How to regulate a dominant platform's"One-out-of-Two"arrangement?—The exclusive strategy selection of the platform under asymmetric competition
Based on the two-dimensional Hotelling model,this paper builds a game model that simultaneously considers the differentiation of platforms and merchants,to explore the adop-tion of different exclusive strategies by dominant platforms and the impacts of such strategy.The results show that,there are two types of exclusive strategies,namely monopoly-driven and differentiation-driven exclusivity.The monopoly-driven exclusivity can be promoted by low com-mission rates of strong platform,low horizontal differentiation between platforms,high vertical differentiation between platforms,and high horizontal differentiation between products;Other-wise,the differentiation-driven exclusivity will be strengthened.Second,the differentiation-driven exclusivity is also beneficial for weak platforms.To avoid the monopoly-driven exclusivity,weak platforms can increase horizontal differentiation between platforms and reduce vertical differ-entiation or commission rates.Finally,fierce competition among merchants can stimulate the differentiation-driven exclusivity implemented by dominant platforms,which in turn reduces com-petition among merchants and improves their profits.Overall,the research clarifies the drivers of exclusivity strategy of dominant platforms and distinguishes the influences of different exclu-sivity strategies on both platforms and merchants,providing strong policy implications for the regulation of dominant platforms and anti-monopoly in the platform industry.