Digital Economy Platforms: From Bilateral Markets To Joint Consumption Economy

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technologies has led to the emergence of a platform economy, the functioning of which does not fit into the postulates of the classical theory of the firm. Digital platforms are based on the theory of two-way markets. Digital platforms mediate between different groups of users, simplifying and stimulating their interaction with each other. With the emergence of platforms, transaction costs associated with finding a business partner in the market and assessing the possibility of interacting with him tend to zero. The functioning of digital platforms makes it possible to realize the possibilities of sharing goods and services by users, allowing more optimal use of available resources. Digital platform organizers are constantly evolving the user interface in order to increase the level of interaction between stakeholders. There are a large number of digital platforms operating on the market today. These include: advertising platforms, platforms for the exchange of value (goods, services), social networks, gaming platforms, industrial platforms, etc. The article presents the results provided when studying the dynamics of the Digital Economy based on platforms and Internet technologies. The advantages of using Digital Economy platforms, created to provide sellers and consumers with an interface for high-tech market interaction, are presented. The conditions and factors influencing the creation and development of platforms are analyzed, e.g. the Internet, mobile technologies, mobile devices, social networks that promote rational consumer behaviour in the process of market transactions. The opportunity to provide the parties of market interactions with a high-tech interface for transmitting digital content at zero transaction costs was presented by the authors as a key characteristic of modern platforms, as a basis for the transition from bilateral markets to a shared consumption economy.