What impact do vertical mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have on the success of companies, their pricing, market power and innovations? Katharina Erhardt and Joel Stiebale successfully submitted a project proposal to the Fritz Thyssen Foundation with this question in focus. The foundation will fund the research project over the next two years.
Traditionally, competition regulators have tended to focus on horizontal mergers. However, more recent sector-specific studies indicate that vertical mergers need to be reassessed. In view of the fact that this assessment is increasingly being critically questioned, Prof Erhardt and Prof Stiebale are investigating the effects of vertical domestic and international M&A activities on the performance of companies, on prices, on market power and on innovation.