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Are online platforms killing the offline star? Platform diffusion and the productivity of traditional firms

Author

Listed:
  • Hélia Costa
  • Giuseppe Nicoletti
  • Mauro Pisu
  • Christina von Rueden

Abstract

Online platform use has grown remarkably in the last decade. Despite this, our understanding of its implications for economic outcomes is scarce and often limited to case studies and advanced countries. Using a newly built harmonised international dataset of online platforms and their use across 43 countries, covering the 2013-18 period and seven areas of activity, we contribute to filling this gap. Specifically, we investigate whether and under which market conditions platform uptake leads to changes in incumbent firms’ productivity. We find that platform use increases labour productivity growth in firms operating in the same sector, and that this takes place through increases in value added growth as opposed to decreases in employment. What is more, productivity gains are greater for small firms and firms in the middle of the productivity distribution, suggesting that online platforms can play an important role in levelling the playing field between SMEs and large companies and in narrowing productivity gaps among firms. Finally, productivity gains are stronger in more dynamic platform markets. Our findings offer insights on factors and policies that can be leveraged to encourage platform development in ways that are beneficial for the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Hélia Costa & Giuseppe Nicoletti & Mauro Pisu & Christina von Rueden, 2021. "Are online platforms killing the offline star? Platform diffusion and the productivity of traditional firms," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1682, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1682-en
    DOI: 10.1787/1e2bbe10-en
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    Cited by:

    1. Zelda Brutti & Luis E. Rojas, 2022. "M&A and early investment decisions by digital platforms," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 49(3), pages 509-543, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    digitalisation; firm behaviour; online platforms; Productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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