Thesis title:
Platform Economies of the Periphery: Competitive Strategies of Platform Firms and the Role of the State (the case of Russia’s Platforms)
About the project:
Online platforms are a new type of firm; they are data-driven, software-based firms that intermediate between various parties. They were first established in the late 90s as the result of increased digitization and the extensive adoption of the internet for economic and social activities. Over the last 15 years, the scope and scale of these online platform firms have expanded dramatically. Platforms now intermediate ever-increasing portions of economic and social life. They have become central firms in capitalist economies that transform industries, employment, and discussions of public affairs. The most important of these are headquartered in only a few locations (the US and China) and, in fact, only a few countries have been able to build powerful domestic competitors. Currently, American platforms dominate most of the markets and what has been termed the “platform economy” in many nations, excluding China. This concentration results in the uneven global distribution of capital, power, and sources of cultural production, and implies dependence on the Chinese and American platforms infrastructure.
The aim of this dissertation is to study how platforms evolve outside of major economies. Using Russia’s national internet segment as the empirical setting, I unfold several empirical and theoretical issues. First, I examine the role of a national environment in fostering a population of competitive platforms. Russia is a notable exception because it fostered domestically competitive platforms firms in key segments such as search, social media networking, e-commerce, and other services, that provide the foundation for Russia’s platform economy. Second, based on the case study of Yandex, Russia’s search engine and a Google competitor, I explore competitive strategies available for regional leaders when faced with global competitors. Third, I analyze the evolving regulatory framework around platform firms and markets and demonstrate the choice of regulatory instruments that drive platform governance in Russia.
Supervisors
Martin Kenney (UCDavis)
Fulvio Castellacci (UiO)
Commentator
John Zysman (UC Berkeley & Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy)
About Alina Kontareva
Alina is a PhD Research Fellow at the TIK Centre. This seminar marks the final evaluation prior to the submission of her dissertation.
The seminar will take place on Zoom. The manuscript (draft) is available upon request. Please get in touch with the Ingrid Osen Lien (i.o.lien@tik.uio.no) who will ask Alina to send it to you.