This paper develops a model of oligopolistic price competition to analyze the impact of online intermediaries such as Autobytel.com on the price setting process in the automobile market. The roles of dealer search costs, the fraction of buyers using the intermediary, the value of the item being...

For many applications, open source software (OSS) can offer a high-quality alternative to proprietary software (e.g. Linux, Apache, Android,...). But even if OSS is usually free of charge, its installation and use require some skills. Should the government intervene to promote the diffusion of...

This paper aims to study how Facebook use influences individual well-being. We use a survey conducted on a representative sample of 2,000 French Facebook users. Our results show that Facebook interferes with subjective well-being through its effects on friendships and self-esteem. Hence we find...

The aim of this article is to convince that economic tools are useful and relevant to analyze antitrust policy. More precisely, we show that the economics of antitrust enforcement provides a helpful framework to address fundamental practical questions : How to efficiently enforce antitrust...

Given the increasingly prominent role the Internet plays in people's daily life, understanding its influence on individual well-being is crucial. Internet use yields direct utility and economic returns that may increase life satisfaction. But the Internet might also have detrimental effects...

The paper proposes an analytical framework for comparing different business models for producing information goods and digital services. It is based on three dimensions that also refer to contrasted literature: the economics of matching, the economics of assembling and the economics of knowledge...

Franchising is nowadays a prominent way to organize the distribution sector. While previous literature suggests that monitoring issues are a critical determinant of organizational choices, it is rather silent on the optimal monitoring strategy once the organization of the chain is set. In this...

Several studies have highlighted the role of feedback mechanisms in the success of electronic marketplaces. In this current experiment, we attempt to isolate experimentally the role of reputation and social (dis)approval associated to ratings using a trust game experiment with the opportunity to...

On mobile phone markets that have reached the maturity stage, customer recommendation becomes a critical focus for operators to attract subscribers from rival operators. Referral propensity is also an indicator of subscriber satisfaction and loyalty. The aim of this paper is to examine the...