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Interlocking Directorates and Concentration in the Italian Insurance Market

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  • Giovanni Bartolomeo
  • Paolo Canofari

Abstract

The Italian insurance market represents a peculiar and puzzling case within the European Single Market. Since the radical deregulation process in 1992, standard indicators have shown a low degree of market concentration. However, at the same time, Italian insurance costs still remain among the highest in Europe due to the existence of widespread collusive practices, which have been largely documented by both the Italian Antitrust Authority and empirical evidence. The main channel of anti-competitive behavior seems to be related to the exchange of information. To improve the understanding of its structure, our paper studies interlocking linkages among firms operating in the Italian insurance market. Interlock linkages are apparent when single directors sit on more than one company’s board. Thus, interlock linkages can be viewed as a systemic channel of information exchange and a potential source of collusive practices. We distinguish interlock linkages occurring within and between groups operating under a common ownership because companies operating in the insurance sector may be organized in multi-brand holdings. Therefore, we disentangle interlocking directorates as holding business strategies from systemic structures that might represent potential threats for the market competition. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Bartolomeo & Paolo Canofari, 2015. "Interlocking Directorates and Concentration in the Italian Insurance Market," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 351-362, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jincot:v:15:y:2015:i:4:p:351-362
    DOI: 10.1007/s10842-015-0199-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Oliver Bischoff & Achim Buchwald, 2018. "Horizontal and Vertical Firm Networks, Corporate Performance and Product Market Competition," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 25-45, March.
    2. Panitz Robert & Glückler Johannes, 2023. "Post-Brexit: Do board interlocks make banks take similar relocation decisions?," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(2), pages 127-141, August.
    3. Battaggion, Maria Rosa & Cerasi, Vittoria, 2020. "Strategic interlocking directorates," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 85-101.
    4. Maria Rosa Battaggion & Vittoria Cerasi, 2018. "Endogenous interlocking directorates," Working Papers 380, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised 01 May 2018.

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