List articles
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№ 4(94)
31 august 2023 year
Rubric: Competition in industry markets Authors: Mashegov N., Gorshkova A., Mashegov P., Ozerova N., Zaytsev A. |
Digitalization processes, external challenges and growing demands for the formation of new competencies have led to the fact that currently such a traditional sphere as education is undergoing a serious transformation both in terms of the teaching methods used and competitive strategies implemented by the subjects of the educational process. One of the most dynamically developing sectors is virtual education, It has grown over the past fifteen years from simple information sites to full-fledged virtual educational systems capable of offering customized educational products to a wide range of users. Despite the relative youth of the virtual education sector and the controversial identification of its borders, sufficient statistical and factual material has already been accumulated, which allows us to assess the level of competition and barriers to entry into this market. Identification of typical competitive entry strategies will allow both to trace the main trends in the development of this market and to assess their prospects in terms of the possibility of application by new players. The purpose of the work is to assess the level of competition in the virtual education market and identify characteristic strategies for entering this market. Based on the data of the EdTech rating and the “List of transactions in the field of virtual education for 2014–2016”, to assess competition and identify the main descriptive strategies. The level of competition was assessed based on the calculation of the Herfindahl – Hirschman Index and the calculation of the degree of market concentration. To assess the barrier of entry and the survival of startups, an analysis of the investment volumes for the projects that have survived at the moment was carried out. When grouping and describing entry strategies, monographic and historiographical methods were used, as well as an analysis of the volume of investments and the sectoral affiliation of companies. According to the results of the study, a conclusion was made about the high level of competition in this market and the average level of its concentration. A number of characteristic strategies for entering the market are identified, quantitative estimates of the volume of investments in their implementation are given. Continue... |
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| The article deals with the issues of quantitative analysis of the state of competition in the telecommunications services market, the results of which may be of significant interest for antimonopoly regulation, where the task is to determine the degree of development of competition, to identify the facts of the use of anti-competitive strategies by subjects, or other forms of competition restriction. It is promising to use the results of quantitative analysis of competition to study the trajectories of competitive behavior of individual telecommunications companies. The purpose of this article is to conduct a quantitative analysis of the state of competition in the telecommunications services market and identify the features of competitive behavior of companies operating in it. To achieve the goal, the paper proposes a system of indicators for quantitative analysis of competition, which is based on the Russian “Procedure for analyzing the state of competition in the commodity market”, and also takes into account industry-specific features of competition in the field of telecommunications services. Based on the proposed system of indicators, a quantitative assessment of the state of competition in the interregional cellular communications market of the Russian Federation was carried out. It has been established that this segment of the telecommunications market is developing as a rigid oligopoly, the boundaries of which are determined by the market shares of large cellular operators. The competitive environment is formed by significant regional companies, as well as virtual mobile operators, whose influence has increased significantly in recent years. The factor hindering the development of competition in the market is a high concentration, which, along with the presence of significant economic and administrative barriers to entry, makes the market relatively stable and determines the positional nature of competition. The study revealed a trend towards a decrease in the level of concentration and a gradual saturation of the cellular communications market, which in the future may lead to an increase in competitive tension. Continue... | |
| Railway transport plays a key role in the functioning and sustainable development of the Russian economy, providing transportation of passengers and cargo throughout the country. Modern Russia inherited the railway transport industry in the form of a post-Soviet monopoly, which itself provided transportation services, as well as by its own efforts ensured the maintenance of rolling stock in working condition, carrying out all types of wagon refurbishments. This study is devoted to the formation of an independent industry of wagon refurbishment services, as well as to the analysis of the way passed so far in building a competitive environment and further prospects for the development of the industry under study. In order to analyze the evolutionary path, the authors relied on the historical and genetic method, and the study of the current state of the wagon refurbishment services industry is based on the application of qualitative and quantitative methods, including the FAS RF market assessment methodology, the study of industries and markets combined in the approach of new institutional economics. The obtained research results allowed the authors to identify 5 stages of the evolution of this industry, characterize each of them in detail, identify features and evaluate the results obtained. Assessing the competitive environment of wagon refurbishment services formed to date, its subjects were described, the economic content of wagon refurbishment service and its types, currently used, institutions that act as a basis for coordination of the agents of the studied market were characterized in detail. According to the results of the study, the current competitive environment of the wagon refurbishment services market was assessed, including indicators of market power and concentration, and the directions and prospects for further development of the competitive environment of the domestic market of wagon refurbishment services were formulated. The theoretical significance of this study lies in the detailed description of the competitive environment of the wagon refurbishment services market, as well as the elements of its structure. The practical significance of this study lies in identifying the weaknesses of the industry and developing directions and recommendations to improve the efficiency of its functioning. Continue... | |
| For the implementation of the “fifth antimonopoly package”, FAS Russia has developed a draft amendment to the Procedure for analyzing the state of competition in the commodity market, approved by Order of FAS Russia dated April 28, 2010 No. 220 (Procedure-220). This project is currently going through the stage of public discussion, which makes relevant its analysis in terms of the challenges of the economy of modern digital markets in general, as well as methodological issues raised by the latest amendments to the Federal Law “On the Protection of competition” of July 26, 2006 No. 135-FZ in particular. The article reveals that the provisions of the project under discussion do not address all the main problems that arise in connection with the analysis of competition in digital markets: methods for analyzing market boundaries at zero prices are not proposed, there are no approaches to assessing network effects, problems of market power in conglomerate mergers are not reflected, the concept of a multilateral market and its relationship with the digital platform has not been clarified. The draft also contains inaccurate wording, leaving freedom of interpretation, which will subsequently create risks of incorrect application of antimonopoly legislation and increase the likelihood of enforcement errors. In addition, the article demonstrates that within the framework of the proposed changes, many questions and problems that are also characteristic of the analysis of traditional markets (the second criterion of the hypothetical monopolist test, analysis of the surmountability of entry barriers, limitations in the use of methods) remain unanswered. Economic analysis of law and Industrial organization theory are used as the methodological basis for the study. The result of the analysis is a set of recommendations for the regulator aimed at reducing the likelihood of enforcement errors arising as a result of gaps antimonopoly regulation. The article is of an applied nature and may be of interest to both regulatory authorities and antitrust experts. Continue... | |
| The article examines the problem of the validity of regulation of airport services’ fees and tariffs. The study is relevant amid criticism of the need for regulation in the context of commercialization of the industry given the disputes over natural monopoly’ status of airports, potential competition between airports and the viability of alternative transaction governance mechanisms. The objective of the research is to analyze possible justifications for the necessity of airport services regulation and to reveal limitations of each of justifications. The analysis is carried out within the framework of two approaches: the natural monopoly model of the theory of industry organization and a comparative analysis of discrete structural alternatives from the new institutional economic theory. The following results were obtained. Firstly, the research shows that the necessity of regulation within the framework of these approaches is justified by the presence of two risks – the risk of abuse of a dominant position and the risk of expropriation of investments made by consumers of airport services. Secondly, concerning the limitations of the justifications, the article systematizes the factors contributing to the strengthening or weakening of the market power of airports. Thirdly, the research identifies the characteristics of airports that are subject to examination when examining the need of for regulation. Fourth, it is demonstrated that the level of risk of expropriation of assets varies depending on the scale of the airport’s activities and the role of the airport in the route networks of airlines. Thus, the paper concludes that within the framework of each of the approaches considered, the decision to introduce regulation of services at airports should be made not for the industry as a whole, but for individual airports, and shows the possible risks of a selective approach to regulating services at airports (the expansion of the regulator’s discretion, the increase in the regulator’s costs due to the need for analysis for the airports under consideration, corruption risks), which must be taken into account when designing relevant regulations if a decision is made to implement the proposed approach to regulation. Continue... | |
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№ 5(95)
31 october 2023 year
Rubric: The practice of entrepreneurship in a competitive environment Authors: Knyazeva I., Boyko A. |
The article is devoted to the consideration of the influence of the ESG factor (environment, social, governance) on M&A transactions (merger and acquisitions). The article substantiates the trend of economic transformations, reflecting the fact that environmental, social and corporate responsibility are becoming one of the most important areas of company development. Climate and environmental risks pose a threat to the financial stability of the business, its corporate image and social consumer loyalty. The article examines the degree of business involvement in the ESG agenda and provides a qualitative assessment of companies’ resource needs to achieve sustainable development goals. Using the opportunities provided by the green agenda, the company strengthens its ESG positions. The purpose of the study is to consider the role of the ESG factor in mergers and acquisitions. Based on the available research on the importance of mergers and acquisitions being an effective tool for business restructuring, the authors emphasize that the ESG factor is likely to be included in the overall motivational contour of concentration transactions. At the junction of two global strategic processes – the process of economic concentration and the process of sustainable development of companies in the field of ESG, the importance of studying the ESG factor, which has a motivating influence on mergers and acquisitions, is considered. The authors draw attention to the fact that the role and place of the little-studied ESG factor in the process of mergers and acquisitions, as well as the influence of the ESG agenda in the process of business concentration will increase at all stages of mergers and acquisitions. It is noted about the advantages of buying companies specializing in green technologies, which allows you to restructure the need for investment in the creation of modern and environmentally friendly technologies. The concept of sustainability is based on the efficiency of using limited resources, which is why the results of the study are of interest to companies focused on rapid growth using M&A transactions. Continue... |
