On the Stability of Research Joint Ventures: Implications for Collusion

Though there is a body of theoretical literature on research joint ventures (RJV) participation facilitating collusion, empirical tests are rare. Even more so, there are few empirical tests on the general theme of collusion. This note tries to fill this gap by assuming a correspondence between the stability of research joint ventures and collusion. By using data from the US Nation Cooperation Research Act, we show that large RJVs in concentrated industries are more stable and hence more suspect to collusion

The Dynamics of Research Joint Ventures: A Panel Data Analysis

The aim of this paper is to test the determinants of Research Joint Ventures’ (RJVs) group dynamics. We look at entry, exit and turbulence in RJVs that have been set up under the US National Cooperative Research Act, which allows for certain antitrust exemptions in order to stimulate firms to cooperate in R&D. Accounting for unobserved project characteristics and controlling for inter-RJV interactions and industry effects, the Tobit panel regressions show the importance of group and time features for an RJV’s evolution. We further identify an average RJV’s long-term equilibrium size and assess its determining factors. Ours is a first attempt to produce robust stylized facts about cooperational short- and long-term dynamics, an important but neglected dimension in research cooperations

Merger failures

This paper proposes an explanation as to why some mergers fail, based on the interaction between the pre- and post-merger processes. We argue that failure may stem from informational asymmetries arising from the pre-merger period, and problems of cooperation and coordination within recently merged firms. We show that a partner may optimally agree to merge and abstain from putting forth any post-merger effort, counting on the other partner to make the necessary efforts. If both follow the same course of action, the merger goes ahead but fails. Our unique equilibrium allows us to make predictions on which mergers are more likely to fail.Mergers, Synergies, Asymmetric Information, Complementarities

The Dynamics of Research Joint Ventures: A Panel Data Analysis

The aim of this paper is to test the determinants of Research Joint Ventures’ (RJVs) group dynamics. We look at entry, exit and turbulence in RJVs that have been set up under the US National Cooperative Research Act, which allows for certain antitrust exemptions in order to stimulate firms to cooperate in R&D. Accounting for unobserved project characteristics and controlling for inter-RJV interactions and industry effects, the Tobit panel regressions show the importance of group and time features for an RJV’s evolution. We further identify an average RJV’s long-term equilibrium size and assess its determining factors. Ours is a first attempt to produce robust stylized facts about cooperational short- and long-term dynamics, an important but neglected dimension in research cooperations. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG - Die Dynamik in Forschungskooperationen: Eine Paneldatenanalyse. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Analyse der entscheidenden Einflussfaktoren auf die Gruppendynamik in Forschungsgemeinschaften. Wir betrachten Einstieg, Ausstieg und Bewegungen innerhalb von Forschungsgemeinschaften, die unter dem US National Cooperative Research Act gegründet wurden. Der Cooperative Research Act befreit die teilnehmenden Unternehmen von kartell- und monopolrechtlichen Beschränkungen um Anreize für Kooperationen im Bereich Forschung und Entwicklung zu schaffen. Unter Berücksichtigung von unbeobachtbaren Projektcharakteristika und Überwachung von industriespezifischen Effekten und Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Forschungsgemeinschaften zeigt die Tobit-Regression die Wirkung von Gruppen- und Periodenmerkmalen auf die Entwicklung einer Forschungskooperation. Weiterhin wird die durchschnittliche langfristige Größe einer Forschungsgemeinschaft im Gleichgewicht beschrieben und ihre Bestimmungsfaktoren werden untersucht. Der Aufsatz stellt einen ersten Versuch dar, robuste stilisierte Fakten zu kurz- und langfristigen Triebkräften von Kooperationen zu extrahieren um einen Beitrag zu einem zu Unrecht vernachlässigten Teilbereich der Forschung zu leisten.Research Joint Ventures, Dynamics, Panel Data

On the Stability of Research Joint Ventures: Implications for Collusion

Though there is a body of theoretical literature on research joint ventures (RJV) participation facilitating collusion, empirical tests are rare. Even more so, there are few empirical tests on the general theme of collusion. This note tries to fill this gap by assuming a correspondence between the stability of research joint ventures and collusion. By using data from the US Nation Cooperation Research Act, we show that large RJVs in concentrated industries are more stable and hence more suspect to collusion.research joint ventures; product market collusion; empirical test

On The Stability of Research Joint Ventures: Implications for Collusion

Though there is a body of theoretical literature on research joint venture (RJV) participation facilitating collusion, empirical tests are rare. Even more so, there are few empirical tests on the general theme of collusion. This note tries to fill this gap by assuming a correspondence between the stability of research joint ventures and collusion. By using data from the U.S. National Cooperation Research Act, we show that large RJVs in concentrated industries are more stable and hence more suspect to collusion. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG - Trotz einer Vielzahl von theoretischen Studien, die zeigen, dass Kollusion durch Forschungsallianzen erleichtert werden kann, fehlen empirische Arbeiten, die diesen Zusammenhang bestätigen. Noch erstaunlicher ist die allgemein geringe Anzahl von empirischen Untersuchungen auf dem Forschungsgebiet der Kollusion. Dieser Aufsatz versucht diese Lücke zu schließen wobei unterstellt wird, dass ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Stabilität von Joint-Ventures und der Entstehung von Kollusionen besteht. Anhand von Daten des U.S. National Cooperation Research Act zeigen wir, dass große Forschungsallianzen in stark konzentrierten Branchen stabiler und daher eher der Absprache verdächtig sind.Research Joint Ventures, Product Market Collusion, Empirical Test

Collusion through Joint R&D: An Empirical Assessment

This paper tests whether upstream R&D cooperation leads to downstream collusion. We consider an oligopolistic setting where firms enter in research joint ventures (RJVs) to lower production costs or coordinate on collusion in the product market. We show that a sufficient condition for identifying collusive behavior is a decline in the market share of RJV-participating firms, which is also necessary and sufficient for a decrease in consumer welfare. Using information from the US National Cooperation Research Act, we estimate a market share equation correcting for the endogeneity of RJV participation and R&D expenditures. We find robust evidence that large networks between direct competitors – created through firms being members in several RJVs at the same time – are conducive to collusive outcomes in the product market which reduce consumer welfare. By contrast, RJVs among non-competitors are efficiency enhancing.Research Joint Ventures; Innovation; Collusion; NCRA

The Dynamics of Research Joint Ventures: A Panel Data Analysis

The aim of this paper is to test the determinants of Research Joint Ventures’ (RJVs) group dynamics. We look at entry, exit and turbulence in RJVs that have been set up under the US National Cooperative Research Act, which allows for certain antitrust exemptions in order to stimulate firms to cooperate in R&D. Accounting for unobserved project characteristics and controlling for inter-RJV interactions and industry effects, the Tobit panel regressions show the importance of group and time features for an RJV’s evolution. We further identify an average RJV’s long-term equilibrium size and assess its determining factors. Ours is a first attempt to produce robust stylized facts about cooperational short- and long-term dynamics, an important but neglected dimension in research cooperations.research joint ventures; dynamics; panel data

Remedy for Now but Prohibit for Tomorrow: The Deterrence Effects of Merger Policy Tools

Antitrust policy involves not just the regulation of anti-competitive behavior, but also an important deterrence effect. Neither scholars nor policymakers have fully researched the deterrence effects of merger policy tools, as they have been unable to empirically measure these effects. We consider the ability of different antitrust actions – Prohibitions, Remedies, and Monitorings – to deter firms from engaging in mergers. We employ cross-jurisdiction/pan-time data on merger policy to empirically estimate the impact of antitrust actions on future merger frequencies. We find merger prohibitions to lead to decreased merger notifications in subsequent periods, and remedies to weakly increase future merger notifications: in other words, prohibitions involve a deterrence effect but remedies do not

Mergers, Investment Decisions and Internal Organisation

We analyse the effects of investment decisions and firms' internal organisation on the efficiency and stability of horizontal mergers. In our framework economies of scale are endogenous and there might be internal conflict within merged firms. We show that often stable mergers do not lead to more efficiency and may even lead to efficiency losses. These mergers lead to lower total welfare, suggesting that a regulator should be careful in assuming that possible efficiency gains of a merger will be effiectively realised. Moreover, the paper offers a possible explanation for merger failures.Horizontal Mergers, Investment, Efficiency gains, Internal Conflict.