In the invited talk on 18.12.2018, 14:15 pm, ITZ room 017, Prof. Dr. Martin Peitz will give an exciting talk on the current topic "Segmentation versus Agglomeration: Competition between Platforms with Competitive Sellers".
Abstract:
For many products, platforms enable sellers to transact with buyers. We show that the competitive conditions among sellers shape the market structure in plat- form industries. If product market competition is tough, sellers avoid competitors by joining different platforms. This allows platforms to sustain high fees and ex- plains why, for example, in some online markets, several homogeneous platforms segment the market. Instead, if product market competition is soft, agglomeration on a single platform emerges, and platforms fight for the dominant position. These insights give rise to novel predictions. For instance, market concentration and fees are negatively correlated in platform industries, which inverts the standard logic of competition.
The invited talk will be held in English.