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Potential Competitors (potential + competitor)
Selected AbstractsStrategic Bidding By Potential Competitors: Will Monopoly Persist?THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2000Yongmin Chen Who will win the bidding to become the sole producer of a new product: the monopolist of a related product or a new entrant? When there exists potential entry to the monopolist's existing business, the standard result that monopoly persists (Gilbert and Newbery, ,Preemptive Patenting and the Persistence of Monopoly', American Economic Review, 72, pp. 514,526, 1982) may or may not hold, depending crucially on how the new product relates to the existing product of the monopolist. The monopolist tends to win the bidding and to dominate both products if the two products are strategic complements; and the entrant tends to win the bidding if the two products are strategic substitutes. [source] Factors influencing Willow Tit Poecile montanus site occupancy: a comparison of abandoned and occupied woodsIBIS, Issue 2007ALEX J. G. LEWIS The British Willow Tit Poecile montanus kleinschmidti underwent a decline of 85% between 1970 and 2003. The cause of this decline is unknown. However, several hypotheses have been put forward to account for it: competition from other tit species, predation by Great Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos major and habitat change. In order to test these, woods that are currently occupied by Willow Tits were paired with woods (within 50 km) that had been abandoned by Willow Tits five or more years previously. Point counts for other tit species (potential competitors) and woodpecker species (potential predators) were carried out at ten evenly spaced points throughout each wood. Habitat variables were collected within a 50-m radius of where a Willow Tit was located (in the occupied woods) or where maps showed a Willow Tit had been located (for abandoned woods). No evidence was found for differences in numbers of potential competitor or potential predator species in abandoned and occupied woods. Soil water content was found to be higher at occupied sites. No other habitat features differed between the two categories of site. The drying up of British woods could therefore be implicated in the Willow Tit decline and this warrants further investigation. [source] Case study of a one-sided attack by multiple troop members on a nontroop adolescent male and the death of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 4 2009Masaki Shimada Abstract An adolescent wild male Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), following Kinkazan A troop, was attacked one-sidedly by multiple members of the troop. The victim was identified as PI, and was estimated to be seven±one year old. The aggressive interaction was recorded by video camera until the end. Although at least 16 troop members approached PI more than once, only three males (one adult, two adolescents) of A troop attacked him. PI kept crouching throughout the attack, then escaped to the shore and dived into the sea. The interaction continued for more than one hour. PI was found dead a few hours after the end of interaction. The damage caused by the assailants was not the direct cause of PI's death; it was due to hypothermia caused by drifting in the sea. PI's life history was reconstructed from past records. PI was a normal adolescent male who migrated from an all-male group around B1 troop and started ranging around A troop. The aggressive interaction is believed to be a typical example of conflict between troop males and a nontroop male. The interaction period was very long compared with previous reports on such conflicts among Japanese macaques. PI kept crouching in open areas, exposing himself as a potential competitor for the resources of the troop, and did not show any submissive or reconciliatory behavior toward the troop males. This may be why the troop males did not stop the attack. Aggr. Behav. 35:334,341, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Vertical Foreclosure, Technological Choice, and Entry on the Intermediate MarketJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 3 2000Eric Avenel This paper analyzes the profitability of vertical integration for an upstream monopoly facing a potential competitor. We show that it depends on the technology used by the firm when it integrates. We distinguish two types of technologies: standard technologies, used by nonintegrated firms, and nonstandard technologies, reserved for integrated firms and implying the complete foreclosure of nonintegrated firms. Vertical integration with the adoption of a nonstandard technology dominates vertical integration with the adoption of a standard technology and is profitable, as long as the degree of competition in the downstream industry is sufficiently low. [source] Vertical Foreclosure, Technological Choice, and Entry on the Intermediate MarketJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 2 2000Eric Avenel This paper analyzes the profitability of vertical integration for an upstream monopoly facing a potential competitor. We show that it depends on the technology used by the firm when it integrates. We distinguish two types of technologies: standard technologies, used by nonintegrated firms, and nonstandard technologies, reserved for integrated firms and implying the complete foreclosure of nonintegrated firms. Vertical integration with the adoption of a nonstandard technology dominates vertical integration with the adoption of a standard technology and is profitable, as long as the degree of competition in the downstream industry is sufficiently low. [source] Competition between Eurasian otter Lutra lutra and American mink Mustela vison probed by niche shiftOIKOS, Issue 1 2004Laura Bonesi Interspecific competition is one of several constraints that might prevent an individual from maximising its energy intake. When an interspecific competitor is introduced, an individual is often forced to shift its diet according to the intensity of the competitive pressure. In this paper, we explore whether the introduced American mink (Mustela vison Schreber) shifts its diet when the density of its potential competitor, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra L.), is increased. We compared the diets of otter and mink at the same location but at two moments in time when the relative densities of these two species were different while controlling for the abundance of aquatic prey. Mink and otters are semi-aquatic mammals belonging to the same guild of mustelids and otters are expected to be the dominant competitor because they are larger and better at hunting underwater. The diets of otters and mink overlap to a great extent but while otters specialise mainly on aquatic prey, mink are able to exploit both aquatic and terrestrial prey. These observations prompted the hypothesis investigated in this work that at higher otter densities the diet of mink should change to include a higher proportion of terrestrial items. This hypothesis was supported by the data and at higher otter densities mink diet was observed to consist of a higher proportion of mammals and birds while fewer fish were present, although this pattern was present only in winter while no changes were observed in spring. Meanwhile the diet of otters remained basically unchanged. In the second part of the study, we investigated whether niche breadth and niche overlap between otter and mink changed at different otter densities. We found that niche overlap declined as the density of otters increased, in agreement with the prediction of habitat selection theory. [source] A Note on Technology Transfer by a MonopolyAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 1 2003X. Henry Wang This paper studies the incentive for a monopoly to license its technology. It shows that a patent,holding monopoly may be willing to license its proprietary technology to a potential competitor when such a technology transfer has a market,expanding effect. [source] Separating the influence of resource ,availability' from resource ,imbalance' on productivity,diversity relationshipsECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 6 2009Bradley J. Cardinale Abstract One of the oldest and richest questions in biology is that of how species diversity is related to the availability of resources that limit the productivity of ecosystems. Researchers from a variety of disciplines have pursued this question from at least three different theoretical perspectives. Species energy theory has argued that the summed quantities of all resources influence species richness by controlling population sizes and the probability of stochastic extinction. Resource ratio theory has argued that the imbalance in the supply of two or more resources, relative to the stoichiometric needs of the competitors, can dictate the strength of competition and, in turn, the diversity of coexisting species. In contrast to these, the field of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning has argued that species diversity acts as an independent variable that controls how efficiently limited resources are utilized and converted into new tissue. Here we propose that all three of these fields give necessary, but not sufficient, conditions to explain productivity,diversity relationships (PDR) in nature. However, when taken collectively, these three paradigms suggest that PDR can be explained by interactions among four distinct, non-interchangeable variables: (i) the overall quantity of limiting resources, (ii) the stoichiometric ratios of different limiting resources, (iii) the summed biomass produced by a group of potential competitors and (iv) the richness of co-occurring species in a local competitive community. We detail a new multivariate hypothesis that outlines one way in which these four variables are directly and indirectly related to one another. We show how the predictions of this model can be fit to patterns of covariation relating the richness and biomass of lake phytoplankton to three biologically essential resources (N, P and light) in a large number of Norwegian lakes. [source] Factors influencing Willow Tit Poecile montanus site occupancy: a comparison of abandoned and occupied woodsIBIS, Issue 2007ALEX J. G. LEWIS The British Willow Tit Poecile montanus kleinschmidti underwent a decline of 85% between 1970 and 2003. The cause of this decline is unknown. However, several hypotheses have been put forward to account for it: competition from other tit species, predation by Great Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos major and habitat change. In order to test these, woods that are currently occupied by Willow Tits were paired with woods (within 50 km) that had been abandoned by Willow Tits five or more years previously. Point counts for other tit species (potential competitors) and woodpecker species (potential predators) were carried out at ten evenly spaced points throughout each wood. Habitat variables were collected within a 50-m radius of where a Willow Tit was located (in the occupied woods) or where maps showed a Willow Tit had been located (for abandoned woods). No evidence was found for differences in numbers of potential competitor or potential predator species in abandoned and occupied woods. Soil water content was found to be higher at occupied sites. No other habitat features differed between the two categories of site. The drying up of British woods could therefore be implicated in the Willow Tit decline and this warrants further investigation. [source] Factors influencing territorial occupancy and reproductive output in the Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatusIBIS, Issue 4 2006JOSÉ E. MARTÍNEZ During a 7-year research project in a forested area of southeastern Spain, we studied territorial occupancy and reproductive success in a Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus population. We monitored 65 territories, gathering information on 406 occupancy events and 229 breeding attempts, including those of two potential competitors, the Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis and the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo. Generalized linear mixed models were used to explain occupancy and productivity, by evaluating the relative contribution of three different types of variables (habitat, competition and past events) and considering territory as a random effect. We examined a set of a priori hypothesized models, together with a number of additional models, and selected the best models following an information-theoretic approach. Our best models related territorial occupancy and productivity to previous breeding success (the fledging of one or two young), which appeared to be the most important factor determining the probability of reoccupation and the reproductive output in the subsequent year. The best occupation model revealed that the probabilities of occupancy were also conditioned by a competition variable (intraspecific nearest-neighbour distance) and two habitat variables (the location of the nest on the valley slope and the distance to the nearest forest track). Unlike the best occupation model, however, the selected model for reproductive output did not incorporate any competition variable besides previous breeding success, but included another two habitat variables (the effects of trunk height and NNE orientation). [source] Asymmetric coexistence: bidirectional abiotic and biotic effects between goose barnacles and musselsJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2006TAKASHI KAWAI Summary 1Species coexistence depends on the net effect of interacting species, representing the sum of multiple interaction components that may act simultaneously and vary independently depending on ambient environmental conditions. Consequently, for a comprehensive understanding of the compound nature of species interactions and coexistence, a mechanistic approach that allows a separate evaluation of each interaction component is required. 2Two sessile filter-feeders, the goose barnacle Capitulum mitella and the mussel Septifer virgatus, coexist on moderately wave-exposed rocky shores in south-western Japan. In the upper intertidal, Capitulum positively influenced Septifer survivorship and growth through amelioration of thermal stress and of physical disturbance. On the other hand, these species are potential competitors as they have similar body sizes and modes of resource utilization. These opposite processes, facilitation and competition, are based on abiotic characteristics and biotic functions of the two species, respectively. 3In order to quantify the bidirectional abiotic, biotic and net effects, a series of experimental manipulations was conducted involving the use of living neighbours with both abiotic and biotic effects, and artificial mimics to simulate abiotic effects without biotic effects. 4Capitulum had strong positive abiotic effects on the mussel survivorship in most experimental periods, while the biotic effect was negligible or weakly negative, suggesting that the net effect of Capitulum on mussel survival was largely attributable to the abiotic effect. In contrast, a significantly negative biotic effect on the mussel growth rate was always present, though this was cancelled out by the larger, positive abiotic effect. In the case of Septifer, its abiotic and biotic effects on the survivorship of goose barnacles were negligible, while those on the growth rate showed temporal variation. 5With respect to the relationship between species interaction and environmental conditions, the strength of abiotic facilitative effect of Capitulum on mussel survival increased with increasing abiotic stress, while the strength of biotic effect was negligible or weakly negative. As regards the effects of mussels on goose barnacles, our study indicated no obvious relationship. These results point to the importance of decomposing interaction for an accurate, mechanistic understanding of species relations and coexistence. [source] GRAZING IMPACT OF, AND INDIRECT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MESOGRAZERS ASSOCIATED WITH KELP (LAMINARIA DIGITATA),JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Markus Molis Little is known about the indirect effects of nonlethal grazing impacts in mesograzer,seaweed interactions. Using laboratory experiments, the effect of grazing by the seasonally abundant kelp-associated gastropod Lacuna vincta on subsequent kelp consumption by one kelp-associated (Idotea granulosa) and one nonassociated species of isopod (I. emarginata) was determined. Measurements of the toughness and elemental composition of different parts of the sporophyte of Laminaria digitata (Huds.) J. V. Lamour., as well as grazer-induced changes in the palatability of the blade, were conducted to explore possible mechanisms of indirect effects. In situ grazing pressure was the highest between July and September, with the blade being the preferred part of the kelp sporophyte, despite missing differences in the elemental composition among kelp parts. The laboratory experiments supported our hypotheses in that kelp consumption by both species of isopods was lower on intact than on L. vincta,damaged areas of the blade. This pattern was not caused by grazing-induced changes in blade palatability. Instead, the observed increase in isopod consumption following grazing by L. vincta resulted more likely from the combined effects of a reduction in the toughness of L. vincta,damaged kelp blades and some unknown gastropod cue(s). These results suggest that kelp-associated and nonassociated mesograzers may benefit from the nonlethal grazing impact of L. vincta due to changes in physical traits of the seaweed. Thus, the nonlethal grazing impact by one species of mesograzer can positively modify the trophic interactions between kelp and other potential competitors, suggesting that the interactions among mesograzers might be more complex than previously assumed. [source] Plant traits as predictors of woody species dominance in climax forest communitiesJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 3 2001Fumito Koike Satake et al. (1989) Abstract. The dominance of a given tree or shrub species in a particular forest community may be determined by many ecological traits of the target species, as well as those of the surrounding species as its potential competitors. The present study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of predicting community status (species composition and dominance) on the basis of traits of local flora using statistical methods, and to visualize the mathematical function which determines species dominance. A general linear model and logistic regression were used for the statistical analysis. Dependent variables were designated as dominance and presence/absence of species in climax forest, with independent variables as vegetative and reproductive traits. Subalpine, cool-temperate, warm-temperate and subtropical climax rain forests in East Asia were studied. Quantitative prediction of climax community status could readily be made based on easily measured traits of local flora. Species composition and 74.6% of the total variance of species dominance were predicted based on two traits; maximum height and shade tolerance. Through application of this method, the capacity of an alien species to invade a climax forest community could possibly be predicted prior to introduction of the alien species. [source] Competitor identification and competitor analysis: a broad-based managerial approachMANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 4-5 2002Mark Bergen Managerial myopia in identifying competitive threats is a well-recognized phenomenon (Levitt, 1960; Zajac and Bazerman, 1991). Identifying such threats is particularly problematic, since they may arise from substitutability on the supply side as well as on the demand side. Managers who focus only on the product market arena in scanning their competitive environment may fail to notice threats that are developing due to the resources and latent capabilities of indirect or potential competitors. This paper brings together insights from the fields of strategic management and marketing to develop a simple but powerful set of tools for helping managers overcome this common problem. We present a two-stage framework for competitor identification and analysis that brings into consideration a broad range of competitors, including potential competitors, substitutors, and indirect competitors. Specifically we draw from Peteraf and Bergen's (2001) framework for competitor identification to develop a hierarchy of competitor awareness. That is used, in combination with resource equivalence, to generate hypotheses on competitive analysis. This framework not only extends the ken of managers, but also facilitates an assessment of the strategic opportunities and threats that various competitors represent and allows managers to assess their significance in relative terms. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ,Irresponsible Lending' with a Better Informed Lender,THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 532 2008Roman Inderst We present a simple model of personal finance in which an incumbent lender has an information advantage vis-à-vis both potential competitors and households. In order to extract more consumer surplus, a lender with sufficient market power may engage in ,irresponsible' lending, approving credit even if this is knowingly against a household's best interest. Unless rival lenders are equally well informed, competition may reduce welfare. This holds, in particular, if less informed rivals can free ride on the incumbent's superior screening ability. [source] Action Mechanisms of the Secondary Metabolite Euplotin C: Signaling and Functional Role in EuplotesTHE JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008FRANCESCA TRIELLI ABSTRACT. Among secondary metabolites, the acetylated hemiacetal sesquiterpene euplotin C has been isolated from the marine, ciliated protist Euplotes crassus, and provides an effective mechanism for reducing populations of potential competitors through its cytotoxic properties. However, intracellular signaling mechanisms and their functional correlates mediating the ecological role of euplotin C are largely unknown. We report here that, in E. vannus (an Euplotes morphospecies that does not produce euplotin C and shares with E. crasssus the same interstitial habitat), euplotin C rapidly increases the intracellular concentration of both Ca2+ and Na+, suggesting a generalized effect of this metabolite on cation transport systems. In addition, euplotin C does not induce oxidative stress, but modulates the electrical properties of E. vannus through an increase of the amplitude of graded action potentials. These events parallel the disassembling of the ciliary structures, the inhibition of cell motility, the occurrence of aberrant cytoplasmic vacuoles, and the rapid inhibition of phagocytic activity. Euplotin C also increases lysosomal pH and decreases lysosomal membrane stability of E. vannus. These results suggest that euplotin C exerts a marked disruption of those homeostatic mechanisms whose efficiency represents the essential prerequisite to face the challenges of the interstitial environment. [source] Interspecific Competition and Niche Separation in Primates: A Global AnalysisBIOTROPICA, Issue 3 2009Brian M. Schreier ABSTRACT Primates are an extraordinarily well-known tropical forest, mammalian taxon. We investigated potential modes of niche separation in primates by identifying sympatric species with putatively similar niche characteristics and assessing potential competition using data gleaned from an extensive literature review. We defined competing species-pairs as (a) sympatric species in which (b) the body mass of the larger species was within 30 percent of the smaller species' mass and (c) the species had the same category of diet. A sample of 43 well-studied forests (7,20 per continent) provided 673 pairs of sympatric primate species. Of these, 45 pairs (7%) are potential competitors by our definition. Africa has the largest number of competing pairs (17 pairs), while Asia might have the highest percentage of competitors in each forest site (17%). Niche separation was investigated for each pair by examining them for each of eight possible modes of separation: detailed differences in diets (28% of potential competitors), use of different heights in the forest (25%), use of different types of forest (14%), use of different locations within the forest (11%), use of support branches of different diameters (7%), different ranging behavior (6%), different techniques of prey capture (4%), and differential timing of activity (4%). The use of different heights in the forest is the dominant form of potential separation in Africa (31% of competing species-pairs) and Asia (38%), while detailed differences in diet appears to be the primary mode of niche separation in the Americas (26%) and Madagascar (32%). [source] | |||||||||||||