Industrial Organization and Organizational Economics

A special issue of Games (ISSN 2073-4336). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Game Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 5999

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Economics, LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Interests: industrial organization; applied microeconomics; applied game theory; financial economics

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Guest Editor
Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Aguascalientes, Mexico
Interests: contract theory; corporate finance; industrial organization; matching

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Traditional industrial organization models have treated the firm as a “black box” and have primarily focused on how market structure affects variables such as prices, quantities, innovation and welfare. More recently, there have been attempts in the literature to open the “black box” and explore the interplay between organizational structures of firms and industrial organizations. This subfield has been termed Organizational Industrial Organization (OIO).

The organization of the firm, such as the vertical structure, make-or-buy decisions, and managerial incentive contracts, to name a few, affect prices and market performance but can also be affected by them. Firm productivity and financial variables can play an important moderating role in this relationship. Game theory explores situations in which agents interact strategically and provides a useful foundation for studying many traditional industrial organization topics.

The Special Issue welcomes the submission of papers in OIO. Papers may focus on the relationship between market structure and firm organization, such as firm boundary decisions, incentive contracts and corporate governance. We also seek papers that develop new applications of OIO, as well as experimental and empirical research that would guide the development of new theoretical research in this area.

Prof. Dr. Konstantinos Serfes
Prof. Dr. Kaniska Dam
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • organization of the firm
  • product market structure
  • firm boundaries
  • corporate governance
  • make-or-buy decisions
  • managerial compensation
  • capital structure

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

7 pages, 233 KiB  
Article
Collusive Stability with Relative Performance and Network Externalities
by Yi-Shan Lu, Chien-Shu Tsai, Jen-Yao Lee and Chung-Yang Lee
Games 2024, 15(3), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/g15030021 - 20 Jun 2024
Viewed by 594
Abstract
In this paper, we aim to investigate the collusive stability in the presence of network externalities among firms with relative performance in the firm’s objective functions. We demonstrate that collusive stability is increasing (decreasing) in the degree of relative performance, product substitutability and [...] Read more.
In this paper, we aim to investigate the collusive stability in the presence of network externalities among firms with relative performance in the firm’s objective functions. We demonstrate that collusive stability is increasing (decreasing) in the degree of relative performance, product substitutability and network effect when the network effect is sufficiently large (small). A competition agency might need to provide different guidance for anti-competitive regulation in the network industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Organization and Organizational Economics)
39 pages, 480 KiB  
Article
Matching with Nonexclusive Contracts
by Daniel Ripperger-Suhler
Games 2024, 15(2), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/g15020011 - 30 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1286
Abstract
A variety of empirical papers document the coexistence of exclusive and nonexclusive contracts within a given market across a multitude of industries. However, the theoretical literature has not been able to generate a differentiable model with the coexistence of these contracts. I rectify [...] Read more.
A variety of empirical papers document the coexistence of exclusive and nonexclusive contracts within a given market across a multitude of industries. However, the theoretical literature has not been able to generate a differentiable model with the coexistence of these contracts. I rectify the gap in the literature by developing a theoretical model of two-sided matching, in which principals and agents choose between exclusive and nonexclusive contracts with cost-of-effort inefficiencies. I find that the coexistence of contracts relies on cost-sharing between principals, relative bargaining power, and an endogenous outside option. I also find that the pattern of contracts is monotonic with respect to the type distributions of principals and agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Organization and Organizational Economics)
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23 pages, 570 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Vertical Foreclosure with Learning-by-Doing Production Technologies
by Frago Kourandi and Nikolaos Vettas
Games 2024, 15(2), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/g15020009 - 29 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1323
Abstract
Here, we study vertical foreclosure in a dynamic setup with learning-by-doing production technologies. There is a downstream monopoly and an upstream duopoly, where manufacturers produce differentiated products and can gain proficiency through the accumulation of their production. We study the dynamic interactions in [...] Read more.
Here, we study vertical foreclosure in a dynamic setup with learning-by-doing production technologies. There is a downstream monopoly and an upstream duopoly, where manufacturers produce differentiated products and can gain proficiency through the accumulation of their production. We study the dynamic interactions in the vertical chain when the monopolist sets the prices; we find that customer foreclosure may arise in equilibrium when the products are close substitutes and be welfare-enhancing. The rate of learning is lower than the social optimal and a social planner would tend to impose exclusivity more often compared to the downstream monopolist. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Organization and Organizational Economics)
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21 pages, 330 KiB  
Article
Vertical Relationships with Hidden Interactions
by Jaesoo Kim and Dongsoo Shin
Games 2023, 14(6), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/g14060069 - 31 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1317
Abstract
In an agency model with adverse selection, we study how hidden interactions between agents affect the optimal contract. The principal employs two agents who learn their task environments through their involvement. The principal cannot observe the task environments. It is important to note [...] Read more.
In an agency model with adverse selection, we study how hidden interactions between agents affect the optimal contract. The principal employs two agents who learn their task environments through their involvement. The principal cannot observe the task environments. It is important to note that hidden interactions, such as acts of sabotage or help between the agents, have the potential to alter each other’s task environments. Our analysis encompasses two distinct organizational structures: competition and cooperation. Without hidden interactions, the competitive structure is optimal because the cooperative structure only provides the agents with more flexibility to collusively misrepresent their task environments. With hidden interactions, however, the cooperative structure induces the agents to help each other to improve the task environments while removing sabotaging incentives at no cost once collusion is deterred. As a result, the cooperative structure can be optimal in such a case. We discuss the link between production technology and organizational structure, finding that complementarity in production favors cooperative structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Organization and Organizational Economics)
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