21. und 22. Mai X. Internationale ... - Bundeskartellamt

competition authority in Sweden. However, initiatives in this area help to boost E-
commerce and at the same time strengthen competition.
And now to the second section, protecting competition. In Sweden trade via the
Internet has increased over the last few years and will probably continue to do so
in the future. The growth of Internet trade and the use of information technology
enables companies to cut costs. Consumers hope to be able to purchase goods
at lower prices and in greater selection.
Most observers agree that prices in E-commerce have become more transparent.
Most of them seem to have come to the conclusion that prices for goods which
are distributed both online as well as offline are falling. This does not necessarily
correspond with our observations. Various behaviour can be expected. The most
expensive supplier would surely be expected to reduce his prices. However, the
supplier with the lowest prices will be induced to raise his prices. Price
differentiation will decrease. The outcome is unpredictable. Will an average price
emerge above or below the current level?
One possible way for suppliers to react to increased price competition is to fix
different prices for different consumers, i.e. price discrimination. Another strategy
is to build up strong customer relations. In many cases it is likely that the spread
of the Internet will induce some actors to try to bar others from the market.
A further, very disturbing aspect is whether the improved tecnological possibilities
to exchange sensitive information, and to hide this, will facilitate collusion
between competing firms. It is an open question whether the opportunities to
keep this form of data exchange secret force competition authorities to rely more
extensively on economic analyses of market behaviour in their pursuit of cartels
than on formal proof of such agreements.
Finally E-commerce puts the existing concepts of merger control to the test. The
definition of both the geographic and product market must be reconsidered,
particularly if products are mainly designed for distribution over the net.
If distribution over the Internet is an alternative to traditional distribution channels,
the evaluation of potential competition presents a further difficulty. How durable
are dominant positions in innovative markets? Companies dominant in these
markets may decide not to make use of their market position if excessive prices
could prompt other companies to enter the market resulting in the dominant
company losing its previous position.
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