Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,103)
- People (3)
- News (292)
- Research (603)
- Events (4)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (280)
- 2011
- Working Paper
Quantity vs. Quality: Exclusion by Platforms with Network Effects
By: Andrei Hagiu
This paper provides a simple model of platforms with direct network effects, in which users value not just the quantity (i.e., number) of other users who join, but also their average quality in some dimension. A monopoly platform is more likely to exclude low-quality... View Details
- 2022
- Working Paper
Consumer Demand with Social Influences: Evidence from an E-Commerce Platform
By: El Hadi Caoui, Chiara Farronato, John J. Horton and Robert Schultz
For some kinds of goods, rarity itself is valued. "Fashionable'" goods are demanded in part because they are unique. In this paper, we explore the economics of rare goods using auctions of limited-edition shoes held by an e-commerce platform. We model endogenous entry... View Details
- July 13, 2023
- Article
Threads Foreshadows a Big—and Surprising—Shift in Social Media
By: Scott Duke Kominers and Liang Wu
Threads, Meta’s Twitter competitor, has become the fastest downloaded app in history. One of the reasons for this is because it allows users to port over their profiles and follows from the already popular social media platform Instagram, also owned by Meta—a feature... View Details
When Should a Social Platform Give People Fewer Choices and Charge More for Them?
Existing economic wisdom offers unequivocal advice to managers seeking to establish new platform businesses: Invest to acquire users as quickly as possible and make sure that they have ... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Chapter
Embracing Complexity: Toward Platforms for Integrated Health and Social Service Delivery
By: Andrew Ellner, Christine Pace, Scott S. Lee, Jon Weigel and Paul E. Farmer
- December 2022
- Article
Competition, Contracts, and Creativity: Evidence from Novel Writing in a Platform Market
By: Yanhui Wu and Feng Zhu
A growing number of people today are participating in the gig economy, working as independent contractors on short-term projects. We study the effects of competition on gig workers' effort and creativity on a Chinese novel-writing platform. Authors produce and sell... View Details
Platform for Dialogue
My year at Harvard Business School as the Newcomen Fellow in Business History was transformative for my research, teaching, and outlook on scholarship for the twenty-first century. The fellowship not only provided me with unparalleled resources, but also gave me a... View Details
- 2022
- Article
Social Interactivity in Live Video Experiences Reduces Loneliness
By: Benjamin T. Kaveladze, Robert R. Morris, Rosa Victoria Dimitrova-Gammeltoft, Amit Goldenberg, James J. Gross, Judd Antin, Melissa Sandgren and Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt
Background: Loneliness, especially when chronic, can substantially reduce one's quality of life. However, positive social experiences might help to break cycles of loneliness by promoting more prosocial cognitions and behaviors. Internet-mediated live video... View Details
- 31 Jul 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
Investment Incentives in Proprietary and Open-Source Two-Sided Platforms
- 17 Jan 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
Expectations, Network Effects and Platform Pricing
- Summer 2015
- Article
Investment Incentives in Open-Source and Proprietary Two-Sided Platforms
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gaston Llanes
We study incentives to invest in platform quality in open-source and proprietary two-sided platforms. Open platforms have open access, and developers invest to improve the platform. Proprietary platforms have closed access, and investment is done by the platform owner.... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details
- 04 Feb 2013
- News
Facebook’s the Winner in the Platform Hunger Games
Social Strategies That Work
Over a billion people use social platforms on the Internet, making them the most frequently visited category of sites. Some platforms, such as eHarmony, MeetUp, and Twitter, allow us to connect to strangers. eHarmony alone is estimated to account for one in six new... View Details
- 05 Nov 2021
- Op-Ed
How to Tap the Talent Automated HR Platforms Miss
As the global staffing shortage grinds on, corporate recruiters everywhere are relying on their online hiring platforms and automated systems to deliver the candidates they need. Too often, these tools will fail them, sidelining many qualified workers in the process.... View Details
Keywords: by Joseph B. Fuller
- Program
Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms
business Understand the unique dynamics of platform businesses and markets Identify the critical factors for success and failure of a platform business Recognize the social and... View Details
- Research Summary
Overview
When information is digitized, it can be aggregated and shared nearly instantly. I am interested in how this acceleration in the aggregation and availability of information, via digitization, affects firms and firm strategy.
Platforms have emerged as marketplaces for... View Details
- 2016
- Chapter
User-Generated Content and Social Media
By: Michael Luca
This paper documents what economists have learned about user-generated content (UGC) and social media. A growing body of evidence suggests that UGC on platforms ranging from Yelp to Facebook has a large causal impact on economic and social outcomes ranging from... View Details