IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/infotm/v24y2023i4d10.1007_s10799-021-00345-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exclusivity decision of platforms’ first-party products in a competitive market

Author

Listed:
  • Jiping Gao

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Gongbing Bi

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

Abstract

Product exclusivity is a well-known strategy adopted by agencies to attract buyers. Although some platform firms develop first-party products to improve competitiveness, we show that they do not necessarily benefit from the exclusivity of these products in a competitive market. Platforms may sell their first-party products on their competitive platforms, which we call the non-exclusive strategy. The impact of the non-exclusive strategy on firms’ profits is the result of an interaction between a competition effect and a demand effect. The competition effect is that the non-exclusive strategy reduces the differentiation between firms, and the investment strategy on the first-party product has no impact on the price competition between firms. The competition effect causes firms to intensify price competition and decrease the investment for their first-party product. The demand effect is that, in the presence of the non-exclusive strategy, the firm can obtain a sale profit from the first-party products in the competitive platform. The demand effect causes firms to diminish price competition and increase investments in first-party products. As a result of these two effects, we find that firms are more likely to benefit from the exclusivity of the first-party products only when the unit misfit cost is sufficiently high. We also find that firms implementing the non-exclusivity strategy will reduce the investment in the first-party product if the consumers’ performance sensitivity is low. When platforms develop the targeted investment in first-party products, we can also see that the exclusivity of the first-party product is not always beneficial to the platform.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiping Gao & Gongbing Bi, 2023. "Exclusivity decision of platforms’ first-party products in a competitive market," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 353-366, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:infotm:v:24:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10799-021-00345-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10799-021-00345-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10799-021-00345-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10799-021-00345-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Armstrong, 2006. "Competition in two‐sided markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(3), pages 668-691, September.
    2. Guowei Dou & Ping He & Xiaoyan Xu, 2016. "One-side value-added service investment and pricing strategies for a two-sided platform," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(13), pages 3808-3821, July.
    3. Jean‐Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Two‐sided markets: a progress report," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(3), pages 645-667, September.
    4. Paul Belleflamme & Martin Peitz, 2019. "Managing competition on a two‐sided platform," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 5-22, January.
    5. Yonghong Sun, 2020. "Optimal service versioning for dating platforms," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 217-226, December.
    6. Yong Chao & Timothy Derdenger, 2013. "Mixed Bundling in Two-Sided Markets in the Presence of Installed Base Effects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(8), pages 1904-1926, August.
    7. Kevin Boudreau, 2010. "Open Platform Strategies and Innovation: Granting Access vs. Devolving Control," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(10), pages 1849-1872, October.
    8. Burcu Tan & Edward G. Anderson, Jr. & Geoffrey G. Parker, 2020. "Platform Pricing and Investment to Drive Third-Party Value Creation in Two-Sided Networks," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 217-239, March.
    9. Mark Armstrong & Julian Wright, 2007. "Two-sided Markets, Competitive Bottlenecks and Exclusive Contracts," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 32(2), pages 353-380, August.
    10. Yannis Bakos & Hanna Halaburda, 2020. "Platform Competition with Multihoming on Both Sides: Subsidize or Not?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(12), pages 5599-5607, December.
    11. Anthony Dukes & Esther Gal–Or, 2003. "Negotiations and Exclusivity Contracts for Advertising," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 222-245, November.
    12. Andrei Hagiu & Daniel Spulber, 2013. "First-Party Content and Coordination in Two-Sided Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(4), pages 933-949, April.
    13. Fadairo, Muriel & Yu, Jianyu & Lanchimba, Cintya, 2017. "The Choice of Exclusive Dealing: Economic Rationales and Evidence from French Retail Chains," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 317-335.
    14. Ron Adner & Jianqing Chen & Feng Zhu, 2020. "Frenemies in Platform Markets: Heterogeneous Profit Foci as Drivers of Compatibility Decisions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2432-2451, June.
    15. Lusi Li & Jianqing Chen & Srinivasan Raghunathan, 2018. "Recommender System Rethink: Implications for an Electronic Marketplace with Competing Manufacturers," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 1003-1023, December.
    16. Andrei Hagiu & Robin S. Lee, 2011. "Exclusivity and Control," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 679-708, September.
    17. Corts, Kenneth S. & Lederman, Mara, 2009. "Software exclusivity and the scope of indirect network effects in the U.S. home video game market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 121-136, March.
    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. Georgios Petropoulos & Bertin Martens & Geoffrey Parker & Marshall Van Alstyne, 2023. "Platform Competition and Information Sharing," CESifo Working Paper Series 10663, CESifo.
    2. Jan Frederic Nerbel & Markus Kreutzer, 2023. "Digital platform ecosystems in flux: From proprietary digital platforms to wide-spanning ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Martin Peitz, 2024. "The Economic Theory of Two-Sided Platforms," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_584, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    4. Martin Peitz, 2025. "Governance and Regulation of Platforms," Springer Books, in: Claude Ménard & Mary M. Shirley (ed.), Handbook of New Institutional Economics, edition 0, chapter 23, pages 565-593, Springer.
    5. Nico Wiegand & Yuri Peers & Alexander Bleier, 2023. "Software multihoming to distal markets: Evidence of cannibalization and complementarity in the video game console industry," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 393-417, March.
    6. Saruta, Fuyuki, 2021. "Exclusive contracts and multihoming agents in two-sided markets," MPRA Paper 110070, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Jacobides, Michael G. & Cennamo, Carmelo & Gawer, Annabelle, 2024. "Externalities and complementarities in platforms and ecosystems: From structural solutions to endogenous failures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    8. Christian Stummer & Dennis Kundisch & Reinhold Decker, 2018. "Platform Launch Strategies," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 60(2), pages 167-173, April.
    9. Burcu Tan & Edward G. Anderson, Jr. & Geoffrey G. Parker, 2020. "Platform Pricing and Investment to Drive Third-Party Value Creation in Two-Sided Networks," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 217-239, March.
    10. Tang, Hua & Chen, Jing & Ai, Xingzheng & Li, Xiaojing & He, Haojia, 2023. "First-party content decision under competitive hardware/software platforms: Free vs. charge," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 311(3), pages 1068-1083.
    11. Jullien, Bruno & Pavan, Alessandro & Rysman, Marc, 2021. "Two-sided Markets, Pricing, and Network Effects," TSE Working Papers 21-1238, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    12. Wilfred Amaldoss & Jinzhao Du & Woochoel Shin, 2021. "Media Platforms’ Content Provision Strategies and Sources of Profits," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(3), pages 527-547, May.
    13. Adachi, Takanori & Tremblay, Mark J., 2020. "Business-to-business bargaining in two-sided markets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. 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.
    15. Zhu, Weijun & Xie, Jiaping & Xia, Yu & Wei, Lihong & Liang, Ling, 2023. "Getting more third-party participants on board: Optimal pricing and investment decisions in competitive platform ecosystems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 307(1), pages 177-192.
    16. Hui Li & Feng Zhu, 2021. "Information Transparency, Multihoming, and Platform Competition: A Natural Experiment in the Daily Deals Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(7), pages 4384-4407, July.
    17. Hua Tang & Xingzheng Ai & Haojia He & Songbo Guo, 2024. "Business expansion strategy of two competing software platforms: envelopment vs. connection," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 2239-2265, December.
    18. Sui, Ronghua & Zhang, Xumei & Dan, Bin & Zhang, Haiyue & Liu, Yi, 2023. "Bilateral value-added service investment in platform competition with cross-side network effects under multihoming," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 304(3), pages 952-963.
    19. Maximilian Julius Krome & Ulrich Pidun, 2023. "Conceptualization of research themes and directions in business ecosystem strategies: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 873-920, June.
    20. Sui, Ronghua & Liu, Molin & Liu, Yi & Zha, Xiaoyu, 2024. "Two-sided dynamic pricing and value-added service investment strategies of competitive platforms considering indirect network effects," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).

    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:spr:infotm:v:24:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10799-021-00345-5. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.