Sarah Kaine, 'Long-term non-market strategies: how platform economy firms create favourable regulatory space'

The proliferation of platform businesses has presented a regulatory challenge in jurisdictions around the world as start-ups have sought to shape the rules that define the markets in which they operate. Uber is the most obvious and well-known example. It has aggressively pursued regulatory change and actively claimed that its business falls outside of existing rules. What Uber has done is to enter markets and deliberately undermine existing regulation because it does not suit its resource profile. This example suggests the urgency of a reconsideration of the durability of that role and the function of public regulation in the new economy.

The recent examples of the strategies adopted by international mega start-ups in the likes of Uber and Airbnb illustrate the importance of non-market strategies as a core, longer-term element, particularly in the digital economy. This paper will explore the long-term non-market strategies of firms to create a favourable ‘regulatory space’ and  consider the implications for the regulation of these new markets. Further we suggest that considering the long term non-market strategies used by some actors in the digital economy provides a more complete picture of what firms do in their non-market environment and suggest a new analysis of how regulation of such firms and emerging markets can be designed.

Venue: Merewether Seminar Room, 498

Date: Thursday, 17 May, 4:00-5:30pm