THE CHALLENGE OF ELECTRONIC COMPETITION: Empirical Analysis of Substitution Effects on the Demand for Letter Services

摘要: Substitution of letter mail through electronic communications has been a subject growing concern in recent years. The emergence new telecommunications media, such as facsimiles, (e-mail) and data interchange (EDI), is considered to be fundamental threat traditional mail. Estimating the substitution effects important not only for postal operators who must adapt their strategic decisions face competition; it equally vital regulators, because changing regulatory environment influences vice versa.