Platform economy as a new form of capitalism: a Régulationist research programme

Abstract

The terms ‘platform economy’ or ‘sharing economy’ have become widespread with the development of digital platforms like Uber. This economy is transforming capitalism and raising important questions about its nature. Is it a new process of embeddedness or is it the next step for deregulation following the crisis of the financialised regime of accumulation (RA)? Is it a possible new Growth Regime? Using the approach of the French Régulation school of thought, we describe the nature and transformations of the form of competition inherent in platforms. Although this may favour some forms of re-embeddedness, we show that it will accelerate some of the trends and characteristics of the institutional forms of the financialised RA and that it is an endogenous product of its crisis. This raises further questions and uncertainties related to the ability of platforms to generate stable long run growth due to the dysfunctionality of the mode of régulation and the conflicts it could generate.

Planetary carambolage: The evolutionary political economy of technology, nature and work

“…Platform capitalism literature extends that (see, e.g. Langley and Leyshon 2017, Montalban et al 2019, Srnicek 2017 and places platforms among actors within a capitalist mode of production-thirsty for "profit, new markets, new commodities and new means of exploitation" (Srnicek 2017, p. 3), building on network effects towards monopolization (Pagano 2014). As intermediators of market encounters in digital space (Çalişkan and Callon 2010), platforms simultaneously coordinate multi-sided connections and the effects thereof (Langley and Leyshon 2017;van Dijck et al 2018).…”

Digital Colonization: Development of Digital Platforms in the Context of a Pandemic

“…Besides, digital platforms radically change the nature of competition: they not only take it beyond the intraindustry struggle, but also fundamentally expand the market space, when traditional ways of solving problems that were outside the market space (family, friends, etc.) enter into competition with digital platforms (Montalban et al, 2019). The current situation confirms that the main vector of competition is moving from controlling resources to controlling access to resources.…”

“…lies a "fundamental libertarian way of thinking". Some managerial elites around the world support this ideology and promote the imposition of forms of libertarian politics and the rule of capital (Montalban et al, 2019;Morozov, 2013), the revision of the existing system of checks and developed "institutionalized compromises". Overall, this ideological penetration into the management system, the transformation of the "digital platform logic" into the dominant logic of managerial thinking can have a decisive impact on the formation of the image of the future economy, as well as lead to acute political crises due to the destruction of the "institutionalized reciprocity" between business and the population, business and government (Zuboff, 2015).…”

Systematic framework to assess social impacts of sharing platforms: Synthesising literature and stakeholder perspectives to arrive at a framework and practice-oriented tool

“…Some studies identify improvement of urban space through sharing, such as revitalisation of space, reduced pollution, better connectivity [53][54][55], as well as cultivating conscious tourists and communities due to alternative forms of consumption [56,57]. Recent attention is also turning to the negative impacts of sharing platforms, for example, discrimination [22,23], gentrification [58], casualisation of labour [59], and commodification of relationships [60]. The latest studies on accommodation sharing draw attention to overtourism, touristification, and tourism-phobia in cities where conflicts are growing between tourists and the local population [61][62][63][64][65].…”

“…Recent attention is also turning to the negative impacts of sharing platforms, for example, discrimination [ 22 , 23 ], gentrification [ 58 ], casualisation of labour [ 59 ], and commodification of relationships [ 60 ]. The latest studies on accommodation sharing draw attention to over-tourism, touristification, and tourism-phobia in cities where conflicts are growing between tourists and the local population [ 61 – 65 ].…”