An open debate in platform design is who should control pricing: the platform (centralized pricing) or its service providers (decentralized pricing). We show that a key trade-off is between regulating competition and enabling price tailoring. Centralized pricing allows the platform to manage competition, but it faces information asymmetry as it cannot observe agent costs. Decentralized pricing lets agents adjust prices to their costs, but without oversight, competition can become too strong (prices too low) or too weak (prices too high). For commission-based platforms, either form of price control can prevail depending on market conditions, implying that neither dominates. However, a relatively simple tweak-adopting an affine fee structure based on posted prices or quantities served-allows the platform to decentralize pricing control without sacrificing optimality. This flexibility further supports agent classification as independent contractors, offering platforms a valuable strategic option for how to structure their workforce.
Other / General
Pricing Control and Regulation on Online Service Platforms
An open debate in platform design is who should control pricing: the platform (centralized pricing) or its service providers (decentralized pricing). We show that a key trade-off is between regulating competition and enabling price tailoring. Centralized pricing allows the platform to manage competition, but it faces information asymmetry as it cannot observ...
AI 专业解读
登录后可生成受篇幅限制、基于原文材料的专家解读。
登录后使用
本页内容来自服务器论文数据库。打开论文来源