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Itpaystogive
Allowingconsumerstosettheirownpricescanbegoodforbusiness;
evenbetterifthefirmsgivesomeofittocharity
INOCTOBER2007Radiohead,aBritishrockgroup,releaseditsfirstalbuminfouryears,“InRainbows”,asadirectdigitaldownload.Themovedrewafairbitofattention(includingfromthisnewspaper)notonlybecauseitrepresentedatechnologicalthumbintheeyetothetraditionalmusicindustry,butalsobecausethebandallowedlistenerstopaywhatevertheywishedforit.Some60%ofthosewhoseizedtheopportunitypaidnothingatall,butthebandseemedpleasedwiththeresult;
oneestimatehaditearningnearly$3mfromtheexperiment.
OnegroupoutsidethemusicindustrytakinganinterestwasatrioofprofessorsthenattheRadySchoolofManagementattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego:
AyeletGneezy,UriGneezyandLeifNelson(whoisnowattheHaasSchoolofBusinessattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley).Inspired,theydesignedaseriesofexperimentstogaugewhetherpay-what-you-wantpricingwouldworkforotherbusinesses.Theirmostrecentexperiment,co-authoredwithAmberBrownofDisneyResearchandpublishedinScience,alsostirredinanewelement:
woulditmakeanydifferenceiffirmsdonatedsomeofthepay-what-you-wantfeetocharity?
Theauthorssetuptheirpricingexperimentattheexitofaroller-coasterrideatalargeamusementpark.Riderswereofferedaphotographofthemselves,snappedmid-coast.Theusualpricewas$12.95,butononeday,ridersweretoldtheycouldpaywhattheywished,includingtakingthephotoforfree.Asecondgroupwaschargedthefullpricebuttoldthathalfthemoneywouldgotoawell-regardedhealthcharity.Yetathirdgroupcouldsetthepriceandseehalfoftheirchosenamountdonated.
Allowingcustomerstosetthepricedramaticallyincreasedthepercentageofbuyers—fromlessthan1%to8%.Evenaccountingforthosewhotookafreephoto,theamusementparkcollectedmorerevenueonthepay-what-you-wantdaythanwhensellingfortheusualfixedprice.
Theauthorsalsofoundthatofthecustomerswhowereallowedtopaywhattheywant,thosewhoweretoldthathalfthemoneywouldgotoagoodcausepaidsubstantiallymorethanthosewhowerenottoldaboutthecharitabledonation—tothepointthatrevenuemorethantripled.(Thecharitydid,indeed,getitspromisedcut.)Thesmallestnumberofpurchases,meanwhile,camethedaythatcustomershadtopaythefull$12.95buthalfwasdonated.
Thereforemorethansimplealtruismwasmotivatingthecustomerswhogavemoneyforaphototheycouldhavehadforfree.“Oneofthequirksaboutpayingwhatyouwant,”suggestsMrNelson,“isthatitstartstosignalsomethingaboutwhoyouare.Everydollaryouspendisadirectreflectionofhowmuchyoucareaboutthischarityandwhatkindofpersonyouare.Noonewantstogocheapwithacharity.”Hecallsthisphenomenon“sharedsocialresponsibility”:
insteadofpassivelyacceptingafirm’sassertionofitscharitabledonations,thecustomermustactivelyagreetogivemoneytocharity,anddeterminehowmuch.
Buthowwidespreadcouldsharedsocialresponsibilitybe?
MsGneezyisthefirsttopointoutthatcustomer-determinedpricingworksbestforproductswithlowmarginalcosts.Sincepublishingtheirfindings,theresearchershavespokentoseveralcompaniesinterestedinpursuingsimilarexperimentswiththeirproducts,includingsoftwaredevelopersandvideo-gamedesigners.Butofferingflexiblepricingonavirtualproductonline,insteadofinpersonatanamusementpark,maymakeiteasierforpeopleto“gocheap”evenifacharityisinvolved.Combiningcustomer-determinedpricing,corporatesocialresponsibility,andincreasedprofitswillbetrickytopulloff,andnoteverycompanywillbeabletodoit—justlikenoteverybandcanputtheiralbumonlineforfreeandstillprofit.
Passage2:
Whydofirmsexist?
RonaldCoase,theauthorof“TheNatureoftheFirm”(1937),turns100onDecember29th
FORphilosophersthegreatexistentialquestionis:
“Whyistheresomethingratherthannothing?
”Formanagementtheoriststhemoremundaneequivalentis:
“Whydofirmsexist?
Whyisn’teverythingdonebythemarket?
”
Todaymostpeopleliveinamarketeconomy,andcentralplanningisrememberedasthegreatesteconomicdisasterofthe20thcentury.Yetmostpeoplealsospendtheirworkinglivesincentrallyplannedbureaucraciescalledfirms.Theystickwiththesameemployerforyears,ratherthanregularlyreturningtothejobsmarket.Theylabourtofulfilthe“strategicplans”oftheircorporatecommissars.JohnJacobAstor’sAmericanFurCompanymadehimtherichestmaninAmericainthe1840s.Butitneverconsistedofmorethanahandfulofpeople.TodayAstor’scompanywouldnotregisterasabliponthecorporatehorizon.Firmsroutinelyemploythousandsofworkersandmovebillionsofdollars-worthofgoodsandserviceswithintheirborders.
Whyhavethese“islandsofconsciouspower”survivedinthesurrounding“oceanofunconsciousco-operation”,toborrowaphrasefromD.H.Robertson,aneconomist?
Classicaleconomicshadlittletosayaboutthisquestion.AdamSmithopened“TheWealthofNations”withawonderfuldescriptionofthedivisionoflabourinapinfactory,buthesaidnothingaboutthebosseswhohiredthepin-makersorthemanagerswhoorganisedthem.Smith’ssuccessorssaidevenless,eitherignoringthepinfactoryentirelyortreatingitasatediousblackbox.Theypreferredtofocusonthesearatherthantheislands.
Whoknowsthesecretoftheblackbox?
Themanwhorestoredthepinfactorytoitsrightfulplaceattheheartofeconomictheorycelebrateshis100thbirthdayonDecember29th.TheeconomicsprofessionwasslowtorecogniseRonaldCoase’sgenius.HefirstexpoundedhisthinkingaboutthefirminalectureinDundeein1932,whenhewasjust21yearsold.Nobodymuchlistened.Hepublished“TheNatureoftheFirm”fiveyearslater.Itwentlargelyunread.
ButMrCoaselabouredonregardless:
asecondseminalarticleon“TheProblemofSocialCost”laidtheintellectualfoundationsofthederegulationrevolutionofthe1980s.Eventually,MrCoaseacquiredanarmyoffollowers,suchasOliverWilliamson,whofleshedouthisideas.In1991,aged80,hewasawardedaNobelprize.Farfromrestingonhislaurels,MrCoasewillpublishanewbookin2011,withNingWangofArizonaStateUniversity,on“HowChinaBecameCapitalist”.
Hiscentralinsightwasthatfirmsexistbecausegoingtothemarketallthetimecanimposeheavytransactioncosts.Youneedtohireworkers,negotiatepricesandenforcecontracts,tonamebutthreetime-consumingactivities.Afirmisessentiallyadeviceforcreatinglong-termcontractswhenshort-termcontractsaretoobothersome.Butifmarketsaresoinefficient,whydon’tfirmsgoongettingbiggerforever?
MrCoasealsopointedoutthattheselittleplannedsocietiesimposetransactioncostsoftheirown,whichtendtoriseastheygrowbigger.Theproperbalancebetweenhierarchiesandmarketsisconstantlyrecalibratedbytheforcesofcompetition:
entrepreneursmaychoosetolowertransactioncostsbyformingfirmsbutgiantfirmseventuallybecomesluggishanduncompetitive.
Howmuchlightdoes“TheNatureoftheFirm”throwontoday’scorporatelandscape?
TheyoungMrCoasefirstgrewinterestedintheworkingsoffirmswhenhetravelledaroundAmerica’sindustrialheartlandonascholarshipin1931-32.Heabandonedhistextbooksandaskedbusinessmenwhytheydidwhattheydid.Hehaslongchidedhisfelloweconomistsforscrawlinghieroglyphicsonblackboardsratherthanlookingatwhatitactuallytakestorunabusiness.Soitseemsreasonabletotesthisideasbythesameempiricalstandards.
MrCoase’stheorycontinuestoexplainsomeofthemostpuzzlingproblemsinmodernbusiness.Taketheriseofvastandhighlydiversifiedbusinessgroupsintheemergingworld,suchasIndia’sTatagroupandTurkey’sKocHolding.ManyWesternobserversdismisstheseasrelicsofaprimitiveformofcapitalism.Buttheymakeperfectsensewhenyouconsiderthetransactioncostsofgoingtothemarket.Wheretrustinestablishedinstitutionsisscarce,itmakessenseforcompaniestostretchtheirbrandsovermanyindustries.Andwherecapitalandlabourmarketsareinefficient,itmakesequalsenseforcompaniestoallocatetheirowncapitalandtraintheirownloyalists.
ButMrCoase’snarrowfocusontransactioncostsneverthelessprovidesonlyapartialexplanationofthepoweroffirms.Theriseoftheneo-Coasianschoolofeconomistshasledtoafiercebacklashamongmanagementtheoristswhochampionthe“resource-basedtheory”ofthefirm.Theyarguethatactivitiesareconductedwithinfirmsnotonlybecausemarketsfail,butalsobecausefirmssucceed:
theycanmarshalawiderangeofresources—particularlynebulousonessuchas“corporateculture”and“collectiveknowledge”—thatmarketscannotaccess.Companiescanorganiseproductionandcreateknowledgeinuniqueways.Theycanalsomakelong-termbetsoninnovationsthatwillredefinemarketsratherthanmerelysatisfydemand.MrCoase’stheoryof“marketfailure”needstobecomplementedbyatheoryof“organisationaladvantages”.
Allthisundoubtedlycomplicates“TheNatureoftheFirm”.ButitalsovindicatesthetwindecisionsthatMrCoasemadeallthoseyearsagoasayoungstudentattheLondonSchoolofEconomics:
tolookinsidetheblackboxratherthansimplyignoringit,andtoexaminebusinesses,notjustfiddlewiththeories.Isittoomuchtohopethatotherpractitionersofthedismalsciencewillfollowhisexampleandstudytherealwo