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Platform Investment and price parity clauses

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  • Chengsi Wang
  • Julian Wright

Abstract

Platforms use price parity clauses to prevent sellers setting lower prices when selling through other channels. They claim these restraints are needed so platforms have incentives to invest in providing search services—without them, consumers would search on the platform but then switch to buy in a cheaper channel. In a model incorporating these effects, we find that wide price parity clauses lead to excessive platform investment while narrow (or no) price parity clauses lead to insufficient platform investment. Taking these investment effects into account, wide price parity clauses lower consumer surplus but have ambiguous effects on total welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Chengsi Wang & Julian Wright, 2023. "Platform Investment and price parity clauses," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 538-569, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:71:y:2023:i:2:p:538-569
    DOI: 10.1111/joie.12329
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carlotta Mariotto & Marianne Verdier, 2020. "Platform–merchant competition for sales services," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 834-853, October.
    2. Chengsi Wang & Julian Wright, 2020. "Search platforms: showrooming and price parity clauses," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 51(1), pages 32-58, March.
    3. Heski Bar-Isaac & Guillermo Caruana & Vicente Cunat, 2012. "Search, Design, and Market Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 1140-1160, April.
    4. Benjamin Edelman & Julian Wright, 2015. "Price Coherence and Excessive Intermediation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(3), pages 1283-1328.
    5. Carlotta Mariotto & Marianne Verdier, 2020. "Platform merchant competition for sales services," Post-Print hal-04129350, HAL.
    6. Wals, Francisca & Schinkel, Maarten Pieter, 2018. "Platform monopolization by narrow-PPC-BPG combination: Booking et al," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 572-589.
    7. Mantovani, Andrea & Piga, Claudio A. & Reggiani, Carlo, 2021. "Online platform price parity clauses: Evidence from the EU Booking.com case," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Teh, Christopher & Wang, Chengsi & Watanabe, Makoto, 2024. "Strategic limitation of market accessibility: Search platform design and welfare," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Gastón Llanes & Francisco Ruiz‐Aliseda, 2021. "Private contracts in two‐sided platforms," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 52(4), pages 815-838, December.
    3. Maruyama, Masayoshi & Zennyo, Yusuke, 2020. "Platform most-favored-customer clauses and investment incentives," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Chengsi Wang & Makoto Watanabe, 2021. "Directed Search on a Platform: Meet Fewer to Match More," Monash Economics Working Papers 2021-02, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    5. Cazaubiel, Arthur & Cure, Morgane & Johansen, Bjørn Olav & Vergé, Thibaud, 2018. "Substitution Between Online Distribution Channels: Evidence from the Oslo Hotel Market," Working Papers in Economics 8/18, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    6. Cazaubiel, Arthur & Cure, Morgane & Johansen, Bjørn Olav & Vergé, Thibaud, 2020. "Substitution between online distribution channels: Evidence from the Oslo hotel market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Kim, Byung-Cheol & Ahmed, Mishal, 2020. "Price-match guarantees and investment incentives," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L42 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts

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