IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ebl/ecbull/eb-23-00347.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A start-up problem in a pure network good market and the role of a stand-alone effect with a monopoly: A revisit of Rohlfs (1974, 2001)

Author

Listed:
  • Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu

    (Kwansei Gakuin University)

Abstract

We consider the start-up problem in the case of a monopoly providing a pure network good, such as in telecommunications and Internet businesses. This is a fundamental problem previously examined by Rohlfs (1974) and an issue closely related to coordination failure. As addressed in Lambertini and Orsini (2004), the coordination problem is not associated with network effects and depends on consumer expectations. We demonstrate the perspectives of Rohlfs (1974, 2001), finding the start-up problem is associated with critical mass under passive expectations and the stand-alone effect can be used to solve the problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu, 2023. "A start-up problem in a pure network good market and the role of a stand-alone effect with a monopoly: A revisit of Rohlfs (1974, 2001)," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(3), pages 1434-1443.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-23-00347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2023/Volume43/EB-23-V43-I3-P122.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caillaud, Bernard & Jullien, Bruno, 2003. "Chicken & Egg: Competition among Intermediation Service Providers," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(2), pages 309-328, Summer.
    2. Irina Suleymanova & Christian Wey, 2012. "On the role of consumer expectations in markets with network effects," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 101-127, March.
    3. Jeffrey Rohlfs, 1974. "A Theory of Interdependent Demand for a Communications Service," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 5(1), pages 16-37, Spring.
    4. Katz, Michael L & Shapiro, Carl, 1985. "Network Externalities, Competition, and Compatibility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(3), pages 424-440, June.
    5. Belleflamme, Paul & Peitz, Martin, 2021. "The Economics of Platforms : Concepts and Strategy," LIDAM Reprints CORE 3185, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jullien, Bruno & Pavan, Alessandro & Rysman, Marc, 2021. "Two-sided Markets, Pricing, and Network Effects," TSE Working Papers 21-1238, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    2. Corrado Benassi & Marcella Scrimitore, 2017. "Income Distribution in Network Markets," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 251-271, September.
    3. Shihui Tian & Guowei Hua & T. C. E. Cheng, 2019. "Optimal Deployment of Charging Piles for Electric Vehicles Under the Indirect Network Effects," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 36(01), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Kevin J. Boudreau, 2021. "Promoting Platform Takeoff and Self-Fulfilling Expectations: Field Experimental Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5953-5967, September.
    5. Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu, 2022. "A note on the equilibrium of a monopoly providing a pure network good and the stand-alone effect: A reconsideration of the coordination problem," Discussion Paper Series 236, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University.
    6. Justus Haucap & Ulrich Heimeshoff, 2014. "Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay: Is the Internet driving competition or market monopolization?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 49-61, February.
    7. Justus Haucap & Torben Stühmeier, 2016. "Competition and antitrust in Internet markets," Chapters, in: Johannes M. Bauer & Michael Latzer (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of the Internet, chapter 9, pages 183-210, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Yang Zhang & Ying-Ju Chen, 2020. "Optimal Nonlinear Pricing in Social Networks Under Asymmetric Network Information," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 68(3), pages 818-833, May.
    9. DongJoon Lee & Kangsik Choi & Tatsuhiko Nariu, 2020. "Endogenous vertical structure with network externalities," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 88(6), pages 827-846, December.
    10. Aoyagi, Masaki, 2018. "Bertrand competition under network externalities," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 517-550.
    11. Ying‐Ju Chen & Yves Zenou & Junjie Zhou, 2018. "Competitive pricing strategies in social networks," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 49(3), pages 672-705, September.
    12. Marc Rysman, 2007. "An Empirical Analysis Of Payment Card Usage," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 1-36, March.
    13. Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu, 2017. "On consumer expectations in a network goods market: The monopoly case," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(1), pages 488-493.
    14. Andre Veiga & E. Glen Weyl, 2011. "Multidimensional Heterogeneity and Platform Design," Working Papers 11-33, NET Institute, revised Nov 2011.
    15. Suleymanova Irina & Wey Christian, 2011. "Bertrand Competition in Markets with Network Effects and Switching Costs," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-58, September.
    16. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107687899.
    17. Ramnath K. Chellappa & Rajiv Mukherjee, 2021. "Platform Preannouncement Strategies: The Strategic Role of Information in Two-Sided Markets Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 1527-1545, March.
    18. Geng, Yang & Zhang, Yulin, 2020. "Platform launch in two-sided markets and users’ expectations," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 558(C).
    19. Justus Haucap, 2019. "Competition and Competition Policy in a Data-Driven Economy," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 54(4), pages 201-208, July.
    20. Sadowski, Bert M., 2017. "Advanced users and the adoption of high speed broadband: Results of a living lab study in the Netherlands," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 1-14.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    pure network good; network effect; stand-alone value; critical mass; start-up problem; coordination failure; passive expectations; monopoly;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-23-00347. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: John P. Conley (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.