Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 16, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Murali K. Mantrala. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Under digital convergence, the market structure has changed which cause the traditional market definition is no longer applicable. Many industries and firms have take action of cross-industry M&A and integration. In contrast, regulations and ¡§new¡¨ market definition has not appeared which cause antitrust authorities deal with the case of the M&A under digital convergence has no quantitative tools. Our study has found that the market structure under digital convergence almost is two-sided market and multi-sided market, so we use the modified Critical Loss Analysis which Evans and Noel (2008) proposed to be the market definition tool under digital convergence. Subsequently, we use the merger case of TFN media and Kbro to do empirical analysis. By the empirical results, we find out that the relevant market of cable TV has to expand. The IPTV and online play will be the competitive product that the market structure of cable TV will be changed radically. Under digital convergence, market definition may not precisely than traditional, but it still could provide antitrust authorities an effective quantitative evidence, and with the economic theory of qualitative analysis which could make policy analysis more integrity.

Background: In the advent of multi-sided platforms defying traditional business models, sustaining long-term scale and success of platforms remains a great challenge to date. At the same time, customer engagement prevails as a superior factor enhancing customer loyalty in the current relationship marketing theory. Hence, utilizing customer engagement as a social tool to attract and sustain users could pose an appropriate answer for the struggles of platform businesses. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to validate context-specific relationships of customer engagement within a nomological network for multi-sided platform settings. By doing so, we particularly want to investigate context- specific antecedents in MSP settings leading to customer engagement and subsequently test its potential outcome of the continued use of the platform. Approach: By employing the pioneering example of Korea’s ubiquitous multi-sided platform KakaoTalk, we constructed a context-specific nomological network around customer engagement based on the platform’s perceived functionalities and characteristics. Applying structural equation modeling, we investigated our theorized path relationships between the major constructs of our research model. Findings: Our results suggested that the theorized context-specific nomological network around customer engagement can be validated in multi-sided platform settings. Hereby, customer engagement functioned as a strong predictor of user loyalty without being influenced by other relational constructs represented by relationship commitments. Additionally, a platform’s utility and especially its social experience embodied substantial factors that initially lead to customer engagement in the first place. Conclusion: Implications for this study contribute to both practitioners and scholars. While platform managers are guided with practical ideas to exploit customer engagement, the general literature of customer engagement is supported with a contextual study validating the applicability of the nomological network around customer engagement in the setting of multi- sided platforms.

The theory of this thesis focuses on particulars of multi-sided platform businesses with special emphasis put on early stage start-ups. The goal is to capture crucial findings and fuse them together to point out specifics which apply only for start-ups that are developed in form of multi-sided platform business. This thesis should provide guidance to all entrepreneurs considering such new business formations. It aims at showing them the most important points leading to positive value creation in multi-sided platform businesses. Specifically, it explains the strategic points hidden behind pricing and network effects utilization. At the same time it depicts what are the unnecessary distractions which just destroy attention and consume time and effort. Consequently, these findings are tested on practical example, where real start-up is modelled using this theoretical framework. Such real application points out strong and weak points. Consequently, the optimal framework is derived based on prior findings. The main suggestions point out what should be examined further by the theory and where the research captured enough knowledge.

Business model design and innovation has been identified as a powerful tool for creating competitive advantage, yet empirical studies which identify the mechanisms for creating this competitive advantage are largely absent in the literature. Coupled with this, innovative multi-sided platform firms that depend on the resources of partners have grown to be some of the most valuable firms in the world, disrupting entire industries in the process. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies on business model design strategies that confer competitive advantage on multi-sided platforms. This study explores the business model design and innovation strategies used by owner-managers of multi-sided platforms to create competitive advantage. Data was collected through 13 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers of South African multi-sided platforms. This study found that partners and customers play an important role in co-creating value and influencing the design of multi-sided platforms. In order to create competitive advantage with their business models, the owner-managers in the study used four broad, non-exclusive business model design and innovation strategies. These comprised: design differentiation strategies, value creating innovation strategies, building network effects and locking in customers and partners through relationship management strategies. This study contributes to the literature by identifying business model design strategies that are utilised to create competitive advantage. The study also highlighted the importance of “ecosystemic” thinking in creating multi-sided platforms. A framework is presented that can aid managers in creating multi-sided platform business models that confer competitive advantage. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The growth of the gig economy has resulted in an increased interest in the relatively new phenomenon of multi-sided digital platforms. Previous research has naturally been focused on one of the key actors on these platforms, namely the gig workers, and how the gig economy has affected the labor market. However, multi-sided platforms entails complex dynamics and relationships between several actors, and the purpose of this study is to investigate what drives a business actor to join a multi-sided platform, what conditions it entails, as well as how it affects their business. To fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research design was conducted, in which semi-structured interviews with seven business actor representatives were included. Through theoretical perspectives on outsourcing, network externalities, and relationship management, this study is able to suggest that to handle the complexity, multi-sided platforms entail a certain degree of standardization that leads to increased transparency in the food delivery industry. In order to access the positive network effects that come from joining the platform, the business actors must adapt to the standardized conditions. Furthermore, they can differentiate to adapt or accept a change towards becoming commodity producers. The study indicates that there is a discrepancy between reality and theory on who outsources to whom when it comes to understanding a multi-sided platform in the gig economy.

The societal problem regarding the housing shortage has made the housing market inaccessible. With the reduced number of rental apartments and longer housing queues, people face more challenges finding a suitable home. Swapping intermediaries have emerged over the years to facilitate the search process to swap apartments. However, tenants are still struggling to find apartments to swap with. Limited research has been conducted about tenants' experiences and perspectives regarding the swapping process. Through an exploratory approach, this study examines what problems tenants encounter during the swapping process. The research findings indicate several opportunity areas for improving and streamlining the swapping process. The made recommendations were regarding the search process, listing information, and apartment viewings. Further, to create an efficient market, the platform needs to consider thickness, overcome congestion, and make participation safe and simple. / Det samhälleliga problemet gällande bostadsbristen har medfört en oåtkomlig bostadsmarknad. Med minskade antalet hyresrätter samt längre bostadsköer står människor inför större utmaningar att hitta ett passande boende. För att underlätta bytesprocessen av hyresrätter har antalet bytesplattformar ökat under åren. Dock kämpar fortfarande många hyresgäster med att hitta en lägenhet att byta med. Begränsat antal studier har genomförts på hyresgäster gällande deras upplevelser samt perspektiv på själva bytesprocessen. Genom användande av en undersökande metod, undersökte denna studie vilka problem hyresgästerna stöter på under bytesprocessen av hyresrätter. Forskningsresultatet indikerade att flera möjligheter finns för att förbättra och effektivisera bytesprocessen. De rekommendationer som gjordes inkluderade sökprocessen, annonssidan, samt lägenhetsvisningar. Vidare, för att skapa en effektiv bytesmarknad, måste plattformen beakta tjocklek, övervinna trängsel, samt göra användandet säkert och enkelt.

As globalization and interconnection between countries increase, the need for efficient cross-border payments becomes more critical. The Nordics, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, share many economic and technological advancement similarities. However, cross-border mobile payment is yet to be seen despite having the solutions to do the process locally. This study then aims to answer the current state, challenges, opportunities, and ways to move forward with the innovation of cross-border mobile payments in the Nordics. A literature review and interviews with experts in the industry were performed to gain more insights into the phenomenon. It is found that currently, the interoperability is none. However, despite the absence of interoperability, efforts are being made to place this agenda at the forefront. Furthermore, there are some challenges, including balancing cooperation and competition among actors in the mobile payment space, addressing pricing issues, establishing a solid business case, managing competition between local perspectives and global technology players, mitigating fraud risks, prioritizing national-scale initiatives, and ensuring standardization and information clarity. On the other hand, opportunities were identified in the availability of use cases, the collaborative culture in the Nordics, the gateway to the point-of-sale feature, the international push towards the feature, and the potential of technology bridges to enhance interoperability. Lastly, to move forward with the innovation, it is suggested to create the use-cases and critical mass, focus on the technological hub, put the cross-border payment on regulatory focus, and compare the use-cases and lessons learned from other regions that do similar work. / I takt med att globaliseringen och sammankopplingen mellan länder ökar, blir behovet av effektiva gränsöverskridande betalningar mer kritiskt. Norden, som består av Danmark, Finland, Norge och Sverige, delar många ekonomiska och tekniska framstegslikheter. Men gränsöverskridande mobilbetalning är ännu inte att se trots att man har lösningarna för att göra processen lokalt. Denna studie syftar sedan till att svara på det aktuella läget, utmaningar, möjligheter och sätt att gå vidare med innovationen av gränsöverskridande mobilbetalningar i Norden. En litteraturgenomgång och intervjuer med experter inom branschen gjordes för att få mer insikter om fenomenet. Det har visat sig att interoperabiliteten för närvarande inte är någon. Men trots avsaknaden av interoperabilitet görs ansträngningar för att placera denna agenda i framkant. Vidare finns det vissa utmaningar, inklusive att balansera samarbete och konkurrens mellan aktörer inom det mobila betalningsområdet, ta itu med prissättningsfrågor, etablera ett solidt affärscase, hantera konkurrensen mellan lokala perspektiv och globala teknikaktörer, mildra bedrägerierisker, prioritera initiativ i nationell skala, och säkerställa standardisering och informationstydlighet. Å andra sidan identifierades möjligheter i tillgängligheten av användningsfall, samarbetskulturen i Norden, porten till funktionen för försäljningsställen, den internationella pushen mot funktionen och potentialen hos teknikbryggor för att förbättra interoperabiliteten. Slutligen, för att gå vidare med innovationen, föreslås det att skapa användningsfall och kritisk massa, fokusera på det tekniska navet, sätta gränsöverskridande betalning på regleringsfokus och jämföra användningsfall och lärdomar från andra regioner som gör liknande arbete.

The available literature presents a multitude of ways in which value creation can take place, and a near uncountable number of ways in which value creation can take place in digital contexts. However, little has been written in the way of value co-creation, or even value creation in general, in relation to the metaverse. This explorative study makes use of an abductive approach and will strive to identify how a game developer creates value for its customers in a metaverse context. Six qualitative interviews were conducted to collect data from a game developer within this new industry. The overarching process of collecting data is based on value co-creation theory and network theory. The study’s findings illustrate the involved and required factors when game developers co-create with customers, and shed light on the necessary amalgamation of different actors involved in the process. The conclusion can be summarised as follows: a game developer creates value for its customers through direct and indirect value adding activities. The first conclusion regarding direct value adding activities includes value co-creation, and is the basis of an improved conceptualised model based on previous theoretical literature, which can be used in future research.

The study shows that multi-sided markets pose difficulties when the relevant product market is to be defined. These difficulties pertain to two questions. The first question is whether one or several markets should be defined. In this regard, it is not easy to extract a coherent method from the cases examined. Instead, the methods applied give the impression of ad hoc-solutions, where similar circumstances result in dissimilar outcomes. Indeed, it is hard to reconcile the different market definitions in Visa International MIF and MasterCard MIF. The uncertainties are not limited to these two cases, as the methods applied in Google Shopping too give rise to ambiguities. Why was the market for general search engine platforms separated into two distinct product markets, but the market for comparison shopping services encompassed both sides? Unfortunately, this discussion was not present in the decision. This only serves to reinforce the impression that these questions are solved on an ad hoc-basis. A clear method of approaching multi-sided markets is desirable, not least because the enforcement of competition rules must be characterized by consistency and foreseeability. Hopefully, the judgement in Google Shopping will bring further clarity to this. Nonetheless, the conclusion is that one market should be defined when differences between competitive constraints on the two sides are absent. E contrario, this means that two markets should be defined when such differences are present. This is true regardless of the market in question being a transaction or a non-transaction market. This method seems preferable to strictly adhering to the division of multi-sided markets into transaction or non-transaction markets. If the Commission’s analysis is correct in that there are no differences in competitive constraints on the two sides of comparison shopping services, in combination with crossing network effects, the platform’s multi-sidedness is a necessary trait for both sides. This means that a substitute has to be multi-sided in order for it to be included on the relevant product market, which minimizes the risk for false negatives. Vice versa, the definition of two markets allows for one-sided products to be included on the relevant product market, which minimizes the risk for false positives. This is important not only for the binary finding of dominance or non-dominance, but also the degree of dominance. As concluded above, incorrectly defining one market may artificially inflate the degree of dominance into false super-dominance, and incorrectly defining several markets may artificially dilute the degree of dominance. The second question is how substitutability should be measured. It is obvious from the cases examined that qualitative measures are used and not quantitative measures. The products’ characteristics, intended use, purpose, functionalities, users’ perceptions of the product, etc. were given much attention. The SSNIP test was not applied in any of the cases. The first conclusion to be drawn from the examination above is therefore that the difficulties regarding measuring substitutability on multi-sided markets mainly concern quantitative measures. The arguments against applying a SSNIP test related to the cellophane fallacy (in two different forms, one of which was deceivingly similar to the reverse cellophane fallacy) and differences in price sensitivities between the two sides. Network effects present an additional difficulty, which may lead to exaggerated results when measuring substitutability. The second conclusion to be drawn is that there exists a reluctance to apply a SSNIP test in a way that is tailored for multi-sided markets. One method that has been proposed is to apply the test on the total sum paid by both sides, while allowing the intermediary to adjust the increase in price in accordance with its price structure. The categorical dismissal of applying the test in this way suggests that adapted versions have some time to wait before being introduced into case law and decisional practice. If they, as their proponents argue, are a robust way of broadening the evidence of possible substitutability, this is unfortunate. The risk of defining the market overly narrow or overly broad is of course present in this regard as well. A broader spectrum of evidence therefore minimizes the risk of incorrectly finding both dominance and non-dominance.