On Wednesday 16 June Prof. Kraemer was guest speaker and panelist at the virtual Digital Markets Competition Forum at the Copenhagen Business School. The topic of the discussion was "Platform competition - the impact of different data-based business models".
The workshop explored the policy implications of different business models (ads-based, transactions, subscriptions...), the potential harm related to them (presumed, actual, potential) and the impact on competition, on and between platforms, by discussing the following issues:
- How do platforms leverage data to increase user engagement with the product?
- What is the role (positive and potentially harmful) of the platform?
- Do user engagement and data usage differ among free (ads-based) and paid (transaction or subscription-based) services and business models?
- How do the different models affect platform competition?
- Is user switching costs higher under paid vs. free platform services?
- Is multihoming lower under paid vs. free platform services?
- Are barriers to entry higher for paid vs. free platform services?
Invited experts drew on their research and offered their views.
Discussion and Q&A session can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VDa25orRwE