SMU Assistant Professor of Information Systems Lin Mei studies the economics of platform-based business models such as online marketplaces. Through providing guidance on how online marketplaces should price entry fees for buyers and sellers, and how businesses can manage sellers with highly variable levels of experience and expertise, she hopes to help platform owners better manage their enterprises. Assistant Prof Lin’s findings, published in 2015 in the article, “Endogenous Network Effects, Platform Pricing and Market Liquidity”, have immediate applications for platform-based businesses in the real world. She noted that surveys of market size and buyer preferences and estimations of the sunk cost of adopting a platform can guide platform owners on their pricing strategies. In her future research, Assistant Prof Lin is interested in exploring how platforms compete with each other. She explained that as more businesses start to understand the advantages of platforms, there is a rise in the number of platform-based businesses, which intensifies rivalry in the platform markets. She added that it would therefore be important to understand the dynamics between the competing platforms and the potential market outcomes.
[Featured Photo: Assistant Professor Lin Mei. PHOTO CREDIT: CYRIL NG]