This paper studies competition in a network industry with a stylized two layered network structure, and examines: (i) price and connectivity incentives of the upstream netwoks, and (ii) incentives for vertical integration between an upstream network provider and a downstream firm. The main result of this paper is that vertical integration occurs only if the initial installed-base difference between the upstream networks is sufficiently small, and in that case, industry is configured with two vertically integrated networks with neither of the upstream firm having an incentive to degrade the quality of interconnection. When the installed-base difference is sufficiently large, there is no integration in the industry, and the equilibrium quality of interconnection is lower compared to the equilibrium with two vertically integrated firms.
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Paper provided by Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government in its series Working Paper Series with number
rwp05-061.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: L17 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Open Source Products and Markets
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Nicholas Economides, 1995.
"The Economics of Networks,"
Working Papers
94-24, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics, revised Sep 1995.
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