Costs of Sales Forces, Substitution between Competing Products, and Vertical Integration Decisions

This paper analyzes duopolistic firms’ vertical integration decisions with considering costs of sales forces and sales delegation under vertical integration. The main contribution of our research is showing that full vertical integration (separation) is more common when competing products are highly (weakly) substitutable. Second, contrary to conventional wisdom, an asymmetric vertical structure may not only be an equilibrium outcome but may also be optimal for consumers’ surplus in spite of yielding higher retail prices than those arising under full vertical integration. We also examine the impacts of vertical structures on welfare which have vertical merger policy relevance. First, when products are weakly substitutable, keeping vertical merger costs low may induce full vertical integration to be an equilibrium outcome which optimizes consumers’ surplus and social welfare simultaneously. Second, imposing a vertical merger tax increasing with substitution between products on firms may induce firms’ vertical integration decisions to be optimal for social welfare.

Platform mergers and antitrust

Should internet era merger policy differ from industrial era merger policy? Platform ecosystems rely on economies of scale, data-driven economies of scope, high-quality algorithmic systems, and strong network effects that frequently promote winner-take-most markets. Their market dominance has generated competition concerns that appear difficult to assess with traditional merger policy tools. This paper examines the acquisition strategies of the five major U.S. platforms—Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft—since their inception. We discuss the main merger and acquisition theories of harm and how these operate differently than in the past. To address merger and acquisition concerns of multi-sided platforms, we develop four proposals that incorporate (i) a new ex ante regulatory framework, (ii) an update of the conditions under which the notification of mergers should be compulsory and the burden of proof should be reversed, (iii) differential regulatory priorities in investigating horizontal versus vertical acquisitions, and (iv) an update of competition enforcement tools to increase visibility into market data and trends.

ANALISIS DAMPAK KEBIJAKAN MERGER DALAM PENGEMBANGAN BANK SYARIAH DI INDONESIA

This study aims to analyze the impact of the merger policy on the progress of Islamic banks. The slow progress of Islamic banks in Indonesia makes experts think of a policy so that Islamic banks can develop rapidly. This type of research is library research, which is a series of activities that focus more on the methods of collecting library data, reading, taking notes and analyzing research materials. This type of research uses qualitative methods. The nature of this research is descriptive analysis, which is to systematically explain the data obtained as they are and be analyzed in depth. The results of this study are the sharia bank merger policy has not been able to increase the market share of Islamic banks in Indonesia, even the chance of decreasing the market share of Islamic banks is very high considering that many small Islamic banks will be unable to compete with the merged Islamic banks. It is different if the policy issued is to establish a new Sharia BUMN Bank. This policy will make competition more evenly distributed because it is seen from the asset side between Islamic banks that the difference is not too far away. Keyword : Policy; Merger; Islamic Banks Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dampak kebijakan merger dalam kemajuan bank syariah. Lambatnya kemajuan bank syariah di Indonesia membuat para ahli memikirkan suatu kebijakan agar bank syariah dapat berkembang pesat. Jenis penelitian ini adalah library research, yaitu rangkaian kegiatan yang lebih menitikberatkan pada metode pengumpulan data pustaka, membaca, dan mencatat serta menganalisis bahan penelitian. Jenis penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif. Sifat penelitian ini adalah analisis deskriptif yaitu menjelaskan data-data yang diperoleh apa adanya secara sistematis dan dianalisis secara mendalam. Hasil penelitian ini adalah kebijakan merger bank syariah belum bisa menaikkan market share bank syariah di Indonesia, bahkan peluang turunnya market share bank syariah sangat tinggi mengingat banyak bank syariah-bank syariah kecil yang akan kalah bersaing dengan bank syariah hasil merger. Berbeda halnya jika kebijakan yang dikeluarkan adalah mendirikan Bank BUMN Syariah yang baru. Kebijakan tersebut akan membuat persaingan lebih merata karena dilihat dari sisi aset antara bank syariah selisihnya tidak terlalu jauh. Kata Kunci: Kebijakan; Merger; Bank Syariah

PELUANG DAN TANTANGAN MERGER BANK SYARIAH MILIK NEGARA DI INDONESIA PADA MASA PANDEMI COVID-19

The existence of COVID-19 in Indonesia had an impact on economy, including banking sector. However, sharia banking sector didn’t show a positive trend. However, even though sharia banking shows a positive trend, penetration rate of Islamic banking market in Indonesia is still relatively small when compared to conventional banking. That has made government decide to make a merger policy in state-owned sharia banking in hope that it can increase market penetration in Indonesia. This article is written to analyze about opportunities and challenges of merger policy for sharia banking considering the large role of sharia banking in improving country's economy. On the other hand, this policy was implemented in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article uses qualitative data analysis with descriptive methods and through a literature study approach. The data analysis focuses on the opportunities and challenges of the sharia banking merger policy by Indonesian’s government. Researchers use secondary data as a source for making articles. Based on research results, the formation of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) as a result of merger provides many opportunities such as increasing assets, expanding market penetration, and operating cost efficiency. Meanwhile, financing and operational risk are two big challenges that need attention. This study contributes as inputs for stakeholders’ decisions in developing Islamic bank and finance