Title
Network effects in online two-sided market platforms: A research note
Abstract
Many online platforms show characteristics whereby two groups of agents - the buyers and the sellers - come together and interact with one another via the enabling platform. The benefit that accrues to a member of either group depends on both the number of agents within each group and the extent of competition between the sellers for the buyers. We present a model to analyze such interactions. The results imply that if two platforms are relatively undifferentiated, trying to increase the cross-group network benefits for the buyers can be counter-productive. Instead, the platforms should first try to increase their relative differentiation, which then allows them to charge higher prices relative to the other platform. The results have particular significance in the online world, where the erstwhile strategy of many platforms that seem relatively undifferentiated from the consumers' perspective has been to increase the cross-group network benefits.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1016/j.dss.2010.02.004
Decision Support Systems
Keywords
Field
DocType
online world,network externality,online platform,research note,platform differentiation,erstwhile strategy,enabling platform,network effect,particular significance,higher price,two-sided market competition,cross-group network benefit,online two-sided market platform,relative differentiation
Two-sided market,Computer science,Network effect,Marketing
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
49
2
Decision Support Systems
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
5
0.47
6
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Shengli Li1195.20
Yipeng Liu250.47
Subhajyoti Bandyopadhyay352435.12