Filling the theoretical gap: Analyzing the nature of platform profits by integrating the rent perspective and Marxian circulation theory

Abstract

The significant increase in profits generated by platforms has sparked considerable debate regarding the nature of this income. These discussions center on two perspectives: the value-creating perspective suggests that their profits result from new forms of exploitation in the platform economy, while the rent perspective argues that the platforms extract and transfer value from other value-creating activities. While the latter perspective acknowledges that platforms do not directly engage in value creation, it fails to analyze their functions from the standpoint of Marxian circulation theory. Viewed from this standpoint, platforms represent a new form of commercial capital that propels circulation. Through their capacity to collect and process user behavior data, they attain a higher level of centralization than traditional commercial organizations, and extract value created by productive activities.