• Büchel Berno

• Droz Bénédicte

Digitalization has changed the way business are run nowadays and how they will be run in the future. Differences may lie in consumer behavior, firm behavior, and in the modes of competition. We discuss models of several online markets in order to highlight characteristic properties, derive optimal strategies, and eventually discuss the welfare properties. Topics include matchmakers, booking platforms, price comparison sites, recommender systems, and open source software. The main focus is laid on different roles of market intermediaries in the digital economy.

The first part of the course consists of lectures and exercises. In the second part, students will present business models of certain online companies.

In this course, students are supposed to
a) learn characteristic properties of the digital economy,
b) understand microeconomic models of different online markets,
c) and discuss strategic decisions in such markets.

Belleamme and Peitz (2010)

Peitz and Waldfogel (2012)

Illing and Peitz (2006)

Zhang (2020)

Duration 60 minutes

Re-take exam only

The written exam takes 60 minutes and counts 80%.
Presentations count 20%

Course with continuous evaluation: after the registration period, you can no longer cancel your registration (see session calendar on the Faculty's website).