Digital platforms alter almost every industry in the modern economy (De Reuver et al., 2018). For instance, in the media industry, there is an increasing shift from traditional media outlets such as newspapers and television to online newspapers, social media, or platforms such as Netflix or...

Digital platforms alter almost every industry in the modern economy (De Reuver et al., 2018). For instance, in the media industry, there is an increasing shift from traditional media outlets such as newspapers and television to online newspapers, social media, or platforms such as Netflix or...

Much of today's software relies on programming code shared openly online. Yet, it is unclear why volunteer developers contribute to open-source software (OSS), a public good. We study OSS contributions of some 22,900 developers worldwide on the largest online code repository platform, GitHub,...

Are national borders an impediment to online collaboration in the knowledge economy? Unlike in goods trade, knowledge workers can collaborate fully virtually, such that border effects might be eliminated. Here we study collaboration patterns of some 144,000 European developers on the largest...

This dissertation consists of four essays in the economics of digital transformation and specifically considers the link between geography and digitalization in the know-ledge economy.

Are national borders an impediment to online collaboration in the knowledge economy? Unlike in goods trade, knowledge workers can collaborate fully virtually, such that border effects might be eliminated. Here we study collaboration patterns of some 144,000 European developers on the largest...

Much of today's software relies on programming code shared openly online. Yet, it is unclear why volunteer developers contribute to open-source software (OSS), a public good. We study OSS contributions of some 22,900 developers worldwide on the largest online code repository platform, GitHub,...