Plattformbasierte Ökosysteme im Kartellrecht

Platform-based ecosystems have gained particular importance in antitrust law. In his thesis, the author develops a coherent understanding of these ecosystems by elaborating the technical and economic interrelation-ships as well as the competitive characteristics. He shows that the economic power of platform-based ecosystems can only be grasped by considering the system as a whole, looking beyond narrow market boundaries and analysing interdependencies across markets. With the concept of elastic market boundaries and the market power criteria of cross-market activities, the author develops concrete proposals that facilitate the assessment. He also draws important conclusions for the application of Section 19a ARC.