Information integration efforts between manufacturers and retailers, in the form of information sharing, synchronized replenishment, and collaborative product design and development, have been cited as major means to improve supply chain performance. This paper develops a conceptual framework that relates information-integration initiatives to manufacturer profitability. The framework allows such initiatives to impact inventory management and revenue-enhancing measures that, in turn, increase manufacturer profit margins, or affect profit margins directly. Through an extensive survey in the food and consumer packaged goods industry, we empirically examine this framework. The analysis reveals that the various integration techniques are differentially associated with manufacturer performance. Collaborative planning on replenishment, in the form of vendor-managed inventory (VMI), is directly and positively related to manufacturer margins, while collaboration on new products and services is positively related to intermediate performance measures. Specifically, this latter form of collaboration allows the manufacturer to charge higher wholesale prices and, interestingly, is associated with lower retailer, and consequently manufacturer, stockouts. In contrast, collaboration on the handling of excess and defective retailer inventory (i.e., reverse logistics) results in higher manufacturer stockout levels, on average. Solely sharing information on either inventory levels or customer needs is associated with higher manufacturer performance measures up to a certain point; sharing this information is prevalent among manufacturers that achieve industry-average profitability relative to those that achieve below industry-average profitability. The paper explains these results in the context of the conceptual framework developed and discusses the managerial implications for effective coordination between supply chain partners.supply chain management, information integration, collaboration

T he Internet has increased the flexibility of retailers, allowing them to operate an online arm in addition to their physical stores. The online channel offers potential benefits in selling to customer segments that value the convenience of online shopping, but it also raises new challenges. These include the higher likelihood of costly product returns when customers' ability to "touch and feel" products is important in determining fit. We study competing retailers that can operate dual channels ("bricks and clicks") and examine how pricing strategies and physical store assistance levels change as a result of the additional Internet outlet. A central result we obtain is that when differentiation among competing retailers is not too high, having an online channel can actually increase investment in store assistance levels (e.g., greater shelf display, more-qualified sales staff, floor samples) and decrease profits. Consequently, when the decision to open an Internet channel is endogenized, there can exist an asymmetric equilibrium where only one retailer elects to operate an online arm but earns lower profits than its bricks-only rival. We also characterize equilibria where firms open an online channel, even though consumers only use it for research and learning purposes but buy in stores. A number of extensions are discussed, including retail settings where firms carry multiple product categories, shipping and handling costs, and the role of store assistance in impacting consumer perceived benefits.

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Media firms compete in two connected markets. They face rivalry for the sale of content to consumers, and at the same time, they compete for advertisers seeking access to the attention of these consumers. We explore the implications of such two-sided competition on the actions and source of profits of media firms. One main conclusion we reach is that media firms may charge higher content prices in a duopoly than in a monopoly. This happens because competition for advertisers can reduce the return per customer impression from the ad market, making each firm less willing to underprice content to increase demand. Greater competitive intensity may thus increase content profits and decrease ad profits. These findings are in sharp contrast to those in a regular one-sided product market, in which competition typically lowers product prices and profits. We extend the framework to examine competition across different media (e.g., between magazines and cable TV) and show that firms in a duopolistic medium may benefit from more intense competition from a monopolist in another medium. We characterize the conditions for each firm in the duopoly medium to bundle more ads and earn greater total profits than the rival firm in the monopoly medium.media, advertising, two-sided markets, competitive strategy, game theory

Purpose – There is a lack of research on the link between the personal disposition of an entrepreneurial firm's founder, the firm's strategic orientation and its performance outcomes. Also, there is a lack of cross-national research on entrepreneurial firms’ strategic orientations. This paper seeks to address these gaps by exploring the differences in strategic orientation choices and their performance outcomes for American and Japanese entrepreneurial firms, focusing on founders’ achievement motivation as a key personal disposition. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted among 397 Japanese founders and 189 American ones. Findings – This paper's key counterintuitive finding is that Japanese and American founders of entrepreneurial firms are more similar than is often suggested. The paper first finds that in both Japan and the US, achievement motivation is positively related to customer orientation and cost orientation while not being related to technological orientation. Second, it is found that the adoption of customer orientation is positively related to the profitability of both Japanese and American entrepreneurial firms, although the effect is stronger in the US. It is also found that the adoption of technology orientation is negatively related to the profitability of both Japanese and American firms, although the effect is less negative in Japan. Finally, it is found that the adoption of cost orientation does not have an impact on the profitability of either Japanese or American entrepreneurial firms. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to examine how founders of entrepreneurial firms use their personal disposition to shape the strategic orientation of their firm.