Research Objective

This project researches how antitrust law compliance programs can be designed and implemented best. Existing research is augmented by providing empirical results from a comprehensive survey of firms' compliance efforts. Moreover, we provide model-theoretic analyses of compliance, e.g., information acquisition and compliance training, or the optimal design of payment schemes. This will help to strengthen the scientific foundation of compliance and facilitate the design of effective compliance programs in practice.

The main objective of this research project is to scientifically identify a solid basis of knowledge on compliance. This will help firms to design antitrust compliance programs effectively and discuss the value of such programs with competition authorities most stringently. Our work complements existing research that identifies facilitating factors for collusion. We contribute to this literature by explicitly focusing on events that trigger the start of a collusive agreement rather than concentrating on factors that make a market more conducive to collusion in general. Based on this work, we research how these factors can be mitigated effectively, which promotes compliant behavior and benefits both the firms and their customers.