Microeconomics, Competition and Strategic Behaviour

Markus Thomas Münter ist seit 2014 Professor für Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Mikroökonomie, an der htw saar. Schwerpunkte seiner Forschung sind das Zusammenspiel von disruptiven Innovationen, Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Unternehmen und endogenen Marktstrukturen. An der htw saar lehrt Münter Mikroökonomie, Wettbewerbspolitik sowie Managerial and Behavioral Economics. Daneben unterstützt er Unternehmen, deren Fähigkeiten nachhaltig und dauerhaft zu verbessern – aktuell insbesondere in den Themen Innovationsstrategie, Digitalisierung und organisatorische Neuaufstellung.Münter hat am Lehrstuhl für theoretische Volkswirtschaftslehre der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg promoviert und an der London Business School gearbeitet. Vor seinem Einstieg an der htw saar hat er 15 Jahre als Unternehmensberater und in Management-Funktionen die strategische Neuausrichtung, Unternehmenszusammenschlüsse und Transformation internationaler Banken und Finanzdienstleister mitgestaltet, bis Anfang 2014 als Principal der Eurogroup Consulting in Frankfurt.

Preface5
Content9
List of abbreviations12
List of mathematical and economic variables13
1 Microeconomics, competition and strategic behaviour17
1.1 Microeconomics between empirical research, theory and experiments18
1.2 Markets, demand and supply25
1.3 Price elasticity and marginal revenues38
1.4 Summary and key learnings48
Recommendations for further reading48
Questions for review49
Literature49
2 Customer behaviour, products and network effects53
2.1 Customer behaviour and decisions on demand54
2.2 Market delineation and product categories66
2.3 Network effects and multisided markets83
2.4 Summary and key learnings94
Recommendations for further reading94
Questions for review 95
Literature95
3 Decisions under risk and behavioural economics101
3.1 Decisions under risk and uncertainty102
3.2 Bounded rationality and behavioural economics116
3.3 Summary and key learnings131
Recommendations for further reading131
Questions for review132
Literature133
4 Firms, competition and innovation139
4.1 Firms, objectives and strategies140
4.2 Competitive advantage, market structure and firm-specific capabilities151
4.3 Competition and innovation165
4.4 Summary and key learnings179
Recommendations for further reading180
Questions for review180
Literature181
5 Firm size, technology and decisions on production187
5.1 Production function and technology189
5.2 Short run decisions: diminishing marginal product and productivity194
5.3 Long run decisions: technical progress and returns to scale201
5.4 Summary and key learnings211
Recommendations for further reading212
Questions for review212
Literature213
6 Costs, restructuring and M&A215
6.1 Cost functions, decisions and competitiveness216
6.2 Short run decisions: Fixed costs and marginal costs220
6.3 Long run decisions: adjusting cost structures225
6.4 Cost-based competitive advantage and M&A235
6.5 Summary and key learnings245
Recommendations for further reading246
Questions for review246
Literature247
7 Perfect competition, monopoly and competition policy249
7.1 Decisions of a firm under perfect competition250
7.2 Producer and consumer surplus as a measure of economic welfare258
7.3 Monopoly and dominant firms263
7.4 Restraints of competition, competition policy and competition authorities271
7.5 Summary and key learnings287
Recommendations for further reading287
Questions for review288
Literature288
8 Pricing strategies and price discrimination293
8.1 Forms and requirements of price discrimination294
8.2 Direct price discrimination and market segmentation296
8.3 Indirect price discrimination and two-part tariffs302
8.4 Bundling310
8.5 Auctions316
8.6 Summary and key learnings321
Recommendations for further reading322
Questions for review322
Literature323
9 Strategic decision-making and game theory327
9.1 Nash equilibria in simultaneous games330
9.2 Risk aversion and mixed strategies342
9.3 Sequential decisions and commitment348
9.4 Summary and key learnings354
Recommendations for further reading355
Questions for review355
Literature356
10 Strategic competition in oligopoly359
10.1 Capacity decisions and strategies in Cournot competition362
10.2 Sequential decisions and strategies under Stackelberg competition374
10.3 Pricing decisions and strategies in Bertrand competition378
10.4 Strategic competition with product differentiation385
10.5 Relevance for competitive strategies394
10.6 Summary and key learnings397
Recommendations for further reading398
Questions for review398
Literature400
Index403