PhD Dissertation Defense, Dr Madhulika Kaul, Strategy & Business Policy

Congratulations to Dr Madhulika Kaul, Strategy & Business Policy, who successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at HEC Paris on the 6th of June, 2024.

Specialisation: Strategy & Business Policy

Topic: Essays on Digital Platforms as Private Regulators

Supervisor: Professor Olivier Chatain, HEC Paris

Jury members: 

Professor Annabelle GAWER, University of Surrey, Surrey Business School, UK
Professor Francisco POLIDORO, The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, US
Associate Professor Jiao LUO, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business, US
Professor Aseem KAUL, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business, US
Associate Professor, Denisa MINDRUTA, HEC Paris, France
Professor Olivier CHATAIN, HEC Paris, France

Abstract:
My thesis examines the role of digital platforms as private regulators. This thesis evaluates how and why platforms choose which rules to create and enforce and the impact of these choices on platforms and their stakeholders such as individuals, firms, civil society, and regulators. The first essay develops a theoretical framework that explores the different aspects of platforms’ rule-making focusing on the interdependence of social movement organizations on digital content-sharing platforms. The second essay investigates how a platform’s implementation of a public regulation impacts its complementors’ compliance and adaptation by employing a spatial difference-in-difference design in the Paris short-term tourism rental accommodation market. The third essay explores how a platform’s governance choice impacts the professionalization of complementors in the same empirical context. Overall, my thesis makes three contributions to research on platforms. First, I extend the literature on platforms by taking an integrated view of platforms’ market and non-market strategies. Second, by evaluating the role of digital platforms as private regulators, I contribute to the broader literature on how these firms shape the non-market environment of their stakeholders as individuals, firms, social movement organizations, and regulators. Third, I provide evidence for how complementors may strategically adapt and thus limit the influence of platforms’ private regulation.