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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 August 2016
Recent papers by Steinherr [6], Vanek [7] and Ireland and Law [3] have been concerned with the question as to whether profitmaximising firms (C-firms) advertise more than labour-managed firms (LM firms). Ireland and Law follow the approach suggested by Dorfman and Steiner [2] and examine the price and advertising elasticities of the demand function. Within this framework Ireland and Law show that α/H = n/ε is a necessary optimising condition for both the C-firm and the LM-firm.
where α is sales promotion
H is total revenue
ε is the price elasticity of demand (times — 1)
n is the elasticity of demand with respect to sales promotion.
Consequently, in the particular case where the demand curve facing the firm can be locally approximated by a constant elasticities function, both firms will have the same α/H ratio. In the more general case the outcome is ambiguous.