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Platform liability with reputational sanctions

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This paper presents a framework where sellers, an online platform with monopoly power, and consumers transact. We aim to study the interaction between the imposition of liability on the platform, the reputational sanctions exerted by consumers, and the internal measures adopted by the platform to keep in check the sellers, whenever a product generates losses to consumers. We show that introducing direct legal liability of the platform may have both positive and negative effects for safety investments. Additionally, when sellers are heterogeneous (with respect to their sensitivity to the sanctions from consumers or from the platform), legal liability on the platform will have an impact on the selection of participating sellers, although the sign and size of the effect largely depend on paremeter values.

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  • Alessandro De Chiara & Juan José Ganuza & Fernando Gómez & Ester Manna & Adrián Segura, 2023. "Platform liability with reputational sanctions," Economics Working Papers 1868, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    • Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:1868
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeong-Yoo Kim, 2024. "Seller liability versus platform liability: optimal liability rule and law enforcement in the platform economy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 119-148, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    platform liability; third-party sellers; reputation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K13 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Tort Law and Product Liability; Forensic Economics
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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