An Introduction to Online Platforms and Their Role in the Digital Transformation

Description

This report contains detailed profiles of twelve of the world's leading platform companies and derives insights from those profiles about what platforms actually do, how they do it, and why they succeed financially. Foreword Acknowledgements Acronyms, abbreviations and units of measure Executive Summary Chapter 1 Previous work Summary Other relevant outputs by the OECD and member countries set the stage for this report Note References Chapter 2 What is an “online platform”? Summary Definition Common economic characteristics of online platforms Note References Chapter 3 Primary impacts of online platforms on economies and societies Summary Objectives Economic impacts Consumer protection and privacy Competition and regulation Impacts on labour, employment and associated policies Social impacts Responsibility issues Artificial intelligence and transparency Notes References Chapter 4 Online platform typologies Summary Choosing a suitable typology Functional typologies Typology based on users Typologies based on the kinds of data platforms collect Typology based on what the platforms do with the data they collect Typology based on revenue sources References Chapter 5 Insights from the profiles Summary Online platforms are not all the same and they are active throughout the economy Online platform companies vary greatly in size The profiled companies also vary greatly in net income per employee Online platforms succeed for a wide variety of reasons The major Chinese platforms are innovative, consolidated, large, scalable – and expanding In contrast, Chinese platforms appear to be far behind in the app economy References Annex A Platform company profiles Summary Airbnb Alibaba Amazon Apple Baidu BlaBlaCar Facebook Freelancer Google MercadoLibre Rakuten Tencent Notes References Annex B Questionnaire sent to profiled companies OECD report on online platforms: