We show that some influential literature supporting the RPM efficiency view is flawed when it relies on the presale service justification for RPM. In particular we consider presale services that do not modify in use value of a good, what we term sterile services. We debunk what we call the Bork...

A structural event study methodology accounts for the interaction of two M&A effects: synergy (total value) and dominance (bargaining power). This interaction jointly (simultaneously) determines the parties’ abnormal returns. We propose an instrumental variable approach. An application in...