European Business Schools Librarian's Group

IESE Research Papers,
IESE Business School

No D/519: Dynamic mixed duopoly: A model motivated by Linux vs. Windows

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell () and Pankaj Ghemawat ()
Additional contact information
Ramon Casadesus-Masanell: IESE Business School, Postal: Research Division, Av Pearson 21, 08034 Barcelona, SPAIN
Pankaj Ghemawat: Harvard Business School

Abstract: This paper analyzes a dynamic mixed duopoly in which a profit-maximizing competitor interacts with a competitor that prices at zero (or marginal cost), with the cumulation of output affecting their relative positions over time. The modeling effort is motivated by interactions between Linux, an open-source operating system, and Microsoft's Windows in the computer server segment, and consequently emphasizes demand-side learning effects that generate dynamic scale economies (or network externalities). Analytical characterizations of the equilibrium under such conditions are offered, and some comparative static and welfare effects are examined.

Keywords: open-source software; network effects; microsoft; linux; competitive dynamics; strategy

40 pages, September 23, 2003

Full text files 

DI-0519-E.pdf PDF-file

Download statistics

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Noelia Romero ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:ebg:iesewp:d-0519This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:20:01.