Abstract: Digital platforms lower the entry barrier for novices and amateurs to take part in industries that not long ago were exclusively run by established corporations. Airbnb, for example, gives property owners a foot in the door of the hospitality industry, and Uber does so in the transportation business. These platforms, collectively referred to as part of the peer economy, pose an alternative and exciting economic model, which its dynamics are still not well understood.

As part of the effort to close this knowledge gap, we study the mechanics of one such peer economy platform, Kickstarter.com. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform enabling entrepreneurs to raise money for their venture over the Internet. In this talk we will explore the impact of “playing both sides of the market” – meaning the reciprocal dynamics that arise from entrepreneurs who support the campaigns of their peers – and discuss its broad implications for other platforms of the peer economy.

This is a joint work with Yael Inbar and David Zvilichovsky.

Bio: Ohad Barzilay is a faculty member at the Technology Management, Entrepreneurship and Information Systems department of the Tel Aviv University School of Management. He holds a PhD in computer science in the area of software engineering and he studies the economics of information systems. Ohad uses empirical methods such as machine learning, data mining and big data techniques to study the dynamics on digital platforms and to understand human behavior.

A buffet lunch will be available at 11:45, and the seminar will begin at noon.