Buy-till-you-defect [BTYD] models are built for companies operating in a non- contractual setting to predict customers’ transaction frequency, amount and timing as well as customer lifetime. These models tend to perform well, although they often predict unrealistically long lifetimes for a...

The widespread use of the Internet and computer systems has led to a situation where data are available on almost everything. The volume and the level of detail of these data is something we considered to be impossible until a few years ago. Researchers in economics and business now have access...

This paper employs the methodology of Agent-Based Computational Economics (ACE) to investigate under what conditions trust can be viable in markets. The emergence and breakdown of trust is modeled in a context of multiple buyers and suppliers. Agents adapt their trust in a partner, the weight...

Steel structures such as bridges, tanks and pylons are exposed to outdoor weathering conditions. In order to prevent them from corrosion they are protected by an organic coating system. Unfortunately, the coating system itself is also subject to deterioration. Imperfect maintenance actions such...

This article provides empirical tests of the hypothesis of ‘optimal cognitive distance’, proposed by Nooteboom (1999, 2000), in two distinct empirical settings. Variety of cognition, needed for learning, has two dimensions: the number of agents with different cognition, and differences in...

This research provides a new way to validate and compare buy-till-you-defect [BTYD] models. These models specify a customer’s transaction and defection processes in a non-contractual setting. They are typically used to identify active customers in a com- pany’s customer base and to predict...

This paper offers a meta-theory concerning the relation between the general and the specific in science. This issue was recently called back to attention by Hodgson (2001). A heuristic of discovery, developed in earlier work (Nooteboom 1992, 1996, 1999b, 2000a), is used in an attempt to...

This paper connects theory of learning with theory of governance, in the context of inter-firm relations. It recognizes fundamental criticism of transaction cost economics (TCE), but preserves elements from that theory. The theory of governance used incorporates learning and trust. The paper...

This article examines the global spill-over of foreign product introductions and takeoffs on a focal country’s time-to-takeoff, using a novel data set of penetration data for 8 high tech products across 55 countries. It shows how foreign clout, the susceptibility to foreign influences, and...

In this paper, we consider a continuous review inventory system of a slow moving item for which the demand rate drops to a lower level at a pre-determined time. Inventory system is controlled according to one-for-one replenishment policy with fixed lead time. Adaptation to the lower demand rate...