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1 – 10 of over 6000David Kim Hin Ho, Eddie C.M. Hui, Tai Wing Ho and Satyanarain Rengarajan
This paper aims to examine the behavior of “rational” residential developers, under game theory, for their pricing strategy in a competitive environment.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the behavior of “rational” residential developers, under game theory, for their pricing strategy in a competitive environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Results show that residential developers cooperate implicitly for long-term benefit, leading to a slow-down in sales. Developers are motivated to deviate from cooperating at the beginning and at the end of successive periods in a sub-market. Relatively high profits, earnable in the first few periods, provide an allowance to undercut prices and improve sales. For the last few periods, the punishment for any deviation from cooperating is insignificant or zero. Note that the first-mover advantage in a new market is evident. On the effect of uncertainty on the developer’s residential prices, results show that as uncertainty increases, prices decrease while price variability increases.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlights the merits of a uniquely simplified experimental research design for the strategic behavioral pricing of the private residential development market using a game theoretic approach.
Practical implications
This study enhances the understanding of the residential development strategy of developers in the residential development market.
Originality/value
There is limited research on pricing strategy for the private residential development market in Asia.
Details
Keywords
- Behavioural pricing
- Development and redevelopment
- Price uncertainty
- Experimental research design
- First-mover advantage
- Game theoretic approach
- Private residential development market
- Investor-developer
- Behavioral pricing
- Pricing strategies
- Game theoretic approach
- Experimental research design
- Equilibrium price
- First-mover advantage and price uncertainty
Alexander Styhre and Björn Remneland-Wikhamn
Indie developers are part of the creative fringe of the video game industry, fashioning an identity for themselves as a community committed to the development of video games as a…
Abstract
Purpose
Indie developers are part of the creative fringe of the video game industry, fashioning an identity for themselves as a community committed to the development of video games as a cultural expression and art form. In playing this role, money-making is ambiguous inasmuch as economic return is honorable if such interests remain unarticulated and execute minimal influence on the development work process, while the possibility of producing a successful commercial video game is simultaneously one of the primary motivations for new industry entrants. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports on the empirical material drawn from a study of indie video game developers in Sweden, a leading country for video game development.
Findings
To reconcile tensions between video game development in terms of being both cultural/and artistic production and business activity, easily compromising the perceived authenticity of the subject in the eyes of audiences (e.g. hardcore gamers), indie developers distinguish between monetary motives ex ante and compensation ex post the release of the game. Indie developers thus emphasize the metonymic function of money as this not only indicates economic value and currency but also denotes a number of business practices that indie developers have otherwise avoided in their career planning as they believe these practices would restrain their creativity and skills.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the scholarship on video game development, the literature on creative industries, and the economic sociology literature examining the social meaning of money and how social norms and values are manifested in professional ideologies and practices.
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Seow Eng Ong, Fook Jam Cheng, Boaz Boon and Tien Foo Sing
Real estate developers often operate in oligopolistic environments. Pricing strategies must be made in an interactive framework that makes empirical evaluation difficult. This…
Abstract
Real estate developers often operate in oligopolistic environments. Pricing strategies must be made in an interactive framework that makes empirical evaluation difficult. This study appeals to economic experiments to examine how developers price their properties, especially when there is an option to market pre‐completed units. In addition, the interaction between bidding for land and pricing the end product is examined. The results indicate that competitor actions are important considerations in pricing decisions. In particular, the profit maximizing pricing strategy depends critically on being competitive, not necessarily being the most aggressive. Interestingly, pre‐completed units sell only at prices that incorporate future price expectations, and successful bids tend to precipitate more aggressive pricing. Finally, competitive bidding and pricing strategies appear to the best profit maximizing strategy.
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Keywords
Mark A. Harris and Amita G. Chin
This paper aims to investigate Google’s top developers’ apps with trust badges to see if they warrant an additional level of trust and confidence from consumers, as stated by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate Google’s top developers’ apps with trust badges to see if they warrant an additional level of trust and confidence from consumers, as stated by Google.
Design/methodology/approach
Risky app permissions and in-app purchases (IAP) from Google’s top developers and traditional developers were investigated in several Google Play top app categories, including Editor’s Choice apps. Analysis was performed between categories and developer types.
Findings
Overall, Google’s top developers’ apps request more risky permissions and IAP than do traditional developers. Other results indicate that free apps are more dangerous than paid apps and star ratings do not signify safe apps.
Research limitations/implications
Because of a limited number of Google’s top developers and Editor’s Choice apps, conclusions are drawn from a small sample of apps and not the entire market.
Practical implications
Google’s top developers’ apps are suited well for increasing revenue for Google and developers at the consumer’s expense. Consumers should be wary of top developer trust badges.
Social implications
As the lure for “top free” and “top developer” software is strong among consumers, this research contributes to societal welfare in that it makes consumers aware that Google top developer app trust badges and free apps are more dangerous than traditional developer and paid apps, as they request risky permissions at a much higher frequency. Therefore, consumers should be very careful when downloading apps that are advertised as “top free” or “top developer”.
Originality/value
Google’s top developers’ apps and Editors’ Choice apps have not been investigated from the perspective of permissions and IAP before.
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Keywords
Charles Kirschbaum and Luiz Ojima Sakuda
The purpose of the article is to explore the perceptions of Brazilian game developers about the power relations between them and the sponsors of digital game platforms. It also…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the article is to explore the perceptions of Brazilian game developers about the power relations between them and the sponsors of digital game platforms. It also aims to identify forms of collective action that developers can use to counteract the asymmetry of power.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employed an abductive approach, seeking empirical evidence that would challenge consolidated theory. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 Brazilian developers. The data were analyzed qualitatively using NVivo software. The aim was to resolve theoretical ambiguities identified in the literature review and to explore unexpected findings.
Findings
The study explores Brazilian game developers' perceptions through interviews, revealing their experiences within the industry’s concentrated structure and their use of collective action to navigate power dynamics.
Research limitations/implications
The study's focus on Brazil limits the generalizability of its findings to the broader game development industry.
Practical implications
The study suggests Brazilian game devs can leverage collective action to counteract power imbalance with platforms, collaborate through events and projects and facilitate internationalization of their games.
Social implications
The study suggests collective action could empower developers to challenge platform dominance and foster a stronger community among Brazilian game developers.
Originality/value
The article’s value lies in examining Brazilian devs' experiences within their specific industry context and highlighting collective action as a potential strategy for developers.
Details
Keywords
This chapter analyses the marketing management practices for the video games industry in Turkey. To identify the extended value chains and define the critical success factors in…
Abstract
This chapter analyses the marketing management practices for the video games industry in Turkey. To identify the extended value chains and define the critical success factors in this local environment, we invited the members of OYUNDER – Game Developers, Designers and Publishers Association in Turkey – to participate in an online survey. The following three main research questions guided this survey: (1) How video game developer companies resolve marketing decisions, decide on their marketing mix and create marketing plans; (2) how they perceive the importance given to marketing in their industry and (3) how they measure and judge the success of their marketing activities. Results indicate that Turkish video game developers are predominantly male and young. They organise and work in small teams. They lack marketing planning as indicated by actualised versus expected revenues and marketing spendings. Only 23.7% of the participants report employing marketing-related staff and their opinions of marketing-related business partners – such as advertising and PR agencies – are negative due to these institutions’ perceived lack of industry experience. The developers mainly use social media channels and digital advertising for their marketing needs. Above-the-line advertising is the least used channel, with content, influencer and below-the-line marketing channels ranging in the middle. They report confidence in managing campaigns for social media, digital marketing and content marketing. However, they believe that they lack the skills to manage above-the-line and below-the-line marketing activities, reporting lack of capital and human resources as the main barriers. Although they believe that marketing can help them reach new customers, they are also afraid to take risks and admit to being conservative in marketing practices.
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Erno Vanhala, Jussi Kasurinen and Kari Smolander
The purpose of this paper is to identify the peculiarity of computer game organizations and their human resources. It presents a stage model including four phases covering the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the peculiarity of computer game organizations and their human resources. It presents a stage model including four phases covering the growth from demo group to full business. This study extends the research on how computer game organizations are formed and what it takes them to grow to financially self-sufficient. The study also broadens the understanding of the beginning phase of an organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilizes the grounded theory research method with 34 interview sessions among 11 computer game organizations. The interviewed persons include chief executive officers, designers and developers.
Findings
This paper presents empirical findings on what a computer game organization go through when they evolve from demo group phase, which is not discussed in existing literature, to full business. The authors observed that the core team is formed over a game designer and one or more developers. The team fortifies as the organization moves onwards to next phases. At the same time its reliance on partners and outsourcing changes to need based.
Research limitations/implications
As this is a qualitative study the observations are directly applicable only in the context of observed organizations. In the other context they are merely suggestions.
Practical implications
The study presents concrete growth model that can be utilized when building a computer game organization.
Originality/value
This paper illustrates the specialty of computer game organizations and their growth process. It also presents discussion of the beginning phase of organizations.
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Keywords
Erkki M. Lassila, Sinikka Moilanen and Janne T. Järvinen
The purpose of this paper is to concern the use of analytics as a calculative engine enabling coordination and control for the development process in a creative digital business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to concern the use of analytics as a calculative engine enabling coordination and control for the development process in a creative digital business environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs an explorative field study approach, using interview data from professionals working with free-to-play mobile game development. Drawing on the concepts of cycles of accumulation, accounting as an engine and mediating instruments, this study examines how organisational actors using the analytics in a digital business environment participate in the data generation that accumulates knowledge about and new insights into the desired outcome.
Findings
The real-time metrics provided the means for organisational actors to continually monitor, visualise and if necessary intervene in the creative “good game” development process. Timely quantification and visualisation of user actions, collected as digital traces, enhanced the cycle of information accumulation. This new knowledge resulted in a desire for improvement and perfection, which directed the actions towards the organisational objectives.
Originality/value
This study furthers our understanding of the performativity of accounting as an engine and the user behavioural data trace as its “fuel” in a digital product development. It highlights the role of analytics as a “fact-generating” device, capable of transforming the raw user behavioural data, the fuel, into powerful explanations through visualisations of ideals. The real-time metrics, understood as mediating instruments, enable the generation of new insights and accumulation of knowledge guiding the further development towards the desired outcome, the “good game”.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to describe innovations at the Games + Learning + Society Center to explore the future of education.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe innovations at the Games + Learning + Society Center to explore the future of education.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an overview of several published studies and design interventions.
Findings
Commercial partnerships, particularly generating copyrightable materials can maximize impact and diversify research funding, but they also run counter to the culture and purpose of many research universities.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers interested in forging new partnerships to maximize impact might explore relationships with commercial entities but be aware that they are running counter to the grain of most institutions and goals. Other universities of different sizes, ages and orientations may have different results.
Practical implications
Building private partnerships requires different staffing and skill sets than traditional research. Guidance for staffing key roles and projects are provided.
Originality/value
This paper is a reflection on unique research initiative that generated revenue and helped shape a subfield of education.
Details