Assuming a fixed-proportion downstream production technology, partial forward integration by an upstream monopolist may be observed whether the monopolist is advantaged or disadvantaged cost-wise relative to fringe firms in the downstream market. Integration need not induce cost-predation and...

In this paper we apply a model of optimal bidding behavior to the Italian wholesale electricity market under three hypotheses: i) costs of generation are private knowledge, ii) firms can be vertically integrated, and iii) firms can sell part of their production in advance with bilateral...

We examine the impact of the licensing policies of one or more upstream owners of essential intellectual property (IP hereafter) on the variety offered by a downstream industry, as well as on consumers and social welfare. When an upstream IP monopoly increases the number of licenses, it enhances...

This paper investigates an organizational design problem concerning whether duopolistic firms competing in a product market should vertically integrate or separate their marketing channels in a dynamic noncooperative game setting. Previous operational research models have shown that the...

Assuming that oligopolistic downstream firms take intermediate goods prices as given and that upstream and integrated firms choose their quantities first and simultaneously, this note shows that vertical mergers between upstream and downstream firms are procompetitive.

Catalan cotton industry has been characterised by vertical integration of manufacturing and commercialising. Until the mid 1860s this integration took several and incomplete forms, but since then travellers became the central players in cotton firms’ commercial structures. As it has been...

When building a cross-border transmission line (a so-called interconnector) as a for-profit (merchant) project, where the regulator has required that capacity allocation be done non-discriminatorily by explicit auction, the identity of the investor can affect the profitability of the...

This research aims to understand why French wine producers venture into direct sale to customers instead of selling bulk wine to wine companies. The empirical tests on the French Farm Census confirm the value of both Resource-Based Perspective and Transaction Cost Economics in understanding...

The existing studies on vertical integration focus on factors at the transaction parties’ level, such as asset specificity and contractual incompleteness. What is overlooked is the quality of the underlying institutions, in particular, contracting institutions. In this paper, using a World...

In this paper we revisit the debate on the role of vertical integration in the energy sectors: whether vertical integration between coal and electricity sectors is a path to create a competitive electricity market in China. We discuss coal-power conflict and potential anti-competitive concerns...