Nariaki Nishino

Decision Making and Institutional Design for Product Lifecycle Management

This paper proposes a new approach to decision making and institutional design for product lifecycle management based on social systems engineering. Product lifecycle problems are limited not only by technological issues, but also by economic and social issues. We construct an agent-based model of decision making systems consisting of human subjects such as producers, consumers, dismantlers and used-unit dealers. The focal point of this study is the analysis of which economic agents should collect used units and how product durability affects the formation of a recycling society. This paper also presents discussion of institutional design by comparing experimental results with current institutions using real-world data for several types of products.

Integration of Economics into Engineering with an Application to the Recycling Market

Abstract This paper describes integration of recent economics concepts Into engineering. Direct and Indirect effects of new technology on its users and society depend on the economic system in which it operates. They can be formulated and analyzed by experimental economics, computational economics and the market microstructure theory, which have all emerged recently in economics. We describe how such Integration can be done both In general and with an example: a recycling economy model. An Integrated approach of engineering and economics that treats human behavior, market structure and technology on an empirical and theoretical basis makes it possible to describe a process whereby used product units are collected from consumers for reuse.

Service Design in Movie Theaters Using Auction Mechanism with Seat Reservations

This study addresses problems of service design in movie theaters and proposes a new auction mechanism that addresses seat reservations. In movie theater services, the movie price is generally fixed; moreover, it does not depend on the quality of contents or the theater seat. Therefore, such a service mechanism by the fixed pricing cannot reflect the value of movie contents. In this study, introducing the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism and Gale-Shapley (GS) mechanism, a new mechanism of theater services is proposed. In addition, how the mechanism works is examined using experiments with human subjects and agent-based simulation.

An Experimental Analysis of Environmentally Conscious Decision-making for Sustainable Consumption

This study examines problems of environmentally conscious decision-making in resource consumption using experiments with human subjects. Environmentally conscious behavior is an important issue related to environmental problems such as natural resource exhaustion. However, environmentally conscious behavior must confront the dilemma posed by self-interest and public interest. This study constructs a decision-making model of this situation based on a game-theoretical approach. Experiments with human subjects reveal that a sense of crisis of resource exhaustion can influence decision-making. Vast resources are often consumed and resources decrease furiously when adequate resources remain. Environmentally conscious behavior emerges as resources approach exhaustion.

Service as Artifact: Reconsideration of Value Cocreation

An artifact, or something made by a human being, can create value through mutual interaction among providers, consumers, and other artifacts. Moreover, an artifact can alter its nature to products or services according to the information completeness of its purpose and environment. This paper presents a discussion of how value is cocreated in a society by considering some relevant concepts or theories for “cocreation” such as emergent synthesis, the theory of “ba,” coproduction, and service-dominant logic (SDL). Additionally, the value of a service is reconsidered from the perspective of economic or behavioral value. Finally, this paper presents discussion of the new role of science and technologies to cocreate value in a sustainable society through mutual interaction among consumers and producers.

Modeling and Multi-agent Simulation of Bicycle Sharing

Bicycle sharing services are bicycle rental services which are widely introduced in large cities in Europe, America, and Asia. They differ from ordinary bicycle rental systems in that users are able to rent and return from any station which offers bicycles. This study modeled bicycle sharing services using agent-based modeling and calculated the Nash equilibrium with game theoretic approach. The equilibrium states were shown to depend on the condition such as user’s payoff and cost parameters. The study was developed further by multi-agent simulation using Q learning, constructing several scenarios. The results reproduced the problem which can be found in real bicycle sharing services, the problem where bicycles gather at the bottom of a hill. A reward system for users to take bicycles up the hill was introduced into the simulation, and the best level of reward was found.

An Auction Mechanism Considering Seat Reservations in Movie Theater Services

This paper proposes a new auction mechanism with seat reservations in movie theaters using an interdisciplinary approach. In movie theater services, the movie price is generally fixed, not depending on the quality of contents or the theater seat. It implies that such a service mechanism by fixed pricing might not reflect the value of movie contents. In this study, a new mechanism of theater services is proposed introducing the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves VCG mechanism and Gale-Shapley GS mechanism, which present effectiveness in the field of mechanism design. First derived is the theoretical predictions of equilibrium and how the mechanism works using experiments with human subjects. In addition, agent-based simulation is conducted using agents that make the decisions observed in the experiments. Consequently, the results present the validity of the proposed mechanism, showing an increase in the social surplus.

Psychological characteristics of potential SRI investors and its motivation in Japan: an experimental approach

ABSTRACT This paper aims to identify psychological characteristics of potential investors of socially responsible investment (SRI) in Japan to explain its possible motivation by economic experiments. We asked subjects to make decisions regarding stock investments on the basis of three attributes of return, variance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). We also conducted a dictator game and two lottery-choice experiments to measure subjects’ psychological characteristics: altruism, risk aversion, and time discount rate. Applying a conditional logit model as well as mixed logit model, we found that people who have a higher time discount rate tend to be SRI investors.

Service Satisfaction and Consciousness-Attitude Gap for Foreign Tourists Visiting Japan

This study investigates the service satisfaction and consciousness-attitude gap of foreigners visiting Japan with the aim of finding methods of increasing visitors’ levels of expenditure. Structural equation modeling is employed to investigate the relationships between service quality, service value, customer satisfaction, loyalty, and willingness to pay. The results show that lodging, food and drink, and shopping services all have an influence on loyalty. Shopping services also have a significant influence on willingness to pay. More than half of the tourists maintain expenditure gap, as their actual spending is less than their expected budgets. Although they have a higher willingness to pay in relation to food and drink services, these services do not provide more satisfaction and loyalty than other services.

Dispersed Energy Storage and Its Effect on Market Efficiency in Electricity Trading with Distributed Power Resources: An Experimental Economics Study

Electric power systems in the world are undergoing a structural reform. An electricity trading market that is consisted of distributed energy resources such as renewable power generators and bidirectional transmission networks is one idea regarding the future form of electricity market. This study models the electricity market in a way where each player takes both roles of supplier and consumer, power generation capacity is distributed, energy storage is partially installed, and transactions are made by a double auction mechanism. An analysis conducted by the method of laboratory economic experiment focuses on the relationship between various conditions of energy storage distribution among the players and the level of market efficiency. The result is that energy storage has both positive and negative impacts on the market: it reduces the amount of wasted energy and attains the efficient allocation of energy, but on the other hand it has a potential to make the market unstable.