scholarly journals Monopoly in the container shipping market: an econometric approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuma Matsuda ◽  
Enna Hirata ◽  
Kawasaki Tomoya
Keyword(s):  
Market Structure ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Far East ◽  
Entire Period ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Container Shipping ◽  
Shipping Industry ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Monopolistic Pricing

PurposeSince the 2010s, market conditions for container shipping companies have been deteriorating owing to decreasing container cargo trade and increasing supply capacity. This study aims to contribute to the empirical literature on the container shipping industry market structure. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the extent of market competition.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes the market structure and evaluates the market power of shipping companies through a non-structural test.FindingsThe H-statistic for the entire period of 2004–2018 was 0.37, which is significantly different from zero. This indicates the absence of monopoly pricing throughout the entire period. For the time-phased estimates, the H-statistic between 2004 and 2008 is 0.15, which is not significantly different from zero. On the other hand, the H-statistic from 2009 to 2018 was 0.40, which differs significantly from zero.Originality/valueAs the Far East Freight Conference had released tariffs and charge rates by item for container shipping routes, monopolistic pricing is said to have appeared until the European Union abolished the European Economic Community (No. 4056/86) in 2008, before the economic crisis. However, this study indicates that pricing in the container shipping industry has been distinctly non-monopolistic; further, competition seems to have intensified since 2008. Industry competitiveness is of interest not only to academics but also to practitioners, including policymakers, especially when considering competition policies.

scholarly journals The regulations of shipping conferences in Taiwan referring to the EU to repeal the block exemption for liner conferences

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-394
Author(s):  
Rong-Her Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Alliances ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Purpose The first well-known liner shipping conference was created for the UK/Calcutta trade in 1875. However, the European Union (EU) decided to abolish repeal the liner conferences system with effect from October 18 2008. This paper aims to study the governing regulations on shipping conferences in Taiwan along with investigating the impact on the EU to repeal conferences. The regulation on liner conferences in the USA is also briefly referred. Design/methodology/approach Literature review and questionnaire survey are used to conduct the study. This paper reviews important literature relating to the EU to repeal the conferences system and its impact on liner market competition to/from European trade routes, with discussions on the US and Taiwan regulations on shipping conferences. Questionnaire survey data, collected from published report and this research present shippers’ and carriers’ responses on the changes of regulations on liner conferences. Findings Shippers are strongly supporting the repeal of the conferences system. Academic research results basically reveal that the liner market will be more competitive in the trades to/from the USA and the EU after the repeal of the conferences. For Taiwan, its regulations are rather simple and loosely control over the liner conferences; therefore, if the shipping administration intends to enhance the inspection of the agreements of conferences and strategic alliances, more detailed regulations should be prepared, and the provisions of the EU or USA would be a good reference. Practical implications Through the discussions on the legal treatments of shipping conferences from the USA, the EU and Taiwan perspectives, this paper provides shipping researchers with not only a clear evolution of the liner conferences but also a deep understanding of the impact to repeal the conferences on liner market competition. Originality/value This paper reviews important literature and related legislations on liner conferences including the USA, the EU and Taiwan. The different responses on the EU to repeal the conferences system from shippers and carriers are discussed. The impact on liner market competition is presented.

Market structure analysis of health and wellness food products in India

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 1859-1871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabassum Ali ◽  
Aftab Alam ◽  
Jabir Ali
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Market Structure ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Market Size ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Market

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the market structure and level of competition in health and wellness food products by type, category, prime positioning and distribution networks in India. Design/methodology/approach – The study is conducted using secondary data from Euromonitor International. Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) has been calculated for analyzing the market trends in terms of type, category and prime positioning and market competition has been analyzed using Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). Analysis of variance has been used for analyzing the statistical difference in market competition. Findings – Consumer purchase behavior for food is significantly changing across the world and consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the health enhancing properties of food. With growing incidences of problems like obesity, diabetes, coronary heart diseases and foodborne diseases, consumers are becoming aware of the role of food in ensuring health and well-being. There have been significant structural changes in the health and wellness food market compositions and India has huge market potential for health and wellness food products with a market size of Rs. 435 billion in 2013 and growing at a significantly high annual growth rate of about 13.8 percent during 2002-2013. HHI results clearly indicate that there is significant competition in the health and wellness food market with average HHI of 0.19. However, the structure of market competition shows a varied trend across the types, categories, prime-positioning and distribution channels of health and wellness food products. Practical implications – Results of the study provide a better understanding of temporal as well as intra-category changes in market size of health and wellness food products and the competitiveness of the health and wellness food market, providing valuable insights to the companies involved in producing and marketing of health and wellness food products in India. Originality/value – Health and wellness food market is an emerging area for the marketer and there are limited analysis on market structure and competition.

A new era for foreign direct investment?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Globerman
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Era ◽  
Political Events ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The paper aims to provide an updated broad assessment of the environment for foreign direct investment (FDI) in light of the referendum vote in the UK to exit the European Union (Brexit), the election of Donald Trump as President of the USA and growing nationalist movements in Europe. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses an essay format to set out the main issues linking recent political developments to FDI. It reviews some relevant empirical literature to assess the identified linkages. Findings It seems reasonable to argue that there will be a reduction in FDI intensity on a global basis over the foreseeable future. It is also likely that the nature of FDI will move more toward being a substitute rather than a complement to trade. Originality/value The essay is original and valuable in the sense of offering a contemporary assessment of how important the recent political events may affect the FDI process.

The impact of total quality management and supply chain integration on firm performance of container shipping companies in Singapore

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinh Thai ◽  
Ferry Jie
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Supply Chain Integration ◽  
Container Shipping ◽  
Shipping Industry ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influences of total quality management (TQM) and supply chain integration (SCI) practices on firm performance (FP) of container shipping industry in Singapore.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted with 159 container shipping companies in Singapore to examine the interrelationships between SCI and TQM practices and FP. A stepwise multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 14.0 was performed on the data.FindingsStatistical results suggest that both TQM and SCI practices have positive effects on service quality and FP but at different extents, while TQM also contributes positively to SCI.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample is the main limitation. The findings bear important implications for further research as understanding these dimensions can help to position key changes and industry improvement that will increase revenue and reduce cost to the container shipping companies in Singapore.Practical implicationsThis research provides guidelines for shipping managers on how to implement the SCI and TQM practices appropriately to boost their FP to the fullest extent.Social implicationsThis study has unique implications for social sustainability especially the container shipping industry, which is hard pressed to combat the challenges within the logistics/transportation sector.Originality/valueThis is perhaps the first study that examines the influence of SCI and TQM practices on the performance of container shipping firms that helps them see beyond the silo mentality and focus on greater value addition in FP.

The supply side of product differentiation in the Italian mortage market

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Del Prete ◽  
Cristina Demma ◽  
Paola Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Product Differentiation ◽  
Price Competition ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Mortgage Market ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Local Markets ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to propose a new indicator of product differentiation in the mortgage market and use it to examine how the double crisis, local market competition and bank-specific characteristics have influenced the supply of non-conventional mortgages in Italy. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a special Bank of Italy’s survey on 400 Italian banks over the period 2006–2013, to compute a new indicator for product differentiation in the mortgage market. This paper considers mortgage with non-conventional characteristics: loan-to-value ratio greater than 80%; duration longer than 30 years or with a flexible maturity. This paper estimates probit and ordinary least squares (OLS) models using panel data at bank-time level. Findings The findings suggest that during the double crisis that hit the Italian economy between 2008 and 2013, the diversification process in the Italian household mortgage market slowed down. Controlling for banks’ and local markets’ this study finds that larger, less risky banks and those that have adopted scoring systems are more likely to offer non-conventional mortgages; moreover, banks operating in more competitive markets and in markets where other banks offer non-conventional loans tend to diversify their supply more. Most of these indications are confirmed by analyzing the quantities actually granted. These results suggest that the structure of the local markets does matter, and that there could be a non-price competition effect among banks in providing differentiated mortgage contracts. Originality/value The indicator, computed using data at bank level drawn from a special Bank of Italy’s survey, goes beyond the standard approach on product differentiation followed in the empirical literature, mainly base on the dichotomy between fixed and variable lending rates. Furthermore, to best of the authors’ knowledge, so far there is no empirical evidence on the supply-side factors that influenced the diversification of mortgages’ contractual terms during the crisis; particularly, there is no evidence on the role of local market competition and bank-specific features. This paper contributes to fill this gap in the literature.

How do firms utilize the deferred patent examination system? Evidence from Korea

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siwei Cao ◽  
Zhen Lei ◽  
Junbyoung Oh
Keyword(s):  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Patent Application ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Option Value ◽  
Examination System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Patent Applications ◽  
Analysis System ◽  
Patent Examination

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate firm behaviors on patent examination request under the deferred patent examination system in Korea. The authors examine firm decisions on whether and when to request patent examinations when they face both uncertainty about invention’s value and market competition. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide a simple theoretical model and test a couple of hypothesis using Korea patent data. The authors employ KIPO (Korean intellectual patent office) patent applications data during 2006–2009 and incorporate it with firm financial data retrieved from1 Korea investor service-financial analysis system (KIS-FAS) database in Korea. The authors use the variation in the probability of lapsed patent applications filed in the same year and in the same technology field (at the four-digit IPC class level) of a patent application i as a proxy for the value of uncertainty, and further use one minus a firm’s market share (at the three-digit SIC industry level) as an indicator of the market competition faced by the firm/applicant. Findings The authors find that the examination requests of firms in Korea have interesting bipolar distribution, and both uncertainty about an invention’s value and market competition have significant impacts on firm’s decision for examination request. Applicants tend to utilize option value of waiting when uncertainty is high, but market competition attenuates the option value: the higher the competition, the less likely applicants are to delay or forego examination. Originality/value The authors’ study makes interesting contributions to the literature on the optimal design of the patent system in general and the deferred patent examination request system in particular. By considering the roles of both uncertainty and market competition in firm decisions, it provides a more comprehensive perspective on the deferred patent examination system. The study also provides empirical evidences on the broader research topic regarding firm decision for irreversible investment when faced with both uncertainty and competition, for which a strand of theoretical literature exists but empirical literature is largely limited. This study, which explicitly takes into account uncertainty and market competition, extends this line of empirical literature and fills the gap in the literature.

Market segmentation in container shipping services: a qualitative study

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1100-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gökcay Balci ◽  
Ismail Bilge Cetin
Keyword(s):  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Container Shipping ◽  
Shipping Industry ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Service Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Segmentation Approach ◽  
Segmentation Framework ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose Container shipping is a standardized business-to-business service market where carriers need to stay customer focused to survive. Market segmentation is an ideal solution to develop customized marketing programs for each segment, but container lines need personalized marketing programs for each customer. Hence, the purpose of this study is to develop a segmentation framework that can help container lines to profile each customer more efficiently considering their needs, strategic importance and demographics. Design/methodology/approach This study has adopted an exploratory approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers of container lines. Findings Segmentation bases are the type of customer, container volume, loyalty, seasonality, decision maker, the industry of shipper, cargo characteristics, container type, destination region and export/import. Market segmentation in container shipping can be helpful in developing effective customized marketing offering, including effective price discrimination and customized marketing communications. Practical implications A port-specific segmentation approach was adopted and a flexible segmentation framework was proposed for container lines to adapt in different hinterlands. Originality/value Unlike the literature, this study suggests market segmentation can be very helpful in customized marketing in business-to-business services like container shipping industry. This study also suggests port-specific market segmentation for container lines instead of route-specific.

The wage premium and market structure: theory and empirical evidence from Chilean manufacturers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruohan Wu ◽  
Mario Javier Miranda ◽  
Meng-Fen Yen
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Market Structure ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Wage Premium ◽  
Factor Endowment ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wage Premiums ◽  
Relative Factor

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how the “wage premium,” the percentage by which wages earned by skilled workers exceed those of unskilled workers, varies across industries characterized by different levels of competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model employing constant elasticity of substitution (CES) utility function and constant returns to scale production function is developed and analyzed to derive the effects of industry competitiveness on the wage premium. Econometric methods are applied to Chilean manufacturing data to test implications of theoretical model.FindingsOnce the relative factor endowment is being controlled, market competition significantly reduces the wage premium. More specifically, given with the same relative factor endowment, the wage premium is significantly higher under oligopolistic competition than under monopolistic competition. Empirical evidence from Chilean manufacturers supports our theoretical conclusions.Practical implicationsDuring economic development, the reallocation of production factors from unskilled labor-intensive to skilled labor-intensive industries raises the wage premiums received by skilled workers. Besides, skilled workers will earn higher wages by working in more highly concentrated industries instead of more competitive industries. This needs to be considered by government policymakers who must balance promotion of technical change with prevention of extreme the income inequality.Originality/valueThis paper examines how market structure affects wage premiums, providing new insights into a well-established literature that largely maintains that wage premiums are primarily a function of relative factor endowments or international trade.

Investors' reactions to COVID-19 related announcements: evidence from the cargo shipping industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutaju Isaack Marobhe
Keyword(s):  
Stock Returns ◽  
Stock Prices ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
World Health ◽  
Shipping Industry ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Stock Market Performance ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic on stock returns of listed cargo shipping companies.Design/methodology/approachThe author employs the events study methodology to examine this phenomenon. A sample of 49 listed cargo shipping companies in the container, dry bulk and tanker sub-sectors from Asia, North America, and Europe was selected and their daily closing stock prices from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020 were utilized.FindingsThe results reveal that there was an overall negative overreaction to the announcement by World Health Organization (WHO) that declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The approvals of USD 857 billion stimulus package by the European Union (EU) and Pfizer vaccine by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in USA received slight positive reactions. The Greek, Singaporean and Taiwanese shipping stocks were the least affected stocks as their respective shipping industries remained resilient during 2020.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides evidence to confirm the fact that COVID-19 has affected stock markets; however the impact is un parallel among cargo shipping stocks of different countries.Originality/valueThe majority of studies have conducted country level analyses of the COVID-19 and stock market performance phenomenon. However, there have been sectoral disparities in terms of their susceptibility to economic shocks from COVID-19. This study's focal point is on the cargo shipping sector which synonymous with other sectors has not been immune to the current pandemic. The study also extends the timeline of events to incorporate those from June to December 2020.

Determinants of cargo and eco-efficiencies of global container shipping companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-775
Author(s):  
Kuo-Cheng Kuo ◽  
Wen-Min Lu ◽  
Qian Long Kweh ◽  
Minh-Hieu Le
Keyword(s):  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Environmental Issue ◽  
Container Shipping ◽  
Shipping Industry ◽  
Truncated Regression ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Variable Returns To Scale

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate cargo and eco-efficiency of global container shipping companies (CSCs) and explore the determinants of the CSCs' efficiencies. While the former is derived from the CSCs' operational perspective, the latter highlights environmental issue related to carbon emission reduction.Design/methodology/approachIn the first stage, a two-stage double bootstrap approach of data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to derive bias-corrected cargo and eco-efficiency of the top ten global CSCs under the variable returns to scale assumption. In the second stage, ordinary least squares and truncated regression are applied to examine determinants of the CSCs' efficiencies.FindingsThe DEA results reveal that the cargo efficiency of the CSCs is higher than their eco-efficiency by about 2.6% under variable returns to scale in DEA. However, the bias-corrected results show that the difference is 2.9%. The overall average efficiencies suggest that the CSCs can improve their cargo (eco) efficiency by 6.9% (10.8%). In the second stage, the regression results show that the numbers of ship, return on assets and asset turnover ratio are significantly related to both cargo and eco-efficiencies, whereas the total fleet capacity positively affects cargo efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study can help the inefficient CSCs make strategic decisions to improve their performance. For example, their business experience and capacity may be contributing to their efficiencies. However, this study only focuses on the container market among the three main markets, namely, dry bulk, wet bulk and container.Originality/valueThis study highlights an environmental issue in the shipping industry. While CSCs are operating their cargo efficiently in general, they should also put green initiatives into their business operations for the long-term sustainability.

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