The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) has awarded the inaugural research grant^[1] to Associate Professor Eugene Tan Kheng Boon of the Singapore Management University (“SMU”) School of Law for his research project titled “International Standards: Catalyst or Barrier for Innovative Entrepreneurship in Singapore?”.

A/Prof. Tan’s proposed research seeks to understand whether and how international standards, specifically those of the International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”), can function as a catalyst or barrier to innovative entrepreneurship in Singapore. It seeks to examine how such private (and quasi-public) regulation affects competition and whether such barriers are anti-competitive.

A/Prof. Tan said,
“I hope to better understand how Singapore businesses will be increasingly affected by international technical standards, such as those ISO standards relating to social responsibility and anti-corruption. These standards impact competition but may not be anti-competitive. I hope the research findings can lead to real world application and draw attention to the imperative for our businesses to embrace a holistic understanding of competitiveness and consumer expectations.”

Read more here.