Market‐expanding or Market‐stealing? Competition with network effects in bike‐sharing

A-Tier
Journal: RAND Journal of Economics
Year: 2021
Volume: 52
Issue: 4
Pages: 778-814

Authors (4)

Guangyu Cao (not in RePEc) Ginger Zhe Jin (not in RePEc) Xi Weng (Peking University) Li‐An Zhou (Peking University)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Using staggered entry of two dockless bike‐sharing firms, we study whether the entrant expands or steals the market from the incumbent in 59 cities. Compared with 23 cities without entry, the entry helps the incumbent to serve more trips, make more bike investment, achieve higher revenue per trip, improve bike utilization, and form a wider and more dispersed network. The market‐expanding effect on new users dominates a significant market‐stealing effect on old users. These findings, plus a theory that highlights consumer search and network effects, suggest that a market with positive network effects and multihoming users is not necessarily winner‐takes‐all.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:randje:v:52:y:2021:i:4:p:778-814
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-29