Electronic commerce has enabled the use of intelligent agenttechnologies that can evaluate buyers, customize products, and price inreal-time. Our model of an electronic market with customizable productsanalyzes the pricing, profitability and welfare implications ofagent-based technologies that...

Secondary markets have adopted a number of quality signaling mechanismssuch as certification to reduce information asymmetries between buyersand sellers in these markets. However the importance and value of thesesignals depends on the nature and extent of information asymmetries.With the growth...

Recent developments in information technologies, especially Web 2.0 technologies, have radically transformed many markets through disintermediation and decentralization. Lower barriers of entry in these markets enable small firms and individuals to engage in transactions that were otherwise...

The growth of the Internet and other digitization technologies has enabled the unbundling of the physical and information components of the value chain and has led to an explosion of information made available to consumers. Understanding the implications of this new informational landscape for...

We study the online market for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, in which individuals bid on unsecured microloans sought by other individual borrowers. Using a large sample of consummated and failed listings from the largest online P2P lending marketplace, Prosper.com, we find that the online...

This paper develops and analyzes a model of competition between platforms in an industry with indirect network effects, with a specific focus on complementary product exclusivity. The objective is to understand the determinants of exclusivity and explore its effects on competition. We find that...

Secondary markets have adopted a number of quality signaling mechanisms such as certification to reduce information asymmetries between buyers and sellers in these markets. However the importance and value of these signals depends on the nature and extent of information asymmetries. With the...