Market dominance in the new economy

Abstract

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS TO ANALYZE THE MAIN ISSUES IN COMPETITION THEORY THAT MAY EMERGE FROM THE INTERACTION EXISTING BETWEEN THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS, MARKET POWER, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND COMPETITION LAW IN THE NEW ECONOMY. WE SOUGHT TO EXAMINE BOTH THE DYNAMIC ROLE OF UNDERTAKINGS AND MARKETS IN AN INNOVATIVE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH COMPETITION POLICY IMPLICITLY INVOLVES A CHOICE AMONG ALTERNATIVE INNOVATIVE PATHS AND THE INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERACTION BETWEEN TWO GREAT FIELDS OF STUDY, LAW AND ECONOMICS, AND THEIR JOINT USE TO PROVIDE ONE INTELLECTUAL FRAMEWORK WHICH FACILITATES A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF ISSUES CONCERNING COMPETITION LAW. IN THE NEW ECONOMY, INNOVATION IS RECOGNIZED AS A CENTRAL FEATURE OF MARKET COMPETITION, SITTING AT THE HEART OF THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS. THERE IS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO DYNAMIC COMPETITION – BUT ALL OF THEM DEMONSTRATE A SIMILAR POINT: IF POLICY MAKERS WANT TO TAKE INNOVATION AND CHANGE AS A CORE COMPONENT OF THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS, THEY NEED NEW ANALYTICAL APPROACHES THAT TREAT THESE PHENOMENA AS THE MAIN ACT RATHER THAN THE SIDESHOW.