Lecture and Exercise

The "Platform Economy" lecture provides a broad range of knowledge related to online platforms and their business models, examining their significance for users, operators, and society as a whole. The course is structured into 8 topical blocks, each exploring a different aspect of the platform economy in depth. Each block is led by a different lecturer who is an expert in the respective topic. The key topics covered in the lecture include:

Network Effects and Two-Sided Markets

• Business Models and Auctions
• Energy Market Engineering
• Digital Involvement: Crowd X & Citizen Science
• Digital Democracy and Social Media
• Analyzing User Behavior
• Trust and Reputation in Digital Platforms
• Ethical Considerations in the Platform Economy

To reinforce the lecture material, each block is accompanied by interactive exercises that encourage a deeper understanding of the topics. In these exercises, students will engage in discussions and explore practical examples that illustrate the theoretical concepts introduced during the lectures. The lecture and exercise also offer a chance to get an idea of the lectures offered during the master's program at our chair.

Case Study

In addition to the lectures, you will work on a case study in small groups. Your task will be to develop a business model for an innovative and novel online platform, which will be presented to you by one of our experts, either from the academic team or the industry. This case study offers a chance to gain deeper insights into current trends in the platform economy and to apply the knowledge acquired throughout the course in a practical, hands-on way.

• Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (2017). „Kompetenzen für eine digitale Sourveränität“(abrufbar unter https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Studien/kompetenzen-fuer-eine-digitale-souveraenitaet.html)
• Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (2017). „Weißbuch Digitale Plattformen.“ (abrufbar unter https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Digitale-Welt/weissbuch-digitale-plattformen.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8)
• Easley, D., and Kleinberg, J. 2010. “Network Effects,” in Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World, Cambridge University Press, pp. 509–542.
• Eisenmann, T., Parker, G., and Van Alstyne, M. W. 2006. “Strategies for two-sided markets,” Harvard Business Review 84(10), pp. 1–11.
• Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K., and Csik, M. 2013. Geschäftsmodelle entwickeln: 55 innovative Konzepte mit dem St. Galler Business Model Navigator, Hanser.
• Wattenhofer, R. 2016. “The science of the blockchain.” CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
• Roth, A. 2002. “The Economist as Engineer: Game Theory, Experimental Economics and Computation as Tools for Design Economics,” Econometrica 70(4): 1341-1378, 2002.
• Weinhardt, C. ,Holtmann, C., Neumann, D., Market Engineering. Wirtschaftsinformatik, 2003.
• Wolfstetter, E., 1999. “Topics in Microeconomics - Industrial Organization, Auctions, and Incentives,” Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
• Teubner, T., and Hawlitschek, F. (in press). “The economics of P2P online sharing,” in The Sharing Economy: Possibilities, Challenges, and the way forward, Praeger Publishing.