Apart from the familiar holdup problem, we investigate another implication of specific investment that has not been examined systematically in the literature. That is, the presence of specific investment can make a supplier vulnerable to large negative shocks to its customer’s business. In a theoretical model, we demonstrate that this vulnerability causes the supplier to under-invest. A higher ...

We study microreactors with internal fields of posts as typical examples of structured microreactors to elucidate flow fields and their implications for mass transfer. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) visualization combined with image analysis is used to systematically quantify key features such as interfacial area, phase holdup and the characteristics of the post-wetting layer. The subsequent ...

We study how the sequence of Žnancing of R&D varies according to the ease with which property rights over knowledge can be deŽned. There are two Žnanciers: a venture capitalist (VC) and a corporation. The knowledge acquired in costly research becomes embodied in the researcher’s human capital, and she may hold up the Žnancier and walk away with the project to develop it elsewhere. The main resu...