TITLE:
Platform Economies and Market Power: Evidence from Digital Markets
AUTHORS:
Shrihan Jha, Sananjay Biswas
KEYWORDS:
Platform Economy, Digital Platforms, Market Power, Competition Policy, Network Effects, Digital Markets
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.16 No.9,
September
24,
2026
ABSTRACT: The fast development of digital technologies and the rise of platform economies through digital platforms that enable interaction between several parties and generate value via network effects, data, and AI is revolutionizing the markets in the modern world. Although digital platforms contribute substantially to innovation and efficiency in markets, they have been criticized for generating issues associated with market concentration, entry barriers, and dominance of a limited number of large global tech corporations. In this review, I focus on the economic underpinnings of platform markets, sources of market power, measurement methods of digital dominance, empirical evidence from the major digital industries, competition policies and regulations implemented in leading economies, and gaps in research and future avenues. Market power in digital markets is more complex than it was before and depends not only on pricing but also on the control of data, integration into ecosystems, and AI. Therefore, assessment of competition in such markets must be done using multidimensional frameworks reflecting the specifics of platform markets.