Do Lower Search Costs Benefit Intermediaries?

IF 0.8 4区经济学 Q3 ECONOMICS Review of Industrial Organization Pub Date : 2023-09-12 DOI:10.1007/s11151-023-09921-1

Muxin Li

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract Intermediaries—such as Amazon, Alibaba Group, and Walmart—play critical roles in digital markets: This paper proposes a model for analyzing how search cost affects their market outcomes. Distinguished from existing search literature, we introduce network effects to the market by allowing buyers to have positive preferences for product variety. In addition, we relax the exogenous demand and supply assumptions in the conventional search literature to study how search affects participation on both sides of the market. Through the model, we focus on studying and comparing two important types of intermediary: the two-sided platform; and the one-sided retailer. We find that reducing search costs does not necessarily increase the profit of both intermediary types. Furthermore, its influences are highly varied—depending on both the type of intermediary and its buyers’ preferences for variety.

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较低的搜索成本对中介有利吗?

亚马逊、阿里巴巴集团和沃尔玛等中间商在数字市场中扮演着关键角色:本文提出了一个分析搜索成本如何影响其市场结果的模型。与现有的搜索文献不同，我们通过允许买家对产品种类有积极的偏好，将网络效应引入市场。此外，我们放宽了传统搜索文献中的外生需求和供给假设，研究了搜索如何影响市场双方的参与。通过该模型，我们重点研究和比较了两种重要的中介类型:双边平台;还有一边倒的零售商。我们发现，降低搜索成本并不一定会增加两种中介类型的利润。此外，它的影响是高度多样化的，这取决于中介的类型和买家对多样性的偏好。

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来源期刊

Review of Industrial Organization Multiple-

CiteScore

2.10

自引率

9.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： New Online Manuscript Submission System The Review of Industrial Organization publishes research papers on all aspects of industrial organization, broadly defined. A main focus is on competition and monopoly, in their many forms and processes and their effects on efficiency, innovation, and social conditions. Topics may range from the internal organization of enterprises to wide international comparisons. The Review is also increasing its interest in papers on public policies such as antitrust, regulation, deregulation, public enterprise, and privatization. Papers may deal with any economic sectors and any developed economies. The Review continues its primary interest in ideas that can be verified by econometric evidence, case studies, or other real conditions. But the Review also seeks papers that advance significant theories of industrial organization and policy. Papers using abstract techniques and econometric tests should present the methods and analysis in plain enough English so that non-specialist readers can evaluate the content. The Review welcomes submissions from any source, and the Editors will make every effort to have papers reviewed quickly and to give prompt decisions. The Editors will also seek to arrange symposia on specific topics, and they are open to proposals for grouped papers. They also welcome shorter notes and commentaries on topics of interest to the profession. Officially cited as: Rev Ind Organ

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