Digital platforms in the global economy

Abstract

Globalization of the economy has led to a significant increase in competition in various areas. One of the key business tools that allows organizations to gain a strong competitive advantage is digital platforms. Hence, this study considers impact of digital platforms on changes in the global market and global competition. To do this, this work analyzes the trends of platformization of the economy its impact on the structure of the world market, and considers the peculiarities of value formation on platforms. An attempt was also made to classify the consequences and risks of using platforms in countries with different levels of economic development. The digital platform environment can be potentially dangerous for competition. Through network effects, platforms can gain market power and abuse their dominant position, for example by imposing exclusivity agreements on their suppliers or demanding predatory prices from their competitors. However, in various cases of competition, platforms were not considered dominant in the relevant market. The innovative capabilities of global platforms will increase. Countries with a lower level of digitization may lose the ability to develop a local innovation environment, as all resources and developer potential will be concentrated on work for other countries. This has the potential to significantly increase the gap in the level of not only economic, but also innovative and digital development.