We consider a methodology for studying how beliefs shape platform competition, based on the notion of a partial … focality. The concept of focality is useful for modeling platform competition when the presence of network effects results in … competition between platforms that differ in their basic quality. The initial degree of focality affects the ability of the high …

-sharing effect that may relax competition for users, resulting in lower quality of content. More surprisingly, user surplus may also … anti-competitive effect while preserving the diversity effect. When there is competition among third parties, interplatform …