asendatavuse

Asendatavus, commonly translated as substitutability, is the property by which one item can replace another in a given context without significant loss of function, quality, or usefulness. It is context-dependent and influenced by price, performance, compatibility, availability, and user preferences.

In economics, substitutability is central to both consumer and production theory. For goods, substitutes are items where a price rise of one increases demand for the other (positive cross-price elasticity). The degree of substitutability ranges from close to weak substitutes. In production, inputs may replace each other; the elasticity of substitution measures the ease of this replacement in a production function, with models such as the constant-elasticity of substitution capturing different degrees of substitutability. Substitutability also interacts with complements and network effects, affecting market competition and welfare.

Applications include product design, procurement, inventory management, and risk analysis. Higher substitutability can lower costs and increase resilience by providing alternatives; low substitutability may raise switching costs and lock-in. Regulatory and policy considerations may promote substitutability to foster competition or standardization.

Limitations include context dependence and non-quantifiable factors such as perception and brand loyalty. Substitutability is not binary and evolves with technology, regulation, and changing tastes. In practice, assessing asendatavus involves qualitative judgment and, when possible, quantitative measures such as cross-price elasticities and input substitution rates to inform decisions in markets, design, and policy.