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Competition

The Problems with the Paramount–Warner Merger

Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, governance expert Nell Minow, and co-author Stephen Henriques argue that the proposed combination would illegally concentrate power in Hollywood, weaken labor markets, and carry mounting financial risks, even if it ultimately closes.

People holding "block the merger" signs.
  • The End of Noncompete Agreements May Be Near

    Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission unveiled a proposal that would block companies from limiting their employees’ ability to work for a rival through noncompete agreements. We asked Yale SOM’s Fiona Scott Morton about the ban’s potential impact on wages, innovation, and the economy as a whole.

    A drawing of a bird escaping a cage
  • Did Ticketmaster’s Market Dominance Fuel the Chaos for Swifties?

    Taylor Swift fans scrambling for concert tickets faced endless queues and crashes on the Ticketmaster website. Yale SOM economist Florian Ederer explains the antitrust issues at play and the tradeoffs inherent in satisfying overwhelming demand.

    Taylor Swift performs at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2019.
  • Could Russia Really Go Nuclear?

    We asked Paul Bracken, an expert in nuclear strategy, how this “unthinkable” scenario would play out.

    Mobile missile systems in a parade in Moscow
  • The Rise of the Mutual Fund Is Reducing Corporate Competition and Hurting Consumers

    Mutual funds have become large shareholders in most public U.S. firms. The resulting overlaps in ownership are boosting corporate profits but harming consumers, according to a new study co-authored by Florian Ederer of Yale SOM.

    A balloon tethered to the ground with sandbags labeled with the names of mutual fund companies
  • Will the EU’s New Law Remake Big Tech?

    We asked Prof. Fiona Scott Morton, an expert on antitrust policy, what the Digital Markets Act will mean for users in Europe and elsewhere.

    The newly announced Apple Watch on display in Paris in September 2014. 
  • A Better Way to Divide the Pie 

    In his new book, Prof. Barry Nalebuff proposes a fairer, more principled way to negotiate: splitting the additional value created by reaching an agreement. In this excerpt, he explains the concept through a visit to one of New Haven’s iconic pizza spots.

    A pizza divided into slices
  • Beyond Resolutions: Research-Based Suggestions for 2022

    We asked faculty from the Yale School of Management for their advice—philosophical, professional, and personal—for our readers for the coming year.

    A colorful mosaic
  • GE’s Split Unravels a Massive Management Mistake

    General Electric CEO Larry Culp announced this week that the company would split into three separate firms. Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld writes that Culp was acknowledging the failure of an approach—the highly diversified industrial conglomerate—that dates back to Jack Welch’s tenure in the 1980s.

    A General Electric facility in Belfort, France, reflecting in a body of water.
  • Exploring Alternative Futures

    Professor Paul Bracken has spent a lifetime studying the complex systems like international business, technology, and the military. A pioneer of scenario planning, he looks at how organizations really work and how they both drive and are shaped by major trends in order to predict possible futures.

    Paul Bracken teaching
  • What Went Wrong in Afghanistan?

    We asked Prof. Paul Bracken, an expert in business and military strategy, how the U.S. could have avoided a chaotic exit from Afghanistan, and what comes next for the region.

    Afghans outside the Kabul airport on August 20, 2021.