We review the economics of superstars, originally developed for stars in traditional media, and discuss whether they are applicable for the (allegedly) novel phenomenon of stars in social media (influencer, micro-celebrities). Moreover, we analyse potentially new factors for creating social...

We review the economics of superstars, originally developed for stars in traditional media, and discuss whether they are applicable for the (allegedly) novel phenomenon of stars in social media (influencer, micro-celebrities). Moreover, we analyse potentially new factors for creating social...

This essay discusses two immanent challenges for competition policy in online e-commerce markets: the platform character and the role of personalized data. Both phenomena are briefly described from an economic perspective (section 2 and 3) with a focus on how they affect and change competition...

Dominant or apparently dominant internet platform increasingly become subject to both antitrust investigations and further-reaching political calls for regulation. While Google is currently in the focus of the discussion, the next candidate is already on the horizon - the ubiquitous online...

Following the FCC Notice of proposed Rulemaking and the request for public comments a lively debate on how to protect the open Internet ensued and has now been closed by the approval of strong net neutrality rules by the FCC. This paper discusses the economic merit of alternative forms of...

This paper provides an economic analysis of recent vertical and horizontal mergers in the U.S. industry for audiovisual media content, including the AT&T-Time Warner and the Disney-Fox mergers. Using a theory-driven approach, we examine economic effects of these types of mergers on market...

Im Internet erfreut sich ein Geschäftsmodell erheblicher Beliebtheit, bei welchem den Nut-zern Dienstleistungen oder Inhalte (in traditionellen Geldeinheiten) unentgeltlich zur Verfügung gestellt werden und stattdessen die auf dem Wege der Nutzung durch die Nutzer (bewusst oder unbewusst)...

Die Digitalisierung der Wirtschaftsbeziehungen stellt die Wettbewerbspolitik vor erhebliche Herausforderungen. Um diesen zu begegnen, soll das Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen (GWB) mit Hilfe der 9. Novelle fit gemacht werden für das digitale Zeitalter. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt eine...

Dieser Beitrag fasst die ökonomischen Besonderheiten von Unterhaltungsmärkten zusammen und legt dabei einen besonderen Fokus auf Digitalisierungseffekte. Dabei werden die Aspekte Erfahrungsgüter und Qualität, Fixkostendegression & Güterheterogenität, Super-stareffekte, die Rolle...

The paper analyses the economics behind algorithmic search and recommender services, based upon personalized user data. Such services play a paramount role for online services such as marketplaces (e.g. Amazon), audio streaming (e.g. Spotify), video streaming (e.g. Netflix, YouTube), app stores,...