Market Definition Research Articles

Relevant Market - Digital Challenges

Market definition is a specific and important tool used in European competition enforcement practice to identify boundaries of competition between undertakings; it is used both in antitrust and merger cases. The EU Market Definition Notice was adopted in 1997 in conditions of conventional markets with relatively stable market structures. With respect to recent development, especially digitalisation and globalisation of economy, the Commission launched the process of evaluation of the Notice in March 2020, and the revised notice has to be published in Q3 2023. Having in mind profound changes challenging various aspects of the original market definition, the article lists at first the most important features of digital economy, especially importance of innovation conditioning rapid changes of the market. Regarding the fact that the main principles of market definition were confirmed as sound until now, the short characteristics of the relevant market follow. The core part of the article aims to present and discuss different approaches to market definition, methods of market assessment included, taking into account the corresponding case law and legal writings reflecting digital circumstances making markets interconnected like never before. The article confronts also sometimes differing opinions of theory and practice in approach to market definition. Analysis is carried out with the ambition to find out whether it is possible – based on case specific approach of competition authorities – to draw general conclusions necessary for coherent conception of the revised market definition, or at least unifying recommendations for the legal practice for the sake of legal certainty. Outcomes of the analysis are summarised in the conclusion, in context with the draft market definition notice.

Religiosity scales in marketing research

PurposeThis paper aims to identify religiosity scale usage in academic marketing articles and compare the effectiveness of different religiosity scales in predicting marketing and consumer behavior outcomes.Design/methodology/approachArticles (n = 397) in the top 20 marketing journals are reviewed and a follow-up study is conducted that compares 22 religiosity scales in predicting 18 marketing variables.FindingsMost scales are from preexisting sources (64.3%), only 20% are multi-dimensional and over 58% are used in only one journal article. Only 22.5% of possible regressions in the follow-up study predicting marketing variables from religiosity scales were significant.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited by the journals and dependent variables chosen. Implications include diversify research topics, expand publication outlets, decrease use of author-generated scales, increase use of multi-item and multi-dimensional measures, replicate findings methodologically and conceptually and make cultural context adaptations.Practical implicationsMarketers would benefit from using preexisting scales, ensuring that religiosity is measured using a multi-item measure that contains appropriate items for the dominant religious beliefs of the sample, as well as consider multi-dimensional measures to best guide marketing strategy decisions, such as target market definition.Originality/valueThis is the first research study to compare the use of religiosity scales in marketing. This offers key value to the marketing literature by highlighting tactics to take to improve consistency in research practices to increase the comparability and accuracy of findings.

A case study on the market definition in the gaming industry

A case study on the market definition in the gaming industry

Antitrust Economics of Cryptocurrency Mining

Abstract The development of blockchain-based applications, to date mostly virtual currencies, touches many areas of law and economics. The most well-known applications of public blockchains rely on Proof of Work as a consensus mechanism in which miners compete to solve a cryptographic puzzle. We argue that economic tools for market definition may be adapted to delineate relevant cryptocurrency mining markets. Antitrust law can help to prevent network attacks and exclusion of transactions with lower fees by large miners. When multiple blockchains are part of the same market, the role of network effects in securing the leading position of more established cryptocurrencies can potentially lead to exclusionary behaviour.

The centralised sale of football media rights in Europe

ABSTRACT We analyse the competitive effects of the centralised sale of football media rights in Europe, focusing on the “Big Five” countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain). Contrary to the findings of European competition authorities, we consider that there are arguments in favour of the relevant market for domestic media rights being club- or even match-specific. This raises the question of what competition is restricted by the centralised sale if the rights on offer have limited or no substitutability. We conclude that the centralised sale of media rights is unlikely to be anticompetitive and may have procompetitive effects if the media rights of different clubs are complementary instead of substitutable. In addition, there may be efficiency gains from the bundling of media rights. Under a club or match-specific market definition, a no-single-buyer rule likely reduces the benefits from the centralised sale and may harm consumers.

The evolving concept of market power in the digital economy

Assessing market power is central to the CMA’s cases, including cases involving digital markets. Over the past few years, it has adapted its approach to deal effectively with digital markets and revised its guidance to reflect that approach. In dealing with digital cases, the CMA has not found that a new notion of market power was needed specifically for the digital space or for it to be able to capture its concerns in digital markets. However, it has revised its guidance to reflect how it conducts its assessment, including placing less emphasis on a formalistic market definition exercise and more emphasis on dynamic constraints, considering innovation as the current process of rivalry through investment decisions and incorporated the threat of entry when determining current competitive constraints. It has also considered characteristics like multi-sidedness, network effects and any resulting tipping dynamics in performing its assessments. The CMA’s current tools sometimes struggle to deal effectively with digital markets; therefore, the CMA’s Digital Markets Taskforce has recommended the introduction of a new ex ante regulatory regime to proactively shape the behaviour of particularly powerful digital firms and to prevent consumer harm from arising, including a new test to identify what firms should be subject to this new regime which includes, as an integral part, an assessment of market power.

독일 연방카르텔청의 온라인 플랫폼 기업결합 시장획정 사례 분석

독일 연방카르텔청의 온라인 플랫폼 기업결합 시장획정 사례 분석

Market Definition and Market Power in the Era of Blockchain

While in the last decade, competition law authorities have mainly been concerned with platform businesses, a new technology – the Blockchain – should now attract the attention of regulators. Even though some aspects of said technology have been covered with different legal frameworks in Switzerland and the European Union, this has not been the case with competition law. The article addresses this gap and aims to provide a method for defining markets in the context of the blockchain technology. Furthermore, the analysis sheds light on the determination of market power as the special blockchain infrastructure has proven to cause new problems.

Defining Relevant Markets in the Digital Era: Lessons from Merger Control in Brazil, Chile and Mexico

Abstract Relevant market definition methodology has been a thorny issue over the years for antitrust doctrine and practice. This is especially true when it comes to digital markets, in which prices may not be a significant variable for defining relevant markets. Traditional or static views of competition may result in improper market definitions, which might result in the clearance of mergers in digital markets because antitrust authorities define market shares according to traditional methods of measurement. However, this seems like a chicken-and-egg problem, because it is only by appropriately defining relevant markets that it is possible to establish if market shares are high or low. This article discusses practical implications for antitrust enforcement derived from the relevant market definitions adopted in high-profile digital market mergers in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Many of these cases have elements of conglomerate or vertical integration that go beyond traditional demand substitution measurement and test the authorities’ ability to foresee future competitive scenarios in which digital competition and brick-and-mortar competition have become increasingly complementary. These cases also show an increasingly large role of data concentration as a driver in the attractiveness of the acquisitions.

Evolving market boundaries and competition policy enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry

Competition investigations start with market definition, which establishes the perimeter of the competitive analysis. In this paper, we focus on the definition of economic markets in the pharmaceutical industry, where the entry of generics in different therapeutic areas provides a sequence of quasi-natural experiments involving a significant competitive shock for the originator producer. We show how generic entry modifies price and non-price competitive constraints over time, generating market-wide effects. Paradoxically, generic entry may soften the competitive pressure for brands other than the originator. We obtain these results by econometrically estimating time-varying price elasticities. We then apply the logic of the Hypothetical Monopolist Test to gauge the strength of competitive constraints under different market structures. Our results provide strong empirical support for an approach that defines relevant markets contingent on the theory of harm. We discuss the relevance of these findings in the context of ongoing cases.

From monocle to spectacles: competition for data and “data ecosystem building”

ABSTRACT “Data ecosystem” companies on the digital market are unique in that they attain market power through their combination of personal data across many markets. Due to strong network effects of personal data, exploited on a conglomerate level, competition has moved beyond competition on the market and even beyond competition for the market: there is now competition for data. Consequently, we must reconsider not only the traditional concept of market power and market definition, but even the competitive analysis of alleged abuses. Therefore, the Commission’s singular focus on anti-competitive foreclosure does not do justice to the complex competitive effects of data ecosystems’ conduct. Only by fundamentally integrating competitive assessment with personal data protection can we understand data ecosystems and their role in the digital landscape. In order to fully capture the anti-competitive effects and harm done to consumer welfare, we must consider “data ecosystem building” as its own theory of harm.

Competitive conditions in development finance

This paper evaluates the competitive conditions in development finance and the implications for successfully mobilising private sector finance in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using a market definition of cross-border development finance, the analysis uses financial data for 61 development banks from FitchConnect from 2010–2019 and applies the Panzar–Rosse test, supplemented with additional tests for market equilibrium, to gauge the competitive conditions. The key finding is that the international development finance market is in long-term equilibrium and is structured as a competitive oligopoly. The implication is that successful mobilisation of private sector finance will require more innovative structural and funding solutions. Crowding-in of private sector banks on existing terms and in large scale is likely to fall short due to lack of profitability and risk appetite. This has direct implications for the ability of the global financial system to deliver the SDGs.

Empirical geographic market definition for antitrust: The case of the Russian cement market

Empirical geographic market definition for antitrust: The case of the Russian cement market

Pandemic impacts on cinema industry and over-the-top platforms in China

Over-the-top platforms are increasingly being accepted by the younger generation. This study examines the different modes of watching films that have emerged due to the proliferation of over-the-top platforms, smartphones, and 5G technologies during the pandemic period in China. Using survey data, we examine the perception and behavior of 592 respondents. The top five factors in increasing over-the-top platforms to watch movies include easy access, various genres, no time to visit a cinema, pandemic, and new films. Findings also show that users tend to use smartphones to access over-the-top platforms. Bilibili, Tencent Video, and iQIYI are China's most popular over-the-top platforms among viewers. Increasing cinema ticket prices, pandemics, lack of quality content, and film stories are significant challenges for the cinema industry in the near future. These results suggest that the film industry should maintain the quality of the movies, especially those released on the cinema screen. These findings also designate significant substitution between the over-the-top platform and cinema and recommend that competition authorities widen market definitions. The cinema environment and IMAX/3D appear to have little incentive to degrade over-the-top platforms, despite over-the-top's films contributing to declining box office revenue.

ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ КАТЕГОРІЇ РИНКУ ПРАЦІ В ЕКОНОМІЧНІЙ ДУМЦІ

In the history of economic studies, there were various concepts, theories and schools, the basis of which evolution was based on differences in the methodology and methods of analysis, in the knowledge of the subject and the object of research, the role of the nature of work and the functioning mechanism of the labor market. A significant contribution was made by the founders of classical political economy to the understanding of the labor market functioning mechanism, who for the first time began to consider the category of "labor market" at the scientific level. The definition of the labor market, given by K. Marx, was taken as a basis many years ago when researching the labor force category and was defined as the most complete and correct, and it remains so today. The theoretical postulates of K. Marx's theory still remain the basis of the modern views of the majority of scientists regarding the essence of work and the labor market. A significant contribution to the definition of the labor market functioning mechanism was made by J. M. Keynes and his school, who developed their own powerful concept of economic regulation, and the Keynesian model of the labor market and employment is based on the need for government intervention in the management of macroeconomic processes. Monetarists had opposite positions to Keynesians, denying the need for state intervention in macroeconomic activity due to the fact that the market economy is a self-adjusting system, a price mechanism that determines the rational level of employment, and the use of monetary policy tools is necessary to balance the labor market. The institutional sociological school proposes to solve employment problems through institutional reforms; she brought two modifications to economic thought – the "contract theory of employment" and the "theory of the flexible labor market", which are still relevant today. Among modern domestic researchers, there is still no consensus on the definition of the labor market and its main elements. The main problematic points that cause the most controversy remain the same since classical times, and the ways of overcoming unemployment and leveling its consequences have not yet been found, and the achievement of full employment in the economy is still unattainable, and the measures developed by the analyzed schools of economics remain relevant, therefore it makes sense to carefully analyze them in order to borrow effective mechanisms. Objective – сomprehensive definition of the labor market category in a retrospective section in order to increase its content. General scientific methods were used as research methods: comparison, analysis and synthesis, generalization, analytical, descriptive, typification, grouping.

Demand estimation and market definition in quality-differentiated products: The case of beer in Argentina

This paper analyzes the issue of demand estimation and market definition in industries where products differ according to their quality levels. An econometric methodology based on substitution elasticities is explained, and then applied to the Argentine beer industry, using data from the period 2011–2017. The results are compared to equivalent ones obtained using an alternative methodology, concluding that in Argentina we can identify two relevant markets inside the beer industry (corresponding to high/medium quality beers, and low quality beers).

Effect on Trade Between Member States:

This article examines a judgment of the Supreme Court of Hungary (the Curia), in which the Curia called upon in connection with the effect on trade between Member States its holding that competition authorities – compared to other administrative authorities – are required to establish a higher standard of proof in order to draw a reasonable conclusion as to the existence of an infringement. It ruled that this would be in order to draw a reasonable conclusion as to the existence of an infringement. This requirement comes from the quasi-criminal nature of competition proceedings. In this declaration, from the context of the effect on trade between Member States, the Curia equated the applicable standard of proof to substantial competition law infringements with the criterion of applicable law, which only determines appropriate applications of EU competition law. In this article, we present the relevant parts of this case before scrutinising the related literature, legislation and case law. After presenting the case, we analyse the effects on trade between Member States, as well as the role of the market definition in establishing inter-state trade. Then, we turn our attention to questions related to proof and evidence in competition law, both in the context of substantial infringements of law and of the effects on trade between Member States. The Ziegler case points to the direction that these two cannot be equated. In the end, we sketch out the consequences arising from the Curia’s judgment. Keywords: effect on trade between Member States; NAAT-rule; market definition; applicable law; standard of proof; case law

ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ РЫНКА ТРУДА В СОВРЕМЕННЫХ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ УСЛОВИЯХ: СТРАТЕГИИ И ИНСТРУМЕНТЫ

The labor market, like any other market, is influenced by the economic situation developing in the economy. At the same time, its condition, key figures characterizing it, serve to brightly indicating the general socio-economic state of society, and to signal the emergence, deepening and increase of various issues associated with the growth of social tension in society. The paper summarizes various approaches to the definition and characterization of the labor market, it also gives a comprehensive analysis of trends, magnitude and dynamics of changes in various factors affecting the current state of the labor market, the specifics of the employment distribution among the population and the direction of transformation of the labor market. The considered aspects and factors radically change the traditional relations that have developed in the labor market. The changes taking place in the labor market affect both working conditions and, directly, working practice, changes in which are manifested in the disappearance of certain professions and the emergence of new ones, what, on the one hand, can lead to multidirectional fluctuations in the unemployment rate, and on the other hand, to an increase in the qualification requirements for potential employees. The current situation presupposes the adoption of urgent measures for various economic agents to organize their coordinated activities in order to control and regulate the relationships developing in the labor market wherein the determining role is assigned to state authorities.

The Role of Market Definition in Setting Antitrust Fines

The Role of Market Definition in Setting Antitrust Fines

Small inland shipping in the Netherlands: Operating below the radar?

As the need for more sustainable and flexible transport continues to grow, inland shipping is emerging as a sector of interest. This paper is about small inland shipping in the Netherlands with a focus on dry cargo ships. There is currently only a limited number of studies specifically focussed on small dry cargo shipping. It has been at the centre of a societal and political debate in the Netherlands in which it has alternately attracted both positive and negative views. The recurring themes in this debate have been the shrinking of the fleet, the age of ships, the lack of entrepreneurial spirit among skippers and the sustainability of small inland shipping. Despite these discussions, there is currently no analysis of the dry cargo shipping market in the Netherlands.This paper presents an analysis of small dry cargo shipping in the Netherlands from three perspectives: fleet, cargo transport and inland ports. The analysis revealed that the size of the Dutch active small fleet is decreasing significantly. The transport performance also follows a negative development trend. However, there are also positive developments such as a slight increase in the number of trips, the average number of tonnes per loaded trip, the average number of kilometres per loaded trip and the average load factor. Another positive development is the increase in cargo throughput at inland ports situated along small waterways. Previous studies used different market definitions of small dry cargo shipping. This has an impact on the assessment of small dry cargo shipping’s development.