Competition on Networks: Some Introductory Notes

Problems involving competition on networks play an increasingly important role in modern economies. This can be partially explained by the development of new technologies in transportation and telecommunications, which have favored the entry of firms offering customized products. For example, the increased variety in telephone services has led new companies to segment the market and to exploit specific niches. Furthermore many services have been privatized or deregulated in North America and in Europe (such as the airline industry, bus companies in many cities, truncking, energy, cable television and long distance telephone services), thus fostering the emergence of competition in new economic sectors. These problems have many facets which have begun to be analyzed in the operations research and economics literature, as shown by the expanding flow of papers dealing with the various dimensions of competition on networks.