Implications of Industrial Concentration on Industry Conduct and Performance.Case North American Paper and Board Business

摘要

The present study positions itself to the field of economics known as industrialorganization, although it also contains influences from other research fields. The study focuses on the associations between industry structure, in particular industrial concentration, and industry conduct and performance. The objectives of the study include the identification of the nature of those associations and increased understanding concerning their generation. Primarily based on the Cournot-Nash capacity change model and the theory of collective strategy, 11 hypotheses and 4 research questions are formulated. The aspects of industry structure involved are the decision-making entity size and industrial concentration. As theories do not state in a unique way how industrial concentration should be measured, an explorative approach is adopted. Seven parallel measures of industrial concentration are applied throughout the study. The conduct and performance factors of special interest are capacity changes, capacity adjustment, exports, price, and price volatility.