Digital marketplaces and platforms are characterised by reduced costs for storing, searching for, and retrieving information. They also have low communication costs enabling remotely located partners to coordinate and jointly resolve complex tasks – be it a commercial transaction or the collaboration on a complex joint project. In this project, we aim to study the mechanism of specific digital marketplaces and platforms from different perspectives:
- We study the role of incentive schemes for online public good production and crowdworking as new form of organising labour. In addition, we analyse how the diffusion of platforms which facilitate the collection of information and the acquisition of goods and services affects other related markets.
- We examine market power issues related to major two-sided markets characterised by substantial network effects, such as Google. Furthermore, we analyse the role of competition on the deployment of digital infrastructures and services as well as their economic impacts, and we investigate switching behaviour in electricity markets. A special focus is placed on characteristics of customer behaviour.
- A further issue to be examined is the potential of digital platforms to support long-term investment decisions. We thereby focus on platforms which exploit cognitive advantages and compensate for the cognitive limitations of the human decision making processes. We also analyse their potential to serve as a feasible solution for recurring, widespread investment mistakes.
- In addition, we study how and to which extent technological innovations in the area of digital marketplaces and platforms enable new forms of economic interaction. We particularly focus on Blockchain technologies.
The research will contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms in online markets and platforms how these affect competition dynamics and labour supply. It is likely that the expected findings shall have far-reaching implications, not only for the organisation of work, retail and finance, but also for policy makers who shall determine the necessity of regulatory or competition policy interventions.
Selected Publications
Articles in Refereed Journals
Hunold, Matthias, Reinhold Kesler and Ulrich Laitenberger (2020), Rankings of Online Travel Agents, Channel Pricing, and Consumer Protection, Marketing Science. Download
Briglauer, Wolfgang, Enrico Maria Camarda and Ingo Vogelsang (2019), Path dependencies versus efficiencies in regulation: Evidence from “old” and “new” broadband markets in the EU, Telecommunications Policy Volume 43, Issue 8, Article 101825. Download
Briglauer, Wolfgang, Niklas Dürr, Oliver Falck and Kai Hüschelrath (2019), Does State Aid for Broadband Deployment in Rural Areas Close the Digital and Economic Divide?, Information Economics and Policy Volume 46, March 2019, 68 - 85. Download
Briglauer, Wolfgang and Klaus Gugler (2019), Go for Gigabit? First Evidence on Economic Benefits of High-Speed Broadband Technologies in Europe, Journal of Common Market Studies Volume 57, Issue 5, 1071-1090. Download
Hunold, Matthias, Reinhold Kesler, Ulrich Laitenberger and Frank Schlütter (2018), Evaluation of Best Price Clauses in Hotel Booking, International Journal of Industrial Organization Volume 61, November 2018, p. 542 - 571. Download
Discussion and Working Papers
Hunold, Matthias, Reinhold Kesler and Ulrich Laitenberger (2019), Mehr Transparenz bei Suchergebnissen auf Onlineplattformen nützt den Verbrauchern, ZEW policy brief No. 19-06, Mannheim. Download
Briglauer, Wolfgang, Niklas Dürr and Klaus Peter Gugler (2019), A Retrospective Study on the Regional Benefits and Spillover Effects of High-Speed Broadband Networks: Evidence from German Counties, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 19-026, Mannheim. Download
Hinnosaar, Marit, Toomas Hinnosaar, Michael Kummer and Olga Slivkó (2019), Externalities in Knowledge Production: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 19-007, Mannheim. Download
Hunold, Matthias, Reinhold Kesler and Ulrich Laitenberger (2018), Hotel Rankings of Online Travel Agents, Channel Pricing, and Consumer Protection, DICE Discussion Paper No 300, Düsseldorf. Download
Hunold, Matthias, Reinhold Kesler and Ulrich Laitenberger (2018), Hotel Rankings of Online Travel Agents, Channel Pricing, and Consumer Protection, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 18-059, Mannheim. Download
Briglauer, Wolfgang, Enrico Maria Camarda and Ingo Vogelsang (2018), Path Dependencies versus Efficiencies in Regulation: Evidence from "Old" and "New" Broadband Markets in the EU, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 18-051, Mannheim. Download
Bertschek, Irene and Wolfgang Briglauer (2018), How the Digital Transformation of the Economy Can Succeed, ZEW policy brief No. 18-05, Mannheim. Download
Borchert, Kathrin, Matthias Hirth, Michael Kummer, Ulrich Laitenberger, Olga Slivkó and Steffen Viete (2018), Unemployment and Online Labor, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 18-023, Mannheim. Download
Briglauer, Wolfgang and Klaus Peter Gugler (2018), Go for Gigabit? First Evidence on Economic Benefits of (Ultra-)Fast Broadband Technologies in Europe, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 18-020, Mannheim. Download
Hunold, Matthias, Reinhold Kesler, Ulrich Laitenberger and Frank Schlütter (2017), Evaluation of Best Price Clauses in Online Hotel Booking, DICE Discussion Paper No 278, Düsseldorf. Download
Hunold, Matthias, Ulrich Laitenberger, Frank Schlütter and Reinhold Kesler (2016), Evaluation of Best Price Clauses in Hotel Booking, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 16-066, Mannheim. Download
Client
Land Baden-Württemberg
, Stuttgart
, DE
Project duration
01.04.2016 - 31.03.2019
Contact
Project members
Prof. Dr. Irene Bertschek
(Coordinator)
Dr. Wolfgang Briglauer
Frank Brückbauer
Peter Buchmann
Dr. Niklas Dürr
Stefan Frübing
Prof. Dr. Sven Heim
Prof. Dr. Kai Hüschelrath
Dr. Reinhold Kesler
Prof. Ulrich Laitenberger, PhD
Dr. Dominik Rehse
Dr. Dominik Schober
Olga Slivkó, PhD
Dr. Steffen Viete
Dr. Oliver Woll
Departments
International Finance and Financial Management · Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics · Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management · Digital Economy · Competition and Regulation
Cooperation partner
Marit Hinnosaar, PhD, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalieri (Torino), IT
Toomas Hinnosaar, PhD, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalieri (Torino), IT
Universität Mannheim, Lehrstuhl für ABWL, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Weber, Mannheim, DE
Kathrin Borchert, M.Sc., Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, DE
Prof. Luís Cabral, Ph.D., NYU Stern, New York, US
Prof. Carlo Cambini, Politecnico, University of Torino, Torino, IT
Prof. Michal Grajek, ESMT European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, DE
Prof. Klaus Gugler, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Wien, AT
Dipl.-Inform. Matthias Hirth, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, DE
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Phuoc Tran-Gia, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, DE
Dr. Michael Kummer, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Prof. Xiaoquan (Michael) Zhang, PhD, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, CN
