Competition

Calculated Gini Coefficients of Concentration for the Manufacturing Industry, 1972 and 1977

Alvin D. Star
1982. 18p. Contract awarded in FY 1982 to the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Box 4348, Chicago, IL 60680.

This study transmits the Gini coefficients of concentration calculated for 115 manufacturing industry categories at the two-digit SIC code level contained in the 1972 and 1977 Enterprise Statistics issued by the Census.

NTIS order number:
PB89-214936
Price codes:
All (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Competition Between Small Business and Rural Electric and Telephone Cooperatives in Non-Utility Business

Steven V. Le
1989. 232p. Contract awarded in FY 1987 to SVL Associates, 23046 Avenida de la Carlota, Suite 650, Laguna Hills, CA 92653.

The expansion of rural electric and telephone cooperatives into such nonutility areas as cellular communications, appliance sales, cable television, etc., and the resultant potential cross-subsidies between utility and nonutility operations, has raised the issue of unfair competition with small businesses. The
results of this study suggest that cross-subsidization and unfair competition may indeed exist due to inadequate regulation of cooperatives across the country.

NTIS order number:
PB82-171570
Price codes:
All (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Competition in the Photovoltaics Industry: A Question of Balance

Barrett Stambler and Lyndon Starnbler
1982. 227p. Contract awarded in FY 1981 to the Center for Renewable Resources,1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036.

In 1980, testimony at Congressional hearings and other reports called competition within the photovoltaics industry into question. This study measures the level of competition among photovoltaics manufacturers and evaluates the impact of anticompetitive practices upon small businesses' ability to enter and survive within the industry.

NTIS order number:
PB82-229634
Price codes:
A10 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)
RS number: 35

Cross Subsidization and Competition: A Case Study of Gas and Electric Utility Involvement in Residential Energy Conservation

Walter J. Mead, S. G. Parsons, and P. E. Sorensen
1982. 208p. Contract awarded in FY 1980 to the Community and Organization Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

According to this study, the predatory pricing and subsidization practices of supply and installation activities by utilities do not appear to be significant national problems. There is evidence, however, that some audit, financing, and post-installation inspection programs are cross-subsidized. Some solutions are for the utilities to keep the price consistent with marginal cost and/or to implement conservation programs.

NTIS order number:
PB87-213641
Price codes:
A06 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Determinants of the Growth and Size Distribution of Firms

David S. Evans
n.d. 103p. Contract awarded in FY 1984 to CERA Economic Consultants, Inc., P.O. Box 159, Old Greenwich, CT 06870.

The average size firm is larger in capital intensive industries, in industries with returns to scale, in growing industries, and in industries with low rates of failure. While younger and smaller firms grow more rapidly, they also are more likely to fail.

NTIS order number:
PB87-207171
Price codes:
A06 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Differences in Relative Importance of the Factors that Determine Profit in Small and Large Businesses

David Rothenberg
n.d. 110p. Contract awarded in FY 1985 to Inductive Inference, Inc., 210 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10025.

This study attempts to discover the factors that most strongly determine the future profit rates of small and large firms using data from Standard and Poor's Compustat file for 1979 to 1984 and the Dun and Bradstreet Corporation's FINSTAT file for 1977 to 1981. According to the author, efficiency measures most significantly predict small business' return on assets, while leverage and capital structure measures are most important for
larger businesses.

NTIS order number:
PB83-181867
Price codes:
A03 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)
RS number: 49

An Empirical Analysis of Barriers to Mobility

Sharon Oster
1980. 36p. Contract awarded in FY 1979 to Yale University, 28 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511.

The study compares profit and mobility between two subgroups of several consumer industries. One group advertises extensively, the other sells undifferentiated products. High advertising expenditures in the past create barriers to entering this group.

NTIS order number:
PB88-225156
Price codes:
A05 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)
RS number: 95

Estimating Value Added to Measure the Contributions of Small Business to the U.S. Economy

Bruce Herrick and Robert Gaston
1988. 89p. Contract awarded in FY 1986 to North River Associates, Lexington, VA 24450.

Value added per employee was found by this study to differ by industry, with manufacturing and mining having three times that of finance. The report included value added from firms with no employees and did not separate owner contributions from employee contributions in firms with employees. This meant that in several industries very small firms often showed high value added per employee.

NTIS order number:
PB81-163008
Price codes:
A03 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

A Feasibility Study to Identify the Economic/Market Barriers to the Commercialization of Aquaculture Technology

Richard B. Block
1980. 29p. Contract awarded in FY 1980 to Approtech, Inc., Airport Boulevard, Burlingame, CA 94010.

This study identifies: (1) the important operating parameters that influence existing distribution and market systems for three high potential aquaculture products (oysters, clams, and trout); (2) the barriers and constraints of the current distribution and marketing systems as a conduit for these aquaculture products; and (3) the feasibility of extending this regionally focused study of a few select species to a national assessment of a broad
cross section of aquaculture products.

NTIS order number:
PB91-160432
Price codes:
A07 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Impediments to Small Business Competition in Agricultural Service and Marketing Industries

Daniel W. Francke, Donald J. Wissman, W. Harold Vandeventer, and James M. Wittwer
1985. 131 p. Contract awarded in IFY 1983 to Development Planning and Research Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 727, Manhattan, KS 66502.

This study of small business performance in 48 industries analyzes policy factors affecting small business, as well as the incidence and importance of small business in agricultural processing and marketing industries. The study found that small businesses dominate most agricultural processing and marketing industries, although the incidence and dominance of small businesses varies dramatically from industry to industry.

NTIS order number:
Not available from NTIS;
see note at end of entry.

Intra industry Structure, Integration Strategies, and Petroleum Firm Performance

Harry G. Broadman
1981. 161 p. Contract awarded in FY 1980 to Harry G. Broadman, 304 North Emerson Street, Arlington, VA 22203.

This study investigates the extent to which the profitability of firms that operate in multiple markets is determined by the structure within industries as well as industry wide elements of market structure. Using the petroleum refining industry for the 1970 to 1973 period, the study found that, apart from their horizontal market positions, firms which are extensively integrated tend to earn systematically higher rates of return than their less-integrated counterparts within the industry.

This report is not available from NTIS. It is available in both microform and paper formats from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Order number 82-04608. For information on ordering, call (800) 521-3042.

NTIS order number:
PB84-142595
Price codes:
A05 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Price Fixing, Class Actions, and Small Businesses

Michael K. Block
1981. 79p. Contract awarded in IFY 1980 to Block and Nold, P.O. Box 8705, Stanford, CA 94305.

The major purpose of this project was the creation of a data base for analyzing the determinants of civil litigation that follows a criminal price fixing case. A unique and important characteristic of this data base is the linking of criminal and civil price fixing cases. The analysis of this data indicates
that small businesses are underrepresented as defendants and overrepresented as plaintiffs in price fixing cases. Moreover, in terms of follow-on activity, the data suggest that class actions are an important procedural device in exactly those cases that are most directly relevant to the small business community.

NTIS order number
PB87-190658
Price codes:
A05 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Profitability and Firm Size

John W. Ballantine, Frederick W. Clevelend, and C. Timothy Koeller
1987. 81 p. Contract awarded in FY 1985 to Ballentine and Associates, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030.

Using data from the Internal Revenue Service's Statistics of Income and the Dun and Bradstreet Corp.'s FINSTAT, this study looked at such factors as profit on equity, sales/asset ratios, and tolerance for risk in order to assess what linkages might exist between a firm's size and its profitability.

NTIS order number:
PB83-181842
Price codes:
A03 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)
RS number: 38

The Strategic Use of Regulatory Investment by Industry Sub-Groups

Sharon Oster
1980. 43p. Contract awarded in FY 1979 to Yale University, 28 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520.

The study shows that the regulatory process can be used as a powerful weapon by subgroups within an industry against other subgroups. It argues that new regulations should be evaluated as a result of, and as a contributor to, the competitive balance.

NTIS order number:
PB86-247640
Price codes:
A05 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)

Utility Competition with Small Business

Patrick D'Addario
1986. 89p. Contract awarded in FY 1985 to Stronberg and D'Addario, 1442 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Using case analyses of the activities of five regulated utilities, this report examines the reasons for utilities' interest in diversifying into nonregulated energy-related fields, the subsidization of these nonregulated activities, and the potential remedies that small businesses have to counter unfair or illegal competition.

NTIS order number:
PB85-248417
Price codes:
A06 (Paper)
A01 (Microfiche)
RS number: 45

Vertical Restraints and the Distribution Chain: An Economic Analysis with Special Reference to Personal Computer Marketing

Howard P. Marvel
1985. 121 p. Contract awarded in FY 1983 to Howard Marvel, 4305 Waybourne Road, Columbus, OH 43220.

Small businesses are major retailers of microcomputers. In this study of distribution in the personal computer market, it was found that manufacturers prefer chains for easier imposition of vertical restraints. The increased use of vertical restraints may cause policymakers to move against such restraints.