Platforms
| Case: Moon, Y., “Uber: Changing The Way The World Moves” Harvard Business School Case No. 316-101, January 2017
Case preparation: Uber, June 2022 |
Textbook Reading: Chapter 5 (Section 5.3; pp. 145-149)
In 2023 I published an academic article on how cultural economics helps us to categorise and understand new entrants such as Uber. I find that reducing entry barriers and less exclusion are key factors in a dynamic market order. Here is Elizabeth Warren emphasising the distinction between employees and contractors (note: I think she’s wrong):
Big corporations are "misclassifying" workers as contractors to cheat them of their benefits (I'm looking at you, @Uber).
It's wrong. But thanks to a new rule by @POTUS, workers can now fight back. pic.twitter.com/agUx1Vt991
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 24, 2024
Recommended reading:
- Barnett, J.M., 2011, “The Host’s Dilemma: Strategic Forfeiture in Platform Markets for Informational Goods“, Harvard Law Review – Barnett provides an economic explanation for why platforms give away access to core technologies: it increases user investment and increases the platforms value. But this creates a double edged sword because platform providers face a trade off between being open (and generating users) and regulating access (to monetise).
- Fisman, R., and Sullivan, T., 2016, “Everything We Know About Platforms We Learned from Medieval France“, Harvard Business Review
| Learning Objectives: Peer-to-peer markets, Ethical implications of disruptive business models
Cutting edge theory: An economic analysis of platforms Spotlight on sustainability: Employee welfare |