Some Economic Characteristics of Internet Platforms

Various internet platforms have rapidly developed into central points of everyday life, for private individuals as well as for companies (often dominated by a single or a few companies). At the same time these internet platforms are advancing into more and more areas of business. This creates the risk of dependency, abuse of power, manipulation, concentration of power, centralization of data and information with corresponding effects on technological development, innovation, economy, society and politics. From an economic point of view, this article examines how the strong market positions of internet platforms arise and can be maintained. The dynamics of these technology and innovation-driven markets and the differences from conventional markets are also discussed. These internet markets have emerged from a series of innovations and are characterized by rapid technological development. Taking into account the economic peculiarities as well as knowledge from innovation and governance research, recommendations are drawn up on how these problems can be dealt with.

The global internet market(s): a reconstruction of the views of the industry

Purpose This paper aims to provide a synthesis of the evolution of the global internet markets through an assessment of their economic strength. It is an attempt to describe the various segments of the internet value chain and the evolution of the markets. It aims at briefly summing up the very dynamics of the sector, of the various subsectors while looking at the business models and the market capitalization. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a descriptive paper, presenting market trends, based on desk research and trade press. It is not meant to provide any theoretical contribution but attempting to reconstruct the views from the industry as documented by trade literature. Hence, the paper relies mostly on industry and consultancy data. The paper builds on a database collected by the author over the past 30 years and the selection of the relevant data to document and identify the trends and offer a synthesis of the views of the industry. Findings The paper shows how over the past 30 years the internet has changed dramatically from both a quantitative (reaching more and more users worldwide and witnessing a dramatic growth of all markets) and qualitative (offering an array of innovative products and services enabled by the deployment of new networks) and the availability of new devices. The paper reveals how each technological wave ushered in a series of innovation and new services, boosted the foundation and the growth of pioneering companies. Research limitations/implications Taking into account the lack of official data, the industry data used should be treated as just signals of potential trends, but sufficient to give an overview of the evolution of the global internet markets. Furthermore, detailed studies should complement this descriptive approach. The approach does have obvious methodological and theoretical limits, not providing a robust methodological framework just offering a reconstruction of the trends as documented by the trade publications. However, it concludes highlighting some of the tensions and contradictions. Practical implications The paper closes with a summary of the main transformations and considers some future developments. The paper draws some lessons from some failures and from the strategies of firms. Social implications The paper hints at the way users developed “unique” behaviors using social media, taking advantage of the new opportunities to exchange with others. The paper hints at some regulatory issues and challenges. Originality/value The paper briefly sums up the very dynamics of the global internet market(s). It attempts to characterize some of the main features of their evolution and of the main segments. If offers a comprehensive overview of available data.

Development of the Digital Economy in the USA and China: Factors and Trends

Complex research of the “digital economy” in the U.S.A. and China –undisputable leaders of the phenomena – appears to be an important research task. This article is focused on identifying its` key factors and developmental trends (also important for understanding global processes). Growing economic impact and dominance of the U.S.A. and China in the “digital economy”, especially on the Internet markets, is confirmed – with special attention to the extra-large platformic companies. Analyzing the history of the “digital economy” in both nations primacy of market success factors is stated – while stressing important role of technological specifics in shaping trends. For the U.S.A. the key drivers were meeting existing demand on the traditional markets with fundamentally new technological products, as well as formation of new markets to address existing latent demand. For China originally it was inability of the service sector to address growing internal demand, which supported strong growth of internet markets as a fast and cheap alternative (using localized western technologies and business models). Sizable market, governmental support, and later strong investments in technology and innovation determined China`s leadership in the digital economy– with overcoming the U.S.A. in some areas. In conclusion, it is noted that the importance of original digital economy drivers (U.S. technological superiority, China`s huge growing market, etc.) in both nations is expiring. This makes serious changes inevitable. The situation is complicated by growing challenges for the digital economy – from evolving regulatory framework to digitalization of the global economy.

Are Repeat Buyers in Cryptomarkets Loyal Customers? Repeat Business Between Dyads of Cryptomarket Vendors and Users

Organizations involved in the sale of illicit products and services have been described as small, ephemeral, and local rather than global. Given their limited size, such organizations are often unable to attract large pools of customers, but it has been noted that organizations that manage to build a small but loyal customer base are likely to be more secure and to incur fewer risks of arrest and victimization. There has been little previous research into the loyalty of repeat buyers on Internet markets but a new technological innovation, cryptomarkets, makes it now more possible to track transactions between vendors and their customers. This article looks at the level of loyalty of cryptomarket repeat buyers by tracking their purchases over time. We find that, on average, customers make 60% of their purchases from the same vendor and that providing increased amounts of information to customers increases the loyalty of cryptomarket vendors’ customer base.