristics, such as type of product or extent of product differentiation, although intermarket differences may come into play in explaining the diffusion process across geographic markets. Specifically, this study analyzes the early diffusion of the optical scanner through the food store industry in the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The early rate of diffusion of this innovation varies considerably across these markets, and this research attempts to identify economic variables that can explain the observed variation.

The emergence of the internet to deliver video programming: economic and regulatory issues

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the internet as an emerging video distribution platform and to analyze the corresponding emerging economic and legal issues.Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the historical evolution of the business model for the television business and, using a layered model of communications, identifies issues that accompany the growth of the internet as both a complement and a competitor to existing distribution platforms.Findings – As video is increasingly distributed using the internet, a new business model is developing that possesses characteristics such as, unbundled content, irrelevance of geographic exclusivity, irrelevance of structured time or structured release, and new business combinations, alliances, and ventures.Practical implications – Public policy makers throughout the world are faced with the need to update, replace, and/or revise existing regulations that govern the relationships between and among traditional video distri...

Trinko and mandated access to the internet

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to identify five lessons of the Trinko decision and apply them to internet access issues.Design/methodology/approach – The research identifies five lessons and then relates these lessons to access issues involving the internet.Findings – Based on application of the lessons of Trinko, it is likely that access to the public internet will be maintained but it is uncertain as to what the nature of access requirements will be, if any, for private internets.Originality/value – The research provides an economic analysis of the milestone legal decision in Trinko and applies the lessons of Trinko to access issues involving the internet.