Competition Policy and Business Strategy
Oxford, United Kingdom
18 July 2006
Hosted By: the Oxford University Business Economics Programme
NERA Director Dr. Mark Williams delivered a presentation on the impact of competition policy on business strategy at the Oxford University Business Economics Programme (OUBEP) on 18 July 2006. Dr. Williams has advised on many of the highest profile and most controversial cases of the last decade, and drew from this experience to discuss the aspects of competition policy -- cartels, antitrust, and merger control -- that have the greatest impact on international business strategy.
In his presentation, Dr. Williams argued that criminal and civil penalties for cartel conduct, as well as the increasingly global nature of enforcement, imply that a full and effective compliance programme is a necessary ingredient of any business strategy. He also discussed how fines levied on firms for unilateral business conduct -- including for tying and bundling, discount and rebate schemes, and predatory pricing -- suggest that any firm with a strong market position must accept some constraints on its business strategy. Meanwhile, merger control at US agencies and the European Commission, as well as national merger control, are now arguably the binding constraint on mergers and acquisitions activity.
The OUBEP programme is the continuation of the Oxford University Business Summer School (OUBSS), which has been held continuously since 1953. The programme is one of the longest running executive training programmes in Europe and has attracted numerous delegates who later became CEOs of global corporations. For further information about the programme, please visit www.oubep.com.
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