bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
E‐Commerce
Authors: Chircu Alina M.
Published: January 2015

When an enterprise engages in electronic commerce (EC, also called e‐commerce), the Information Systems (IS) function must provide the organization with specialized communications and information processing capabilities for this method of commerce. These capabilities are reflected in the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, applications, operations, and support staff, which are the responsibility of the IS function. This article defines e‐commerce types (B2C, B2B, B2G, C2C, G2C, and G2B), transactions (from the perspective of transaction phases such as pre‐purchase intentions, purchase consummation, and post‐purchase intentions), and applications (describe, publish, advertise, sell, and provide service), and also identifies e‐commerce management issues (from both the buyer's and seller's perspectives).
IT
Project Management
Authors: Wallace Linda
Published: January 2015

IT project management refers to the application of a set of methodologies, tools, procedures, and practices to the planning and execution of an IT project. A project manager must lead a team of people through the multiple phases of a project (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring/controlling, and closing), while also maintaining the delicate balance of time, cost, and project scope. Project management training and certifications are available to assist project managers in obtaining the requisite skills that they will need to guide a project to successful completion. Project management standards and methodologies, as well as other types of project management tools and techniques, are often utilized in order to control the complex matrix of variables that must be managed during the course of the project. As organizations and technologies change in the future, project management methods will also need to transform and adapt accordingly.
ITStandards
Authors: Kirsch Laurie J. , Weng Qin
Published: January 2015

nformation technology (IT) standards articulate specifications, metrics, rules, and guidelines about IT, to promote technology interoperability, interchangeability, and compatibility. Standards are developed by both formal and informal standard‐setting bodies, and involve a large number of stakeholders.ITstandards exist at the industry; organizational; and individual levels, and address technology; data; and processes. ComplementingITstandards are comprehensive frameworks that integrate specific standards and management practices.
Knowledge Management
Authors: Jennex Murray E.
Published: January 2015

Knowledge management (KM) is about capturing knowledge created and/or used in an organization and making it available to those who need it to make decisions.KMachieves this by helping organizations leverage what they know and by improving connectivity between knowledge sources and/or knowledge users. The emphasis inKMresearch is focused onKMimpacts on organizational performance and competitive enhancement. This article introduces the concepts ofKMby first expanding onKMand then discussing knowledge, knowledge management systems (KMS),KMtechnologies, andKMissues and areas of research.
Management of
IT
Services
Authors: Conger Sue
Published: January 2015

As organizations shift to a services orientation, information technology (
IT
) organizations are undergoing a similar shift to better serve their parent organizations. Two key aspects of managing
IT
services are how
IT
relates to the rest of the organization in managing demand for
IT
services and how
IT
delivers services to the organization in daily aspects of
IT
operations. Demand management deals with creating new services and improving existing ones.
IT
operations management deals with infrastructure design and provisioning, and interactions to service information requests and outages. Both, demand management and
IT
service delivery are subject to measurement to support continuous improvement.
Automated Product Identification Using
RFID
(Radio Frequency Identification)
Authors: Sengupta Arijit
Published: January 2015

Product identification is a crucial success factor for any business that involves tangible assets. The success or failure of a business depends on accurately tracking these assets through their life cycle, from manufacturing to sale and post‐sale activities. Barcodes have been the technology of choice since their first use on Wrigley's gum in 1974. The introduction of inexpensive yet effective electronic identification through the use of radio frequency identification (
RFID
) in the mid‐1990s initiated a major transition in the product identification arena. As
RFID
technology has stabilized and its cost/scan has decreased, many businesses have adopted
RFID
and now realize a good return on investment (
ROI
) for the technology. In this article, we provide a summary of the technology and explore some of the major success factors in the proper adoption of the
RFID
technology for automated product identification.
Social Media Introduction
Authors: Johnson Jeremiah , Kane Jerry
Published: January 2015

The proliferation of new social media platforms challenges our understanding of how people interact online, offering a tenuous balance between the promise of collective social connection and the privacy of individuals. In this introduction, we review the history of select social media platforms in order to draw attention to the evolution of the technology that drives wikis, blogs, electronic social networks, and social selection sites. From this history, we identify technologies that have been combined and evolved to allow users new methods of connection. Utilizing these established social media platforms as a foundation, we explore emergent phenomenon, including mobile and gaming, that are revolutionizing our consumption and use of social media. We conclude by highlighting the increasing interdependence between social media platforms, and the challenges for people who use them.
Software as a Service (
S
aa
S
)
Authors: Howells Jeff
Published: January 2015

The article provides an overview of Software as a Service.
Software Engineering
Authors: Slaughter Sandra A. , Wu Tianshi
Published: January 2015

Software engineering is the application of formal engineering principles, concepts, and methodologies to construct software systems. It involves the use of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach for the development, testing, implementation, operation, and maintenance of software systems. The focus of software engineering tends to be large systems that have substantial performance, capacity, reliability, security, quality, and safety requirements. The software engineering discipline addresses how such systems are built and maintained in ways that are economically viable for the producers and users. In this article, we begin by describing a brief history of the software engineering discipline. We then discuss the important parts of software engineering, including requirements engineering; design; construction; testing; deployment and maintenance; quality; dependability and security; and process and tools.
Technology Acceptance Model And The Unified Theory Of Acceptance And Use Of Technology
Authors: Venkatesh Viswanath
Published: January 2015

This article presents an overview of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. I trace its origins, which relates back to the technology acceptance model, and discuss related models. I share some of my experiences, as an author, editor, and reviewer, to identify some common problems in current research investigations in this area. Drawing on these lessons, I make suggestions for future research on this topic.
Virtual Worlds
Authors: Saunders Carol , Rutkowski Anne F.
Published: January 2015

This article describes virtual worlds (VWs) and a theory of virtual space and place (VSP) that explains the basic elements of VWs. VSP theory may thus be used to explain how individuals can work more effectively in virtual three‐dimensional spaces. It links the concepts of space, place, and presence and seeks to understand the relationships among them. A common thread binding these three objects is the movement of objects across a range of directions. In this article, we define the three key concepts in VSP: space, place, and presence. We present a research model to illustrate how they are interrelated in seemingly three‐dimensional worlds. We conclude with descriptions of a test of the theory and the theory's contributions.
COBOL
Authors: McDonald David
Published: January 2015

Much of early computing technology came as a result of collaboration among business, education, and the government.
Health Information Technology
Authors: Klein Richard
Published: January 2015

Health information technology (HIT), as defined by Thompson and Brailer (2005), encompasses “the application of information processing involving both computer hardware and software that deals with the storage, retrieval, sharing, and use of health care information, data and knowledge for communication and decision making.” The United States Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) notes that HIT includes the implementation of information and communication technology in healthcare through the use of electronic health records (EHRs), personal health records (PHRs), e‐mail communication, computerized provider order entry (CPOE), and clinical decision support systems, among others. Additionally, academics, practitioners, and medical industry suppliers have developed numerous clinical alert and reminder tools as well as electronic monitoring systems, among others, employing radio‐frequency identification (RFID) technology and a growing number of mobile technology innovations.
Shared Services
Authors: Ulbrich Frank
Published: January 2015

Shared services is a term that denotes (i) a management idea and (ii) a service‐providing organizational entity. As a management idea, shared services can broadly be defined as a best practice that focuses on consolidating common services within an organizational context to share these services rather than internally duplicating them. As an organizational entity, shared services is a service‐providing entity. Historically, this entity has been referred to as the
Shared Service Center
(
SSC
).
Service Science
Authors: Srinivasan Ananth , Breidbach Christoph F. , Kolb Darl G.
Published: January 2015

Service science, orservice science, management, and engineering(SSME), is an emerging interdisciplinary academic discipline that aims at understanding service and service systems. Initially spearheaded by IBM Corporation, the discipline has matured in recent years. The state of service science to date has reached a point where universities around the world offer degree programs, while academics and practitioners alike advance the field through a variety of specialized journals and conferences.
Software and Programming Languages
Authors: McDonald David
Published: January 2015

Software and hardware are interdependent components of a computer.
Multiunit Auctions
Authors: Katzman Brett
Published: January 2015

Description of multi‐unit auctions.
Confidence Intervals
Authors: Ley Eduardo
Published: January 2015

In an estimation context, we are often interested in determining a plausible set of values for the unknown parameters rather than to simply rely on single point estimates.
Maximin Criterion
Authors: Ley Eduardo
Published: January 2015

Suppose that, when a manager is faced with a decision, the payoffs from choosing any of the different strategies available will depend on the circumstances beyond her control (e.g., stochastic events, other people's strategies, etc.), which we shall refer to as “states of the world.”
Antitrust Policy (US)
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

The historical development of antitrust (competition) policy in the United States is described in this article. This is followed by a broad overview of the principle US statutes. Debate over the original intent and interpretation of these statutes is examined, as is some of the controversy surrounding the economic theory and philosophy supporting these statutes.
Antitrust Remedies (US)
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article identifies the various forms of remedial action available to the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission for criminal and civil violations of the US antitrust laws. The article also identifies the relief from antitrust injury which is available through private litigation, and some of the benefits and potential drawbacks of a private damages system. In addition, the Department of Justice's corporate amnesty program for whistleblowers involved in price fixing and similar conspiracies which violate the Sherman Act is detailed, as are some of the economic incentives which have resulted in its success.
C
layton Act
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides an overview of the Clayton Act which is one of the three main antitrust laws in the United States. Several sections of the act which are focused on important business conduct such as tying, price discrimination and mergers are examined here. The economics behind each of these business practices, and examples of each, are provided. The potential anticompetitive effects and economic benefits of each of these business activities are also presented, as are the legal requirements for a finding of a violation of the law. Several defenses and important court decisions are cited here as well.
Cross Elasticities
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article defines the economic meaning of the term cross elasticity and demonstrates how it is measured. The article also identifies the proper use of the value of this measure in determining whether two goods act as substitutes, or as complements to one another.
Examples of each are offered. Also demonstrated is the importance of cross elasticity to management decisions through its relation to a firm's sales.
Elasticity
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article explains the fundamentally important economic concept of elasticity. The concept is described and the formula for its calculation is presented. The three cases of its most prominent form, known as price elasticity of demand, are examined. The article also identifies the underlying causes of the varying responses by consumers when faced with a change in the price of a good. In addition it explains for business managers the important role of elasticity in influencing business revenues and profitability.
EUCompetition Policy
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides a foundation for understanding antitrust (competition) policy within the European Union. The two prevailing statutes, Article 101 and 102 of the Treaty of Lisbon, are each examined and evidence as to how various aspects of each law has been interpreted in recent years is provided. Also detailed are the EU's rules of implementation, which provide for the distribution of authority between the EU and its member nations to investigate possible violations and enforce the laws. The European Commission's special powers of investigation and the remedial options available to the commission for providing relief from a violation are presented. Also included is a description of the EU corporate amnesty program and its conditions. A comparison is drawn with US antitrust policy regarding several aspects of the law and its enforcement. In addition, UK competition law and some areas of conflict and convergence with that of the EU are explored.
EUMerger Guidelines
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides a description of the 2004 EU guidelines for horizontal mergers and the 2008 guidelines developed to examine nonhorizontal (vertical and conglomerate) mergers. The process by which the regulatory authorities examine these mergers is identified, as are parallels and emerging differences between these and the more recently adopted US merger guidelines. The economic methods and evidence involved in examining possible coordinated and noncoordinated anticompetitive effects of a merger are highlighted, as are the regulatory commission's definition and measurement of market boundaries and market concentration. The practical importance of these guidelines to the business community is also discussed.
Fixed Costs
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides the economic meaning of the term fixed costs, and identifies several examples of business costs which fit this category. The concept is distinguished from other costs such as variable costs and overhead costs. The role of fixed costs in the firm's output decision and as a possible barrier to new firms wishing to enter a market are also explored.
Geographic Market
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article identifies one of the two boundaries necessary to identify the economic scope of a market. In addition it establishes the importance, in antitrust terms, of identifying the geographic area in which competition takes place among a set of rivals. The article presents various forms of evidence used by regulators and the courts to establish this area. The economics underlying the commonly used “20 percent rule” is also explored.
Indifference Curves
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes the economic concept of indifference curves and their role in the economic modeling of consumer tastes. How these curves are designed, and the economic interpretation of these curves is presented, as are some of the numerous consumer and business applications which can be developed with their use.
Isoquant‐Isocost Curves
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes isoquant and isocost curves and their use in the economic modeling of the firm. How these curves are designed, and the economic interpretation of each of these curves is presented. The article then examines their use in determining the optimal combination of inputs for a firm to choose in its production process.
Law of Demand
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes one of the fundamental laws of economics. Its description of the relation between price changes and consumer purchases of a good is presented. The economic forces which explain the consumer behavior described in the law are identified. Examples of the law are offered, as are some possible exceptions where the law appears to be violated.
Marginal Rate of Substitution
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes the economic concept of marginal rate of substitution and its relation to consumer utility within the indifference curve model of consumer behavior. It describes, through example, its measurement and how this measure indicates the degree to which two consumer goods are substitutes.
Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes the economic concept of marginal rate of technical substitution within the isoquant curve model of producer behavior. Its relation to the marginal product of a firm's inputs, and its role in selecting the firm's optimal combination of inputs are examined.
Marginal Revenue
Authors: Gilbert Becker
Published: January 2015

This article defines the term
marginal revenue
and demonstrates its relationship to the firm's goals of profit maximization and sales revenue maximization. The relation between a firm's marginal revenue and its output decision is also examined across different market structures.
Marginal Utility
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article defines the economic concept of marginal utility and describes its role in the modeling of consumer behavior. It explains marginal utility's central importance in the determination of the consumer's choice of an optimal bundle of goods to purchase. The relation of this concept to the law of demand and its use in identifying differing levels of risk preference are also presented.
M
icrosoft Antitrust Case:
EU
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides an examination of the two principle antitrust investigations of Microsoft Corp. which were brought by the European Commission during the past decade. Microsoft's behavior is examined in those markets in which the Commission found the “abuse of a dominant position” which is in violation of Article 102 of the European Union's (EU's) 2009 Lisbon Treaty. The remedial actions called for in the first case and Microsoft's commitments resulting from a settlement of the subsequent case are evaluated. A comparison is drawn between these cases and the parallel case brought in the United States. The divergence in policy decisions and remedial relief provided by EU and US antitrust authorities and their respective courts is presented.
Microsoft Antitrust Case: Remedies (US)
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article offers a description and analysis of the remedies proposed by the US government following the District Court's finding that Microsoft had violated US antitrust law. It first provides an economic examination and critique of the structural relief which was initially proposed by the government. In particular, proper regulatory relief in light of the existence of network externalities is considered. The article then describes the various behavioral remedies which were agreed to by Microsoft and the government in a settlement of the case. In addition, some results of private lawsuits that emanated out of the original case are presented.
Perfect Competition
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article examines the economic market type known as perfect competition. The basic criteria necessary for its existence are identified. The effects of perfect competition on business conduct and market performance are also highlighted. In addition, perfect competition is contrasted with the market environment known as a contestable market, and with what is accepted by many economists to constitute an effectively competitive market.
Synergies
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides a description of the business concept known as
synergies
and its relation to the economic concepts of economies of scale and scope. Some underlying requirements for achieving synergies are identified, as are some possible sources. The controversy surrounding the extent of synergies which have been, and can be, achieved through mergers is highlighted.
Total Revenue
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides an examination of the term total revenue. The relationship of a firm's total revenue to its output, in various market settings, is identified. The impact which various business strategies may have on the total revenue of a firm is explained. A comparison of revenue maximization and profit maximization is also presented.
Total Utility
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes the economic concept of total utility. The importance of utility in economic models of consumer behavior, and the underlying assumptions about utility in those models, are presented here. The economic classification of various types of goods based on their impact on total utility is explained and examples are offered. Some sources of utility for various economic agents are also identified.
Tying
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article describes the business practice known as tying. The practice is defined, and demonstrated through an example. The article then presents the potential benefits, to both producers and consumers, and the possible adverse economic effects that this practice may have on markets and competition. Circumstances wherein this practice may be found to be in violation of US and EU antitrust law are also identified.
Utility Maximization
Authors: Becker Gilbert
Published: January 2015

This article provides an economic presentation and analysis of the maximization of total utility. The selection by a consumer of an optimal combination of goods to be purchased within his budget limit is explained within a model using indifference curves to describe the individual's preferences. The condition for utility maximization is provided in mathematical form as well as in a diagram of the typical consumer. Several alternative uses of this model – examining business strategies, government policies, and decision making by other economic agents (e.g., workers) are also identified.
Definition of Bankruptcy
Authors: Cohen Evan K.
Published: January 2015

Bankruptcy can be declared by an individual or business when in financial distress. Focusing on business bankruptcy, it protects the assets of the firm for the benefits of its creditors. Firms can file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, where they attempt to reemerge as a going concern after their liabilities are restructured, or Chapter 7 protection, where the firm liquidates its assets and ceases its operations. Bankruptcy has many costs, including reputation, future access to credit, potential loss of customer base, as well as legal and financial advisory services, but oftentimes, it's the best option for distressed firms to either restructure and continue operating or to liquidate and provide creditors with the most value.
Co‐Opetition
Authors: Mukherjee Kankana
Published: January 2015

In their seminal work, develop the concept of co‐opetition within the context of game theory. The idea of co‐opetition recognizes that business games call for co‐operation and competition at the same time. There are simultaneous win–win and win–lose elements that exist in a firm's relationships with customers, suppliers, competitors, and complementors. When it comes to making the market (i.e., creating the profit pie) co‐operation is called for, whereas when it comes to dividing the pie, competition prevails. The co‐opetition mindset, therefore, broadens the horizon of the business landscape to include many more decisions and actions as part of successful strategy. The essence lies in choosing to play the right game in a given situation. Focusing only on competition would lead managers to miss out on many successful strategies.
Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Mukherjee Kankana
Published: January 2015

The method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was introduced in the Management Science/Operations Research literature by Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes. The method can be utilized to measure the efficiency of a decision making unit (DMU), such as a firm, relative to other firms that produce the same outputs. The intellectual roots of DEA can be traced back to the nonparametric analysis of production economics due to Debreu and Farrell, and has its foundations in neoclassical production theory. DEA uses linear programming techniques to construct a piecewise linear frontier that envelopes all the data points.
Double Monopoly Markup
Authors: Mukherjee Kankana
Published: January 2015

When manufacturing and distribution are undertaken by two successive monopolies, each firm, in its attempt to maximize its own profits, charges a price that contains a monopoly markup over its own marginal cost. This gives rise to the problem of double monopoly markup (also known as double marginalization). The overall result is higher prices for consumers, lower quantity sold, and lower consumer surplus for consumers. Further, the joint profit of the two successive monopoly firms is also less than what it would have been if the two firms were vertically integrated. Hence, there is a deadweight loss due to the double monopoly markup.
Vertical Integration
Authors: Mukherjee Kankana
Published: January 2015

Vertical integration refers to the process of management control across the stages of the vertical chain. The decision of a firm to perform an activity from another stage of the vertical chain in‐house (i.e., vertically integrate), rather than use market exchange is called the
make versus buy
decision. This decision is influenced by factors such as economies of scale, transaction costs, asset specificity, coordination problems, and demand conditions.
Winner's Curse
Authors: Mukherjee Kankana
Published: January 2015

In common value auctions, the true value of the item for purchase is the same to all bidders. However, the parties who are competing to purchase the item are unaware of the true value at the time of bidding. Since the bidder with the highest estimated value (and, therefore, the highest bid price) wins the auction, the bidder with the highest overestimate of the true value is generally the winner. This is what leads to the winner's curse, as the winner potentially earns very low to negative returns from winning the bid.
Rent Seeking
Authors: Jones Kent A.
Published: January 2015

Broadly defined, rent seeking is an attempt by the owner or potential owner of an asset to secure excess returns on the asset by investing resources in influencing public policy. Tullock (1967) and Krueger (1974) developed this concept originally in terms of the efforts by firms to capture MONOPOLY profits by acquiring government‐issued licenses on quotas that grant exclusive access to a market. One can extend this idea to the owner of a factor of production whose price is affected by government intervention in the market for the factor itself or for the final product in which the factor is an input. Bhagwati (1982) developed the broader definition of rent seeking to include what he termed “directly unproductive profit‐seeking (DUP) activities.” To the extent that public policy can affect prices for assets or final products, the rent seeker has a strong incentive to invest resources to influence policy decisions in an attempt to alter marketdriven prices or access to the market in his favor.
X
‐Efficiency
Authors: Jones Kent A.
Published: January 2015

X‐efficiency indicates a maximum efficiency of output for a given input usage.
Optimal Variety
Authors: Axarloglou Kostas
Published: January 2015

A by‐product of the extensive research on product variety, optimal product variety is a welfare assessment of the amount of product variety offered in the market, with respect to some level which is considered to be best (optimal) for the society.
Price Discrimination
Authors: Axarloglou Kostas
Published: January 2015

Price discrimination is a pricing tactic where different prices are charged for almost the same products that are sold to different customers at different periods of time. The major idea is to charge prices to customers based on their willingness to pay.
Competitive Advantage
Authors: Axarloglou Kostas
Published: January 2015

Competitive advantage is a company's ability to consistently offer a unique value proposition in the market place. If this value proposition is highly valuable to customers, then the company achieves superior performance than its competitors.
Monopolistic Competition
Authors: Axarloglu Kostas
Published: January 2015

Monopolistic competition is a market structure characterized by a large number of companies where every company has some market power with respect to its products. The concept was initially introduced by Edward Chamberlin (1933) in order to study deviations in terms of prices and the number of companies in the market from the perfectly competitive market structure.
Incomplete Contracts
Authors: Polutnik Lidija
Published: January 2015

Incomplete contracts are a response to bounded rationality which results from the inability of people to exactly foresee and articulate all possible contingencies or because the cost minimization requires the contract to be incomplete. Unlike formal contracts, most employment contracts are incomplete and implicit. A complex long‐term relationship between the employee and the employer is most commonly defined as an incomplete contract and is a rational response to human limits of bounded rationality and uncertainty. Employment contracts are also implicit in the sense that they are based on shared expectations about the behavior or a relationship; these contracts are too vague to be legally enforceable and it is, therefore, essential that they be self‐enforcing.
Marginal Product
Authors: Polutnik Lidija
Published: January 2015

The marginal product of any input, such as labor or capital, measures the change in total product as a result of a small change in the usage of that input, holding all other inputs constant. For example, the marginal product of labor is the additional output from using an extra unit of labor, holding other factors (capital) constant. A cost minimizing firm will want to know how adding inputs influences output and subsequently costs. Production efficiency is achieved when all inputs are used so that marginal product per unit of cost is equal.
Public Goods Problem
Authors: Polutnik Lidija
Published: January 2015

Public goods (as opposed to private goods) are nonrival in consumption: once the good is provided, the additional resource cost of another person consuming the good is zero. Public goods are also nonexclusive: the consumption of a good is non‐excludable when it is either very costly or impossible to prevent others from consuming the good. National defense and street lighting are examples of public goods. However, the definition of a public good is not absolute; it depends on market conditions, the state of technology, and legal arrangements. If public goods are provided by private companies, then their level of production will be suboptimal and correspondingly the incentives for overuse are greater. A free‐rider problem occurs as consumers cannot be excluded from the consumption of a public good, and they may try to avoid paying for their consumption of this good. In addition, it is difficult to determine the true market demand for public goods. The public goods problem can be improved on by changing, assigning, or creating property rights. When property rights are secure and tradable and transactions costs are low, the Coase Theorem suggests that people will trade rights until the new pattern of ownership is efficient.
Rents
Authors: Polutnik Lidija
Published: January 2015

Economic rents are defined as payments to entrepreneurs and owners of resources which are over and above the resource's opportunity cost. For example, an economic rent is a portion of payment in excess of the minimum amount of profit necessary for a firm to enter a particular industry or a worker to accept a particular job. These excess payments are called economic rents because of the analogy to land rents: a given piece of land is fixed in supply, and whatever rent is received for it is, by its nature, a surplus over what is needed to keep the land in use.
Signaling
Authors: Polutnik Lidija
Published: January 2015

When information is not readily available, individuals can take the initiative to produce signals that reveal their attributes such as competency/skills, ambition, and work ethic. Spence (1973) provided a systematic explanation of investment in education as a means of signaling productivity to the market. Let's assume we have high‐ability workers whose marginal product of labor is two and low‐ability workers whose marginal product of labor is one. In the absence of knowing individual worker productivity, employer pools the workers and pays them the same wage. High‐ability workers would want to signal employers about their greater than average productivity in order to command higher wages. Employers would benefit from such a signal by being able to select more productive workers and avoiding the cost of hiring and training workers, who may potentially be fired. Education might be a credible signal if high‐ability workers can complete education with lesser effort (lower cost) than low‐ability workers. If education is used as a signal of differentiating high‐ability workers from low‐ability workers, employers and employees benefit from this information; note, this model assumes there is no other benefit from public spending on education.
Transactions Costs
Authors: Polutnik Lidija
Published: January 2015

The concept of transactions costs was first described by Ronald Coase in his 1937 paper “The Nature of the Firm.” In order to explain why we observe so much economic activity taking place inside the firm rather than be provided by competitive mechanism of the markets, Coase concluded that certain costs exist when using markets that can be eliminated when using the firm. Some examples of transactions costs when the firm uses the market are searching for the best supplier, best quality and delivery terms, the costs of writing a contract, monitoring and enforcing the agreement, and bargaining costs. Williamson showed that firms are more likely to vertically integrate and eliminate transaction costs when asset specificity exists, when hold up problem exists, transactions are complex and frequent, and economic environment is more uncertain.
Contribution Analysis
Authors: M. Way Megan
Published: January 2015

Contribution analyzis involves calculating the increase in operating profits that results from a given production or marketing decision. It is a short‐run decision tool, meaning that it ignores fixed costs that are unaffected by the decision at hand, and looks only at the incremental costs and benefits of the decision. The total
contribution
to the bottom line, or the difference between revenue generated and the variable costs of production and sales, represents how much operating profit can contribute to covering fixed costs and generating a net profit. In the short run, maximizing contribution and maximizing profits are identical concepts. Contribution analysis can inform pricing, output, production, and promotion decisions.
Factor Markets
Authors: Way Megan M.
Published: January 2015

Factor markets (also known as input markets or resource markets) are the settings for the interaction of households and firms in the purchase and sale of inputs to production. The main categories of factors of production are land, labor, and capital. Households supply their labor, augmented by their human capital, and their land directly through the labor and real‐estate markets. Capital is supplied more indirectly by households depositing their savings in a bank or other financial institution. These savings then become loanable funds for firms to borrow to make capital purchases or investments. Firms' demand for these inputs is a derived demand, meaning it is derived from the demand for the end‐product or service the firm produces. Demand in factor markets is also determined by the productivity of the input, as well as other considerations that affect profit maximization, such as the technology employed in production and the availability of substitute inputs.
Operating Leverage
Authors: Way Megan M.
Published: January 2015

Operating leverage refers to the use of fixed inputs versus variable inputs in the production of goods and services. A firm with high operating leverage employs more capital as opposed to labor or other variable inputs in its production processes. Operating leverage is related to financial leverage because a firm that uses more operating leverage must fund its investment in fixed assets through debt or equity, affecting the financial leverage of the firm. The level of operating leverage affects risk through the firm's commitment to fixed costs, which raises the break‐even level of output. When sales volume (output) falls below the break‐even level, losses mount as long as fixed assets cannot be shed. Conversely, when firm sales are above the break‐even level, profits mount because of the low incremental (variable) costs of additional units produced.
Piece‐Rate Wages
Authors: Way Megan M.
Published: January 2015

Piece‐rate wages compensate workers based on output or productivity; fruit pickers paid by the basket, or salespeople on commission are piece‐rate workers. Piece‐rate wages attempt to mitigate the principal–agent problem that occurs when a firm (the principal) hires a worker (the agent) to produce a product or service in the most efficient, profitable manner. From the employee's perspective, working efficiently may require undesirable physical or psychic effort. By tying pay to output, the firm aligns the employee's incentive with the objective of the firm. Relatively few workers in the United States, however, are paid piece‐rate wages. This is because of the costs of monitoring output, quantity‐quality issues, and the risks workers must take on when working for piece‐rates.
Time‐Rate Wages
Authors: Way Megan M.
Published: January 2015

Time‐rate wages compensate workers based on time spent working rather than output or productivity. Salaried or hourly employees are examples of time‐rate workers, and time‐rate wages are the way most workers in the United States are paid. Standard time‐rate wages do not usually address the principal‐agent problem that occurs when a firm (the principal) hires an worker (the agent) to produce a product or service in the most efficient manner. From the worker's perspective, working efficiently may require undesirable physical or psychic effort. Without any link between effort and pay, time‐rate employees have the incentive to shirk, or to exert minimal effort. For this reason, firms that use standard time‐rate compensation schemes often pay based on the value of a minimal effort that can be easily monitored, such as punching a time card or keeping up with an assembly line.
Accommodation
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Firms in an industry may have incentives to accommodate entry by other firms when cirsumstances permit.
Asset Specificity
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Asset specificity is defined and its implications for market structure are discussed.
Asymmetric Information
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Asymmetric information is defined.
Average Total Cost
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Average total cost is defined.
Average Variable Costs
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Average variable costs are defined.
Barriers to Entry
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Different versions of barriers to entry have been defined in the economics literature. These are reviewed and the policy implications are discussed.
Basic Market Structures
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The basic market structures in economics are presented.
Beta Coefficient
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The beta coefficient is defined for a firm.
Brand Name
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Estabilshed brand names can make it easier for consumers to identify products that they prefer. This provides an incentive for firms to invest in their brand names.
Bundling
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The concept of commodity bundling is defined.
Capital
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Capital is defined.
Certainty Equivalent
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The term certainty equivalent is defined.
C
obb–
D
ouglas Production Function
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The Cobb–Douglass functional form is presented with examples.
Collusion
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Collusion is defined.
Commitment
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Commitments that firms make can be crucial to the success of their strategies. To be successful though, firms' commitments must be credible.
Concentration Indices
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Various concentration measures are presented and their benefits and costs are discussed.
Constant Cost Industry
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Constant cost industries are defined.
Consumer Price Index
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The consumer price index is presented.
Covariance
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The covariance is defined.
Credence Goods
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Credence goods are defined.
Credible Strategies
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Existing firms may make commitments to convince potential entrants
that they will compete heavily if entry were to occur. Such
commitments must be credible to succeed.
Decreasing‐Cost Industry
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

A decreasing cost industry is defined.
Demand Curves
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

For individuals or markets, demand curves show the relationship between the quantity demanded and the price of the good (holding everything else constant).
Demand Function
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The demand function shows the relationship between the quantity demanded and all variables or factors what affect demand.
Diminishing Returns
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

When additional units of a factor of production are added to fixed amounts of other inputs in production, at some point the increase in output which results will decrease.
D
orfman–
S
teiner Condition
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Dorfman and Steiner considered the case where the demand for a monopolist's product is affected by both price and advertising and asked what the optimal (profit‐maximizing) combination of price adjustments and advertising might be.
D
urbin–
W
atson Statistic
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

This statistic tests for first‐order autocorrelation using the estimated residuals from a linear regression.
Economies of Scope
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Economies of scope occur when two or more products can be produced together at lower cost than by producing them separately.
Efficiency
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Economists use the criterion of Pareto optimality to determine whether production or consumption decisions are efficient.
Entry
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Entry occurs when new firms engage in the production of specific goods or services in an industry and represents an important feature of competition in market economies.
Equilibrium
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The concept of equilibrium is fundamental to economic analysis. As with physical systems, an economic system is in equilibrium when it is at rest and exhibits no tendency to change until the underlying market conditions change.
Estimating Demand
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

When prices and output in a market reflect the forces of both supply and demand, estimates of the demand (or supply) curve by linear regression will be biased. Alternative methods of estimation are discussed.
Expected Value
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The mean, or expected value, is a measure of central tendency for a random variable and it is one of the characteristics of probability distributions.
Experience Goods
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Experience goods are those products which must be consumed or used by consumers before their quality can be determined.
Gross Domestic Product
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Gross domestic product is defined.
Hierarchy
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Hierarchy in economics is defined.
Identification Problem
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

When economic variables are determined by supply and demand an identification problem normally arises. The problem and possible solutions are presented.
Increasing Returns
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Increasing returns are defined.
Internal Rate of Return
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The internal rate of return is defined.
Law of Variable Proportions
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The law of variable proportions is defined and its application to economics is discussed.
Limit Pricing
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

The concept of limit pricing is presented and its application in economics.
Market Microstructure
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

Market microstructure considers the effects of different trading mechanisms on prices.
Monopoly
Authors: McAuliffe Robert E.
Published: January 2015

When a single seller of a product exists in the market, the firm is considered to be a monopoly.