Which firms use trademarks? Firm-level evidence from Germany on the role of distance,product quality and innovation

ABSTRACT

Trademarking firms are more productive, generate higher profits, and have a better survival rate. Trademarking firms are in one word more successful, which might motivate non-trademarking firms to adopt a trademark strategy. But this does not seem to be the case. The proportion of trademarking firms in the German business sector amounts to just 18%. This figure is quite low, given that nearly each firm has reputation to protect. But why does the vast majority of firms not have registered trademarks? Using a representative sample of German firms, the present paper links certain firm characteristics to a firm’s propensity to register trademarks. The empirical results point to circumstances under which trademarks are significantly more often used: this is the case where a large distance between a firm and its customers exists, a firm’s product quality is difficult to assess, a firm’s products are characterised by a limited (but not strong) substitutability, and where a firm is engaged in R&D and introduces innovative products. Trademarks are considerably less frequently used if none of this is the case.     

The premium price for Italian red wines in new world wine consuming countries: the case of the Russian market

Italian wine is increasingly appreciated in new world consumer countries and, in particular, in Russia where consumers associate its consumption with an Italian lifestyle. In this paper, market value for wine search attributes is measured through the estimation of a hedonic price model using online data from a Wine Searcher website and the information contained in the labels of wines marketed in Russia. Results show a premium price for wines from Piedmont and Tuscany, and in particular for non-native varieties and for Indicazione Geografica Tipica and Protected Geographical Indication wines. Additionally, vintage and higher alcohol content have a significant positive impact on the prices that consumers are willing to pay for wines. The knowledge of the implicit price of wine quality attributes has important implication for producers to aid in the adoption of effective marketing strategies, and for decision-makers for the adoption of effective measures to improve regional competitiveness in the world market.     

声誉机制下公众参与工程质量监管模式研究

在建筑业蓬勃发展的同时，频繁出现的工程质量问题引起了社会公众的广泛关注，并成为社会性问题。由于社会公众与建设企业之间存在严重的信息不对称，公众与市场之间缺乏有效的互动沟通渠道。借助声誉机制，从信息公开质量和建筑产品与服务质量两个维度建立公众参与评价指标体系，通过公众参与监督评价，形成、积累并影响建筑企业质量声誉，倒逼企业落实质量责任。在此基础上，进一步完善公众参与监管流程，明确多方主体责任，建立声誉机制下的公众参与平台，探索工程质量监管创新模式。     

一种网格节点信誉评价算法及其在服务网格虚拟组织构建中的应用

 本文提出了一种新的服务网格节点信誉评价算法．通过构建由实体间的直接信任构成的有向加权图,并通过修改经典的Dijkstra算法来计算实体间的推荐信任,结合直接信任刻画实体间的信誉评价,同时,该算法参考虚拟组织发起者对虚拟组织愿景特征的理解,将组织间信任关系以及虚拟组织所需服务或资源的种类作为信誉评价的重要依据,细粒度刻画候选者实体的信誉,从而适合具有自治域的服务网格环境中虚拟组织的构建．仿真实验表明,该算法能够较为真实地反映网格实体间的信任关系,有效遏制不良节点对服务网格系统的危害,对虚假交易攻击以及诽谤攻击均具有较强的抵御能力．     

A mathematical model of collaborative reputation systems

This paper provides a mathematical framework for modelling collaborative reputation systems (CRSs), which are useful in many fields of electronic commerce. A CRS is an algorithm that, at discrete points in time, receives in input from a set of users some ratings of a set of objects and generates a reputation for both the raters and the evaluated objects. Sufficient conditions for the convergence of a CRS are given, using basic results of the fixed point theory, and in particular for a broad class of iterative filtering methods and their related CRSs, generalizing some previous results. Finally, we analyse a simple kind of CRS which allows to use a priori information on the reliability of a subset of raters. Experimental results provide evidence that such CRSs exhibit high level of robustness against unfair raters.     

构建自组网络中基于兴趣群组的激励机制

提出一种基于兴趣群组的有效抗攻击性自组网络信任激励模型IGTrust,通过采用经济学中收益与损失概念,屏蔽了不同评价主体对同一行为评价的差异性.IGTrust将信任关系划分为三种类型,以节点获得的相对收益作为信任评估依据,结合交易信息量、折扣因子、时间维度等参数给予了各自的解决方案.仿真实验结果表明,IGTrust在抗恶意节点攻击与资源查询性能等方面均有良好性能.     

基于信誉的延迟容忍网络激励方案

由于长延迟、频繁中断等特性,延迟容忍网络采用“存储-携带-转发”的路由方式实现报文的传递.这种传输方式建立在网络节点互相信任,诚实合作的假设之上.然而,由于受到自身资源的限制,网络中存在自私节点拒绝参与网络合作的行为,导致网络传输性能下降,甚至无法正常运行.针对此类问题,本文提出一种基于信誉的延迟容忍网络激励方案,鼓励节点共享资源,并约束自私行为.设计了一种观测协议,以解决延迟容忍网络环境下对网络节点行为的观测问题;提出了一种信誉模型,通过信任值评价节点的可信程度,从而优化路由决策,惩罚自私节点.仿真结果表明了本文提出的激励方案的有效性和可行性.     

网络化制造中的企业信誉问题研究

应用博弈论研究了不完善信息和完善信息条件下企业的信誉博弈及二者之间的转化条件，在此基础上从社会和企业两方面研究了网络化制造中的信誉建立机制，从社会的角度建立信誉的关键是建立中介机制并使信息透明化，主要包括企业的身份认证和信誉评价；企业自身的信誉建立机制关键在于确立合作式竞争意识。     

基于区块链的物联网数据服务信誉评估模型

地质大数据共享与应用平台、专业移动大数据服务平台等现有集中式物联网数据服务平台多数存在缺乏信誉评估体系、用户隐私泄露、数据防篡改能力弱等安全性问题。为使用户能从海量物联网数据中精准快速地检索出高质量数据,设计并实现基于区块链的数据服务信誉评估模型。利用层次分析法进行信誉评估指标权重计算,采用智能合约和星际文件系统实现物联网数据的存储、验证、保护和共享,通过区块链和Redis缓存技术完成物联网数据和信誉数据的安全快速存取,同时使用环签名技术保证评价真实性并隐藏用户个人信息。测试结果表明,该模型具有去中心化、可信、安全高效和不可篡改的特性,能够满足物联网数据服务平台的信誉评估需求。     

Fragile halos: Comparing organisational reputation across sectors

Non-profit organisations operate with the advantage of a generally positive social image. Workers and managerial employees of nonprofits are commonly thought of as altruistic, trustworthy and respectable actors who assist their communities. However, the non-profit sector has faced several notable scandals and crises that have tested this positive social image. This paper reports on an analysis of the positive social image, which we call a sector ‘halo’ and its durability in the face of organisational crisis. Based on a sample from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, the analysis confirms the general positive social image of non-profit organisations when compared to their private for-profit and government sector peers, who possess lower levels of trust. However, a survey experiment reveals that given a crisis scenario regarding a data breach incident, the ‘halo’ entirely disappears. Our study improves on the literature regarding trust and organisational reputation and highlights the importance of sector ownership and perceived differences pre- and postcrisis.