Disruptive New Firms in the Sharing Economy: A Process View of Corporate Reputations

This thesis addresses the formation of corporate reputations for digital platform-based disruptive new firms (DNFs) in the sharing economy. I provide one of the first empirical studies to examine the process by which reputations unfold over time, taken from a socially constructed view. I offer a nuanced understanding into the formation of both market and character reputations. I conduct a longitudinal qualitative analysis of a typical case of DNFs in the sharing economy, Uber Technologies Inc. The findings highlight that DNFs develop rapid market reputations and may sustain it in light of misconduct and wrongdoing. The impact of enduring misconduct, places a negative pressure on DNFs’ character reputations, however limited. I evaluate stakeholder sensemaking in two marketplaces: the marketplace of goods and services and the marketplace of ideas (Mahon & Wartick, 2003). In the former, DNFs are subject to rapid market responses by primary stakeholders, investors, who by rewarding firms on meeting economic imperatives, incite the adoption of precarious practices. In the marketplace of ideas, misconduct and wrongdoing evoke more significant tensions between economic and social values. The nature of DNFs wrongdoing often resides in a grey zone, which drives contested understandings in the marketplace of ideas. Enduring and positive market signals of DNFs’ market reputations also interfere with stakeholder sensemaking. As a result, character reputations take time to form and place limited pressure on market reputations. I also highlight that the embeddedness of a CEO-founder and the firm is a critical mechanism by which DNFs may ward off damage to character reputations

The Corporate Purpose of Social License

This Article deploys the sociological theory of social license, or the acceptance of a business or organization by the relevant communities and stakeholders, in the context of the board of directors and corporate governance. Corporations are generally treated as “private” actors and thus are regulated by “private” corporate law. This construct allows for considerable latitude. Corporate actors are not, however, solely “private.” They are the beneficiaries of economic and political power, and the decisions they make have impacts that extend well beyond the boundaries of the entities they represent. Using Wells Fargo and Uber as case studies, this Article explores how the failure to account for the public nature of corporate actions, regardless of whether a “legal” license exists, can result in the loss of “social” license. This loss occurs through publicness, which is the interplay between inside corporate governance players and outside actors who report on, recapitulate, reframe and, in some cases, control the company’s information and public perception. The theory of social license is that businesses and other entities exist with permission from the communities in which they are located, as well as permission from the greater community and outside stakeholders. In this sense, businesses are social, not just economic, institutions and, thus, they are subject to public accountability and, at times, public control. Social license derives not from legally granted permission, but instead from the development of legitimacy, credibility, and trust within the relevant communities and stakeholders. It can prevent demonstrations, boycotts, shutdowns, negative publicity, and the increases in regulation that are a hallmark of publicness — but social license must be earned with consistent trustworthy behavior. Thus, social license is bilateral, not unilateral, and should be part of corporate strategy and a tool for risk management and managing publicness more generally. By focusing on and deploying social license and publicness in the context of board decision-making, this Article adds to the discussions in the literature from other disciplines, such as the economic theory on reputational capital, and provides boards with a set of standards with which to engage and address the publicness of the companies they represent. Discussing, weighing, and developing social license is not just in the zone of what boards can do, but is something they should do, making it a part of strategic, proactive cost-benefit decision-making. Indeed, the failure to do so can have dramatic business consequences

Sharing Economy Meets the Sherman Act: Is Uber a Firm, a Cartel, or Something in Between?

The sharing economy is a new industrial structure that is made possible by instantaneous internet communication and changes in the life, work, and purchasing habits of individual entrepreneurs and consumers. Antitrust law is an economic regulatory scheme dating back to 1890 in the United States that is designed to address centrally controlled concentrations of economic power and the threats that those concentrations pose to consumer interests and economic efficiency. In order to accommodate a modern enterprise structure in which thousands or millions of independent contractors join forces to provide a service by agreement among themselves, antitrust law requires re-envisioning and careful application. The success of Uber, Airbnb, and other sharing economy firms, and the consumer benefits that those firms promise, show both how difficult and how important that re-envisioning can be

Dewey\u27s Democratic Economy: A Pragmatic Justification for Uber

This thesis investigates the changing regulatory environment around the ride-sharing platform, Uber. As Uber continues to expand, it poses a challenge for existing regulatory systems. This thesis offers a policy recommendation for regulatory agencies under the framework of a Deweyan Democratic Economy. Research was conducted in the three steps: a literature review; quantitative analysis of Uber\u27s wage, demographic, and surge pricing data; and a series of interviews with Uber drivers, consumers, and policy experts. In the literature review, it was found that a company could move towards a more democratic economy by increasing public access to information and economic participation. Analysis of Uber wage, demographic, and surge pricing data offered evidence that Uber does in fact increase access to information and economic participation. The experiences with Uber, characterized by interviews, revealed that primary method of addressing public concerns and increasing public benefit is encouraging a greater number of individuals to drive for Uber, while ensuring the safety of consumers. Given these findings, this thesis concludes with a recommendation that: licensing requirements be kept low, flexible insurance programs are created for Uber drivers, and municipalities have access to the identity of Uber drivers

Dewey's Democratic Economy: A Pragmatic Justification for Uber

This thesis investigates the changing regulatory environment around the ride-sharing platform, Uber. As Uber continues to expand, it poses a challenge for existing regulatory systems. This thesis offers a policy recommendation for regulatory agencies under the framework of a Deweyan Democratic Economy. Research was conducted in the three steps: a literature review; quantitative analysis of Uber’s wage, demographic, and surge pricing data; and a series of interviews with Uber drivers, consumers, and policy experts. In the literature review, it was found that a company could move towards a more democratic economy by increasing public access to information and economic participation. Analysis of Uber wage, demographic, and surge pricing data offered evidence that Uber does in fact increase access to information and economic participation. The experiences with Uber, characterized by interviews, revealed that primary method of addressing public concerns and increasing public benefit is encouraging a greater number of individuals to drive for Uber, while ensuring the safety of consumers. Given these findings, this thesis concludes with a recommendation that: licensing requirements be kept low, flexible insurance programs are created for Uber drivers, and municipalities have access to the identity of Uber drivers

An Investigation of Multisided Digital Platform Boundaries

Multisided digital platforms (MSDPs) are software systems that attract at least two distinct groups of users and generate network effects. They have attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners in recent years, as they have disrupted how firms create and capture value and have blurred their boundaries. Firms implementing MSDPs may make different boundary decisions when configuring the complements of their MSDPs. In some cases, they build complements in-house, while in others, they rely on third-party complementors. Despite efforts to understand the complex phenomenon of MSDPs, there is still confusion about what they are, and little is known about the determinant of their boundaries. This study aimed to provide a clear definition of MSDPs and investigated the factors influencing their boundaries as well as how firms respond to these factors. To answer these questions, first, this thesis synthesised a definition of MSDPs by integrating various streams of literature. Based on this, MSDPs have been defined as an organising logic characterised by a layered modular architecture and satisfying three conditions: (1) multisidedness, (2) modularity and (3) codebase extension. Second, this thesis implemented a qualitative case study of Uber, a ridesharing MSDP that disrupted the taxi industry worldwide, to understand the factors influencing MSDP’s boundaries. An in-depth analysis of Uber’s boundary decisions regarding its payment and maps complements was conducted. This showed that supply side factors identified in the literature, such as the need to reduce transactional hazards and build core competencies, influenced MSDP boundary decisions. In addition, demand side factors that have not been considered by previous research influenced firm boundaries. These demand side factors were complement localisation (adapting to local market conditions), customer heterogeneity realisation (addressing customers’ heterogenous needs and preferences) and supermodular complementarity ignition (increasing user numbers and investment in the MSDP). The findings suggested that an MSDP firm is more likely to rely on third-party complementors to respond to demand side factors, even though this may increase transactions costs. An exception to this is when a third-party complementary asset cannot be customised to meet the requirements of the MSDP. In these cases, an MSDP is more likely to build a complement in-house. These findings have offered new insights into MSDP boundaries by shifting the focus of existing theories of firm boundaries from the supply side to the demand side and from value capture to value creation. These new theoretical findings have complemented existing theories of firm boundaries and enhanced our understanding of MSDP boundaries. Moreover, these findings have important theoretical and practical implications, such as the need for future research to better understand demand side factors and for managers to evaluate the tension between supply side and demand side factors strategically.Qatar Research Leadership Program, Qatar Foundatio

Designing and Implementing effective autonomous vehicle regulation in Toronto, Ontario

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 162-169).Studies suggest autonomous vehicles can enable a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable transportation network. Yet, experts point out this outcome is not guaranteed, and that without outside policy intervention autonomous vehicle (AV) use might actually exacerbate congestion, sprawl, and inequitable access to travel. These challenges will be most acutely felt in areas under the purview of local governments-such as transportation congestion, land use, and impacts on public transit. As such, the goal of this thesis is to assist municipal policymakers with mitigating these impacts by answering the question: How can local governments effectively regulate autonomous vehicles? Looking at Toronto, Canada, specifically, this thesis addresses the following issues: - When is a contract, and when is a regulation, the most appropriate tool to encourage AV companies to act in ways that help foster a sustainable and equitable transportation network? - What does the City of Toronto require to develop effective AV regulation? - How can the City of Toronto codify broad AV policies into specific, enforceable regulations? This thesis employs three research methods: a literature review, a document analysis, and qualitative interviews with relevant experts. The primary literature review looks at the possible benefits and harms that might come from AV development and the policies local governments can enact to correct for these externalities. Interviews were conducted with 23 experts from the public and private sectors and academia, with responses analysed and themes drawn out to develop answers to the above research questions. Finally, analysis of Toronto's Official Plan and Municipal Code helped inform the creation of a proposed Article 10-A of the code to regulate AV rideshare companies. Chapters three to five of this thesis develop a framework (laid out in Figure 0.1) for thinking about how best to design effective AV regulation. Firstly, the government needs legal capacity to regulate in a given area. Toronto, for example, is responsible for overseeing local rideshare company activity. The remaining four elements all relate to human resources. Interviews show Toronto's bureaucrats believe they have a responsibility and ability to craft effective and ambitious regulations that advance the city's goals. These willing civil servants need the time and the expertise to design good policy, and the Toronto government has an AV working group that provides a forum for such a discussion. To see regulations enacted effectively, however, the mayor and council must not only support rules eventually proposed by the working group; they may also need to approach the provincial government to convince them to craft their own complementary AV legislation. Figure 0.1. The five elements to effective regulation [illustration] Chapter six explores how broad AV policy can be applied concretely. Along with Article 10-A (Appendix C), it offers an example of the specific legal language for AV regulation. Divided into two broad categories--'Equity' and 'Urban Form and Street Space'-the article addresses some of the anticipated issues that might arise with AV rideshare operations including a need to allow citizens without a smartphone are able to use the service, limit AV rideshare travel on local roads, and ensure all neighbourhoods enjoy a relatively similar level of service (accounting for geography and density). Beyond the proposed article itself, chapter six provides feedback from Toronto officials as to the challenges the provisions in the article might face were the government to attempt their ratification. Positively, none of the regulations were unanimously viewed as infeasible, with staff seemingly eager to act boldly when it comes to addressing the challenges of AV activity. As such, this thesis can be used both by Toronto policymakers and their counterparts elsewhere as the basis for discussion in designing the specific rules for AV operations that will be incorporated into a future version of the Municipal Code.by Benjamin M. Gillies-Podgorecki.M.C.P