Some researchers have pointed out that manufactures should exploit user innovation (UI) to develop new-products. They have focused so far on only finding UI in real markets and revealing the typical feathers of innovating users. We need more to know the market dynamics generated by UI in order that manufactures evaluate their UI-driven strategy alternatives when developing a new-product.
This paper provides a framework for analyzing the dynamical changes of market situations including UI characteristics by using agent-based social simulation. Using the framework we can see unobservable phenomena such as users’ purchase opportunity losses and the propagation of UI in a market. So the manufactures can evaluate alternatives in advance with the framework. This paper conducts some simulation experiments using two strategy scenarios and shows some possible market changes and the mechanism of the changes.
Electronic money (or e-money) offers many advantages to consumers, public transportation organizations, retail stores, and issuers, and also provides several environmental benefits. Recently, the amount of e-money issued in Japan has increased. However, the penetration rates substantially vary across regions. This study aims to ascertain the factors behind the penetration of e-money (predominantly, non-contact IC-card type and mobile type) into regions and to propose tactics for accelerating regional penetration rates. Therefore, the authors formulated nine hypotheses regarding penetration factors. These hypotheses were verified through a questionnaire on consumers’ consciousness, usage status, and desires for e-money, administered to consumers living in one of six selected regions. The results of the analyses reveal significant relationships between the regional penetration rates and the factors evaluated by consumers within each region, such as transportation convenience, usage opportunities, usage inconvenience, and apprehensions about using e-money. Furthermore, by analyzing the reasons that non-users do not use e-money and the desires of users in each region, the authors propose tactics for regional penetration of e-money.
In this article, we propose the Latent Generalized Logit Model (LGNL) which considers heterogeneity in products and consumers aiming for exact prediction of choice probability when products are sold out or new products come to product lines. The LGNL express three step choices to suit for actual SKU level choice behaviors, based on the CNL and the GNL which are used for route choice behaviors in traffic planning. Analyzing the LGNL and applying it to the actual product category (plastic bottle coke), we disclose the following two facts: 1. The LGNL which is a (random) utility maximization model can express the Compromise effect which was formerly contradictory to utility maximization. 2. The LGNL is superior to the former models in the current reproducibility. Although it limited in this product category, we confirm following two more facts: 1. It is more important to consider product heterogeneity in modeling than consumer heterogeneity when we compare the model only considering product heterogeneity with the one considering consumer heterogeneity. 2. There is a significant difference between the LGNL and the former models in variation of choice probability when products are sold out or under price promotion.
In this paper, we analyzed messages posted on Osaka University CO-OP to reveal the matters of concern and the factors that affect on the realization of requests by users. By classifying the messages into categories from point of users’ purposes and requests, we found that the users were mainly interested in service improvement. Also, combining the classification and text mining results of messages, we revealed that the cost for service improvement and the courteous expression of vocabularies have a certain relationship with the realization rate of requests.