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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · 5d

Catch the story everyone in entertainment is talking about: how Taylor Swift’s dominance is changing the rules for artists everywhere. Want to know what’s really behind “the Taylor Swift effect”? Rea...

substack.com

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · 22d

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Decoding YouTube’s next act: Shopping, streaming & superfans

YouTube announced a wave of major updates today at its annual Made on YouTube event, highlighting a strategic push into new activities and monetization strategies.

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · 28d

From cars to clouds: The promises and perils of Uber’s ambitious platform expansion
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From cars to clouds: The promises and perils of Uber’s ambitious platform expansion

Uber’s latest announcement—integrating Blade’s helicopters into its app in 2026—illustrates the logic and ambition behind platform diversification and envelopment.

open.substack.com

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Aug 26

📣 Call for advice from fellow economics educators: I’m looking for effective ways to explain the 𝕤𝕦𝕓𝕘𝕒𝕞𝕖-𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 ℕ𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕦𝕞 so that it really clicks.
⁉️ Have you discovered intuitive explanations, analogies, or classroom activities that help it stick?

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Aug 14

Generally, it benefits the platform to favour the user group with the greater influence on attracting the other. The recent decision to let US guests reserve a property without paying up front suggests that each new guest attracts more hosts than extra hosts attract guests.

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Aug 14

Digital platforms often face a trade-off: satisfying one user group’s needs can disadvantage another, as the total transaction value is fixed. For example, Airbnb must balance guest flexibility and host protection.
techcrunch.com/2025/08/14/a...

Airbnb will allow US users to book stays without paying up front | TechCrunch

Airbnb has launched a new feature called "Reserve Now, Pay Later" that lets users in the U.S. reserve a property without paying upfront, potentially allowing people to cancel their bookings with less ...

techcrunch.com

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Aug 12

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Paul Belleflamme (@paulbelleflamme)

🌍✈️ Can digital platforms save the world’s “secret places” — or are they the ones putting them on the map? From the cobbled streets of Clovelly to real-time crowd apps and selfie parks, my latest pie...

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Aug 2

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Paul Belleflamme (@paulbelleflamme)

Recently,I explored how the food-delivery industry has evolved across the US and Europe, highlighting why DoorDash’s acquisition of Deliveroo was anything but surprising (see https://paulbelleflamme.s...

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Jul 31

Dropbox’s decision to discontinue Dropbox Passwords highlights a critical lesson in platform strategy: not every feature achieves the scale or impact required for long-term success.

This move offers a real-world example of the “minimum viable platform” concept.

open.substack.com/pub/paulbell...

Cracking the Code: Demystifying the Minimum Viable Platform (1)

In 2011, Eric Ries popularised the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as part of the Lean Startup methodology.

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Jul 24

"Indiegogo is being acquired by the board game crowdfunding platform Gamefound." (The Verge, 24/07/25) It is not surprising that the reward-based crowdfunding sector gets more concentrated, as we explained in a recent blog:
open.substack.com/pub/paulbell...

Concentration in the French Crowdfunding Market: The Role of Positive Spillovers Across Projects

What explains KissKissBankBank's takeover by Ulule?

open.substack.com

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Jul 17

Check out my latest (free access) publication, which explores the dynamic impacts of crises on sharing economy platforms. The article presents a conceptual framework for understanding how platform participation, strategy, and resilience evolve in response to disruptions.
www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17...

www.mdpi.com

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Jul 13

Frightening...

The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · Jul 13

Your social media is no longer a personal space. It may be used by governments to determine whether you fit with their values

👉 Read the full story: tcnv.link/fRVOh13

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Jun 25

substack.com/@paulbellefl...

Paul Belleflamme on Substack

🚦 WhatsApp is changing—and so is the game for Meta. Meta’s decision to introduce ads on WhatsApp could redefine the platform’s future, but will users accept it? In my latest post, I break down the st...

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · May 26

open.substack.com/pub/paulbell...

Airbnb’s Strategic Expansion: A Textbook Case of Platform Growth

How the travel giant is leveraging “densification” and “diversification” to dominate the experience economy

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · May 12

open.substack.com/pub/paulbell...

From Take Eat Easy to Takeover: How Platform Wars Shaped the DoorDash–Deliveroo Merger

The online food delivery market has transformed dramatically over the past decade, reshaping how millions of Europeans and Americans order their meals.

open.substack.com

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Apr 10

paulbelleflamme.substack.com/p/vinted-vs-...

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Mar 21

Discover how the principles outlined in 'Platform Strategies' help us understand the fascinating world of second-hand clothing platforms.
#econSky

Thrifted treasures: Overcoming challenges and unlocking the potential of second-hand fashion

How can platforms strive in this promising market?

open.substack.com

Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Mar 1

Thanks to #PlatformPapers and @gjrietveld.bsky.social for allowing us to popularise our academic research. #EconSky

Joost Rietveld @gjrietveld.bsky.social · Feb 27

In the latest #PlatformPapers blog, Paul Belleflamme, Eric Toulemonde and Martin Peitz argue that using market shares to proxy market power for digital platforms is complicated for several reasons. They offer insights to regulators, investors and managers.
platformpapers.substack.com/p/rethinking...

Rethinking Market Power in the Digital Platform Era

Market share isn't everything.

platformpapers.substack.com

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Feb 18

While digital platforms may offer broader reach and scalability, physical fairs like Batibouw provide unmatched opportunities for trust-building and professional networking that can't be replicated online. #EconSky #Platforms

Batibouw: A brick-and-mortar platform … for brick and mortar trade

Belgium's largest trade fair for construction provides a compelling case study to illustrate the strategies of platforms.

paulbelleflamme.substack.com

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Feb 8

#crowdfunding #econsky

Concentration in the French Crowdfunding Market: The Role of Positive Spillovers Across Projects

What explains KissKissBankBank's takeover by Ulule?

paulbelleflamme.substack.com

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Reposted by Paul Belleflamme

Thomas Lambert @tlambert0803.bsky.social · Feb 2

Notre nouvel article dans de @france.theconversation.com "Concentration sur le marché français du crowdfunding : le rôle des retombées positives entre projets"
theconversation.com/absorption-d... @belleflamme.bsky.social

Absorption de KissKissBankBank par Ulule : les raisons d'une fusion

L’absorption de KissKissBankBank par Ulule n’est pas une surprise. Ulule a mieux tiré parti des retombées positives entre projets que sa rivale.

theconversation.com

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Jan 20

Our research reveals that despite competing for funding, projects can benefit each other. We've identified a significant spillover effect accounting for approximately 4% of the daily rise in project contributions. This phenomenon is driven by recurrent backers who support multiple projects.

Thomas Lambert @tlambert0803.bsky.social · Jan 20

New paper "Spillovers in Crowdfunding" with @belleflamme.bsky.social & Armin Schwienbacher in the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy (open access) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

👉 We show the essential role #platforms play in connecting backers with entrepreneurs in crowdfunding

Spillovers in Crowdfunding

We use novel entrepreneur-backer data to study the extent to which spillovers arise between projects displayed on crowdfunding platforms. We find that backers decide to back a particular project base....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Paul Belleflamme @belleflamme.bsky.social · Dec 23

📈 BlueSky's growth at the expense of X exemplifies the "Shelter Runaway Chickens" strategy we explain in our book.
⬇️ Find out more about this strategy in this blog post:
paulbelleflamme.substack.com/p/opportunit...
#EconSky