This paper studies a model of search engine competition with endogenous obfuscation. Platforms may differ in the quality of their search algorithms. I study the impact of this heterogeneity in consumer surplus, seller profits and platform revenue. I show that the dominant platform will typically...

We study a platform's design of membership and transaction fees when sellers compete and buyers cannot observe the prices and features of goods without incurring search costs. The platform alleviates sellers' competition by charging them transaction fees that increase with sales revenue, and...

In recent years, the rapid growth of peer-to-peer (p2p) ridesharing has significantly cut the market share and profitability for taxis, but taxis remain a major service provider in the personal-transportation service industry. This paper analytically examines a market with two segments of...

The theoretical literature on platforms and network effects predicts that initial growth of a platform depends on the market’s expectations of future installed base. This paper tests this claim, reporting on a field experiment in which invitations to join a newly launched platform were sent to...

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 paper analyzes granular price discrimination informed by consumer data on an online platform. The sellers compete in prices over two periods and can use information on consumers’ first period purchasing choices to discriminate in the second period. Under ‘coarse discrimination’, they...

We study whether Amazon engages in self-preferencing on its marketplace by favoring its own brands (e.g., Amazon Basics) in search. To address this question, we collect new micro-level consumer search data using a custom browser extension installed by a panel of study participants. Using this...

Platforms refer to intermediaries that facilitate economic interaction between two sets of agents wherein the decisions of one set of agents is likely to have an effect on the other via direct and/or indirect externalities. Given their nature, platforms need to find the appropriate balance...

This paper investigates the impact of service quality in e-tailing on site visits and consumer demand (approximated by the last-click- through concept). We use a large representative data set obtained from a price-comparison site which covers most of the national (Austrian) market on e-tailing....