Publications
Yoo Ri Kim and Shih-Chuan Lin (2024), "Rooms versus F&B: How changes in operations contribute to hotel productivity," Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 5(2), 100153. [link]
Yoo Ri Kim and Shih-Chuan Lin (2021), "The non-linear relationship between brand diversification and hotel owner performance: The roles of ownership structure and location as moderators," Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 49, 235-243. [link]
Chao-Cheng Mai and Shih-Chuan Lin (2021), "The effects of uncertainties over R&D policy or market demand on R&D levels," Managerial and Decision Economics, 42(4), 1048-1056. [link]
Shih-Chuan Lin and Yoo Ri Kim (2021), "Heterogeneous effects of hotel ownership structure changes on localized market competition using multilevel mixed-effect analyses," Managerial and Decision Economics, 42(4), 808-820. [link]
Shih-Chuan Lin and Yoo Ri Kim (2020), "Diversification strategies and failure rates in the Texas lodging industry: Franchised versus company-operated hotels," International Journal of Hospitality Management, 88, 102525. [link]
Working papers
"Multimarket contact and price dispersion: Evidence from the Taiwanese automotive market," September 2025 (joint with Jia-Huey Hsu) [under review]
[Abstract] Many industries consist of large firms that frequently compete in multiple markets. Extensive research in management and economics indicates that multimarket contact can facilitate tacit collusion and reduce competition, leading to mutual forbearance. In this study, we investigate the competitive behavior of automakers in the Taiwanese automotive market, utilizing annual data from the Taiwanese automotive market from 2015 to 2023. The evidence shows that an increase in multimarket contact results in higher auto prices. Our findings reveal a significant positive relationship between multimarket contact and pricing strategy, indicating that a higher level of multimarket contact correlates with increased automobile prices, thereby consistently supporting the mutual forbearance hypothesis. Additionally, our results demonstrate a positive association between multimarket contact and price dispersion, suggesting that greater multimarket contact contributes to increased variability in prices. Automakers may strategically adjust prices to reflect differences in customer preferences and brand loyalty. This paper contributes to the empirical literature on multimarket contact by analyzing a distinct industry and product market context while employing longitudinal data.
"Beyond human capital: The role of regional diversity and industry concentration in Tourism IT startup launch and funding," September 2025 (joint with Yoo Ri Kim, Florian Zach, and Hyeyoun Park) [under review]
[Abstract] This study examines the entrepreneurial ecosystem for information technology (IT) startups in the tourism industry across U.S. metropolitan regions. While existing research focuses primarily on firm-level innovation, this study adopts a systems perspective to explore how regional diversity – age, race, industry, income, and school enrollment – human capital, and sectoral concentration shape startup formation and funding. Using data from CrunchBase and U.S. Census sources, we find that diversity in income and enrollment at various education levels increases both startup activity and funding, whereas sectoral concentration, particularly in IT, supports them. Surprisingly, a higher education degree held by the workforce is negatively associated with entrepreneurial outcomes, suggesting labor market mismatches. The effects of sectoral concentration are context-specific: IT hubs benefit from diversity such as income and enrollment at various education levels; these findings challenge assumptions about human capital and underscore the relational and structural dynamics within hybrid entrepreneurial ecosystems. The study contributes to tourism entrepreneurship theory and offers policy insights for fostering inclusive innovation in digitally transforming service sectors.
"Market dispersion and localized competition in peer-to-peer accommodation markets," April 2025 (joint with Yoo Ri Kim) [under review]
[Abstract] The importance of understanding the pricing behavior of local competitors is critical to effective strategy formulation and meaningful industry analysis. Nevertheless, existing demand studies miss a critical link to local market dynamics. Applying the theory of monopolistic competition, we analyze the effects of localized competition, measured as service differentiation and distance differentiation, on the pricing and demand of listings behavior in the local market, using panel data of the Airbnb industry in London from 2017 to 2021. First, we find that service differentiation of local listings has a positive impact on price dispersion in the local market while distance differentiation of local listings has a negative impact on the price dispersion in the local market. Second, service differentiation of local listings has a positive impact on the demand dispersion in the local market while distance differentiation of local listings has a positive impact on the demand dispersion. The results suggest that competition has a heterogeneous impact on pricing and demand for the listing behavior in the local market.
"Determinants of hotel operations: A Bayesian model averaging approach," March 2025 (joint with Kuo-Hsuan Chin) [under review]
[Abstract] Despite extensive research efforts to identify key drivers of hotel operations, consensus remains elusive. We suggest that this lack of agreement may stem from model uncertainty, as empirical studies often selectively include variables in their final models. By leveraging recent studies, we illustrate how the application of Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach can mitigate the effects of model uncertainty in empirical research on hotel operations, in terms of performance measures, ownership structures, and quality segments. Furthermore, BMA approach offers the measures of the variable importance, characterized by the posterior inclusion probabilities, and serves as a complementary method to dominance or relative importance analysis. First, we show that, regarding performance measures, variables related to hotel characteristics, such as the number of rooms, chain affiliation, and quality tier, are crucial determinants of performance measures. Additionally, demographic and socio-economic variables, such as population, occupation inequality, and relationship inequality, also play significant roles. The level of development, indicated by the number of establishment exits in the accommodation and food services sector, is another key determinant of performance measures. Second, regarding ownership structures, our findings show that only these three variables—number of rooms, chain affiliation, and quality tier—consistently emerge as key determinants of ownership structures. Finally, the primary factors influencing quality segments are tied to hotel characteristics like the number of rooms, chain affiliation, quality tier, and the density of hotels within those segments. Furthermore, the focus on hotel characteristics indicates that these attributes play the most crucial role in shaping hotel operations.
"Inter-brand competition and intra-brand cannibalization in the automotive industry: Its impact and the moderating role," July 2024 (joint with Jia-Huey Hsu) [R&R at Journal of Brand Management]
[Abstract] This paper aims to empirically study how inter-brand competition and intra-brand cannibalization affect prices and market share in the auto industry, as well as the moderator role of intra-brand cannibalization. Using a detailed data set from the Taiwanese automotive industry from 2015 to 2023, the findings show that inter-brand competition negatively impacts auto prices and market share, while intra-brand cannibalization positively impacts them. Furthermore, increasing the number of car models for each brand leads to higher auto prices and market share. Additionally, we examine the moderation effect of intra-brand cannibalization. Our findings reveal that the moderating effect of intra-brand cannibalization reverses the relationship between inter-brand competition (product line breadth) and auto prices and market share. This research contributes to the existing literature on brand competition and management by looking into the price and market share effects of inter-brand competition and intra-brand cannibalization and its moderator role.
"Consumer reviews and host strategies: Managing rating biases for optimal Airbnb performance," June 2024 (Joint with Yoo Ri Kim and I-Heng (Ray) Wu) [under review]
[Abstract] Highly inflated ratings exist in the Airbnb properties space, spurring the proliferation of misleading consumption and performance data. This research analyses how positive and negative rating biases affect Airbnb hosts' performance metrics: occupancy rate, average daily rate, and revenue per available room. Using two-level multi-level models with time-fixed effects, the findings revealed that positive biases significantly enhance host performance, particularly benefiting single-listing hosts. In contrast, negative biases detrimentally impact performance, with single-listing hosts being more affected. Being a Superhost generally improves performance metrics but can lead to higher guest expectations and more critical reviews if customers have unmet needs and expectations. Understanding local economic factors is also crucial. Through these findings, the study contributes to the literature on consumer reviews, signalling theory, and competitive dynamics in the sharing economy.
"Optimal licensing with equity under Cournot competition," February 2024 (joint with Yi-Jie Wang) [under review]
[Abstract] This study uses the homogeneous Cournot oligopoly model to investigate the optimal licensing contract of the insider patentee. In doing so, we employed two assumptions: (a) the patentee and licensees engage in Cournot competition and (b) the licensing contracts for the patentee are fixed fee, royalty, and equity. The main findings revealed the following: First, when the patentee licenses to all firms in the context of non-drastic innovation and small (middle, large) innovation size, the optimal licensing contract for the patentee is equity (equity, royalty). Second, an optimal equity share will increase not only as the innovation size increases but also as the marginal cost of the licensees rises. Finally, if innovation is non-drastic and the innovation size is small or middle, the social welfare under exclusive licensing will be greater than that under non-exclusive licensing.
"Strategic location choices in the Peer-to-Peer accommodation sector: Balancing agglomeration and differentiation of service amenities in Airbnb," February 2024 (joint with Yoo Ri Kim and Yi-Jie Wang) [under review]
[Abstract] Firms collocating with competitors not only take advantage of agglomeration economies but also face greater competition. We investigate the geographic location decisions of Airbnb listings to infer their tradeoffs between locating close to favorable demand conditions and differentiating themselves geographically from competitors. Whereas listings providing more service amenities tend to locate away from competitors, listings with few service amenities tend to locate close to others. Our theoretical model explains the main features of the observed spatial patterns of the Airbnb accommodation industry in London. Consistent with the predictions of our model, our empirical findings show that Airbnb listings would like to locate far from (close to) their competitors as an increase (a decrease) in the magnitude of service amenities. Our study contributes importance to the peer-to-peer accommodation literature. Managerial implications on leveraging agglomeration for service amenities are provided to Airbnb and its hosts, implying that price competition may be more severe in the Airbnb industry.
"The role of strategic positioning on hotel productivity: A two-stage data envelopment analysis and spatial approach," July 2023 (joint with Yoo Ri Kim) [R&R at International Journal of Tourism Research]
[Abstract] This study investigates how hotels choose their strategic positioning from neighbouring hotels, and how their strategic positioning influences productivity. Moreover, this research also analyses the direct and indirect spatial spillover effects of strategic positioning on productivity. Using the monthly data from the Bureau of Tourism in Taiwan from January 2012 to December 2020, first, using the data envelopment analysis, each hotel's productivity score is estimated, and then strategic positionings based on location, size, and price differences are spatially regressed using the spatial autoregressive panel model. Findings infer heterogeneous impacts of the different strategic positions on hotel productivity. Significant spatial spillovers of hotel productivity across neighbouring hotels were evident, highlighting the importance of place-based strategic positioning. This study therefore suggests the coexistence of both positive and negative externalities in the hotel market.
"Maximum or minimum? Strategic patterns of the lodging industry," May 2022 (joint with Michael Sykuta) [SSRN] [under review]
[Abstract] Two-dimensional Hotelling models predict that firms choose to maximally differentiate on one dominant characteristic and minimally differentiate on the other dominated characteristic. This study uses lodging tax data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to examine the joint choices of geographic location and product positioning (or brand) by multi-unit hotel operators at different market boundary levels. First, our findings suggest that greater distance between own hotels is associated with less product differentiation, which implies a max-min equilibrium. Second, considering the coexistence of horizontal and vertical differentiation, we obtain a higher likelihood at hotel will be of the same quality tier as its nearest neighbor the nearer the neighbor; while a farther distance to nearest neighbor increases the degree of quality differentiation in the scenario of vertical differentiation. This implies both min-max and max-max equilibria are obtained, respectively. Third, owners with properties at different level of quality are more likely to add new properties that are higher quality, while more geographically differentiated portfolios add lower quality properties at the margin. This implies a max-min equilibrium obtained. Therefore, our findings provide insights into the strategic motivations of multi-unit hotel operators and, within their decisions, the relevant dominance of place versus product position.
"The choices of product differentiation and ownership structure on the evolution of agglomeration," May 2019 (joint with Michael Sykuta)
[Abstract] We examine the joint effects of product differentiation and ownership structure on the evolution of the cluster in the Texas lodging industry. We focus on how the joint effects of product market strategies and ownership structures shape industry dynamics and ultimately the spatial distribution of hotels. We propose that multi-unit owners who operate a bundle of product portfolio can extract more benefits but neutralize more threats from agglomeration. First, our results show that the multi-unit owner is more likely to establish a new high-end hotel in a market even if the cluster is characterized by high counts of low-end hotels if one of the incumbents belongs to the multi-unit owner. Second, our findings indicate that the multi-unit owner who operates multiple cross-tier/same-chain hotels is more willing to establish a new high-end hotel in a market characterized by a high count of low-end hotels if one of his hotels exists in this market. Our results imply that the control on nearby incumbents avoids activities that diminish the value of the entrant of the high-end hotel in the vicinity.
Work in process
"The determinants of housing and rental prices in Taiwan: A spatial approach"
"An empirical investigation of the impacts of across online reputation systems on the performance of hotels"
Resting projects
"The effect of franchising on the performance of hotel segments," November 2018 (joint with Matthew Sveum and Michael Sykuta)
[Abstract] This study accesses the establishment data from the Census of Retail Trade (CRT) to examine how the effect of franchising influences the performance of hotel segments across all identifiable hotels in the United States in aggregate, as well as each individual quality segment. First, the findings indicate that franchising is associated with higher performance both with and without controlling the franchise status. Second, the results imply that the effects of franchising and multi-unit franchising have differential benefits based on the product quality attributes. Our results further suggest that previous studies examining franchising way have overlooked these differences.