ECHEVERRI-CARROLL E., H UNNICUTT L., and HANSEN N. (1998) Do asymmetric networks help or hinder small firms' ability to export?, Reg. Studies 32, 721-733. Studies of industrial districts in Europe and the US and of networked firms in Japan recognize the positive correlation between symmetric networks - those between firms of similar size - and their success in international markets. This relationship is not obvious in the case of asymmetric networks - those between firms of relatively different sizes. The management of territory hypothesis (MTH) predicts that asymmetric networks increase small firms' access to information from large firms, but they could also enhance large firms' control over small firms' strategic decisions, including the decision to export. The increased independence hypothesis (IIH) predicts that asymmetric networks increase small firms' access to information from large firms without compromising their independence in making strategic decisions. We test both hypotheses on a sample of high technology firms in five metropolitan areas in Texas. ECHEVERRI-CARROLL E., H UNNICUTT L. et HANSEN N. (1998) La contribution des reseaux asymetriques a la vocation exportatrice des petites entreprises: atouts et inconvenients, Reg. Studies 32, 721-733. Des etudes portant sur des zones industrielles situees en Europe et aux Etats-Unis et sur les reseaux d'entreprises au Japon reconnaissent la correlation etroite entre les reseaux symetriques, dont les entreprises sont de taille similaire, et leur reussite sur les marches internationaux. Ce rapport n'est pas evident pour ce qui est des reseaux asymetriques, dont les entreprises sont de tailles relativement differentes. L'hypothese qui prone la gestion de l'espace (Management of Territory Hypothesis) predit que les reseaux asymetriques non seulement ameliore l'acces des petites entreprises a l'information des grandes entreprises, mais aussi ils pourraient faciliter le controle des grandes entreprises sur la prise de decision strategique des petites entreprises, y compris la decision d'exporter. L'hypothese qui prone l'independance accrue (Increased Independence Hypothesis) predit que les reseaux asymetriques ameliore l'acces des petites entreprises a l'information des grandes entreprises sans mettre en peril leur independance quant a la prise de decision strategique. A partir d'un echantillon d'entreprises a la pointe de la technologie et situees dans cinq zones metropolitaines dans le Texas, on met a l'epreuve les deux hypotheses. ECHEVERRI-C ARROLL E., H UNNICUTT L. und HANSEN N. (1998) Stellen asymmetrische Netzwerke eine Hilfe oder ein Hindernis fur die Fahigkeit kleiner Firmen, zu exportieren, dar?, Reg. Studies 32, 721-733. Untersuchungen von Industriegebieten in Europa und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika sowie von vernetzten Firmen in Japan lassen den positiven Zusammenhang zwischen symmetrischen Netzwerken - jenen zwischen Firmen ahnlicher Grosse - und ihrem Erfolg auf den internationalen Markten erkennen. Im Falle asymmetrischer Netzwerke, der zwis...

Some labor negotiations include a break in which a non-binding recommendation is made by a fact-finder as an intermediate dispute resolution procedure. There is some uncertainty, however, as to whether this fact-finding increases or reduces the likelihood of settlement.Inasmuch as fact-finding reduces uncertainty about the outcome, it may "chill" bargaining and increase the need for additional dispute resolution procedures. On the other hand, the fact-finder's recommendation may give the parties a focal point around which they are able to craft an agreement, thus reducing the incidence of disputes. Which of these effects dominates is a question that we consider using both a theoretical model and data from a controlled experimental bargaining environment.

What makes households use internet banking? Bank adoption of internet banking technology has been widely considered, but relatively few papers address consumer usage of internet banking. This study looks at the determinants of internet banking usage among credit union members in the Western United States. We use call report data from the National Credit Union Administration to calculate the rate of internet banking usage among a credit union's members, which allows us to examine whether variations in institutional characteristics, local economic conditions and membership criteria have an impact on the internet usage rates among members of different credit unions. We find that members in credit unions that were early internet technology adopters have higher usage rates, and that the contribution to usage rates varies among types of online services offered.

This paper incorporates inventory dynamics into a standard conjectural variations analysis of market power. Using a model which incorporates closed-loop equilibrium strategies, we show that measures of market power that ignore inventory dynamics are biased. We then apply the model to the beef-packing industry using annual data on cattle stocks, slaughter and prices from 1933-1999. Our estimates suggest that static measures overestimate the amount of market power exerted by beef-packing firms.

This paper focuses on the effects of nonbinding recommendations on bargaining outcomes. Recommendations are theorized to have two effects: they can create a focal point for final bargaining positions, and they can decrease outcome uncertainty should dispute persist. While the focal point effect may help lower dispute rates, the uncertainty reduction effect is predicted to do the opposite for risk-averse bargainers. Which of these effects dominates is of critical importance in the optimal design of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures, which are becoming increasingly utilized to help resolve disputes in a variety of settings. We theoretically examine the effects of recommendations on the bargaining contract zone. Our theoretical framework, which allows bargainers' final positions to influence a binding outcome should negotiations fail, provides for a more stringent test of focal points than previously considered. We also present data from controlled laboratory bargaining experiments that are consistent with our model of recommendation effects. Recommendations are empirically shown to influence final bargaining positions and negotiated settlement values. Furthermore, dispute rates are significantly lower when one includes recommendations, even where the recommendation is completely ignored in final-stage arbitration. This highlights a potentially significant role for the use of nonbinding procedures, such as mediation, as a preliminary stage in developing more efficient ADR procedures.