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| Detailinformationen |
| Quellcurriculum |
Masterstudium Economic and Business Analytics 2025W |
| Lernergebnisse |
Kompetenzen |
(*)- Students act rationally and independently in online marketplaces.
- Students implement simple economic principles in the design of online markets if different objectives are pursued.
Course Goals
The course is an introduction to online markets including the classic e-commerce sector (B2C and B2B), auction platforms, but also stock exchanges ("many to many electronic exchanges"). The course takes an industrial organization perspective to this topic. In this sense, the course deals with the challenges and problems of the efficiency of these markets and discusses possible solutions to meet the different expectations of market participants. The course topics are:
- Introduction to Game Theory
- Introduction to Mechanism Design
- E-Commerce Markets
- Auctions
- Exchanges
- Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies
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| Fertigkeiten |
Kenntnisse |
(*)- Students are able to identify the economic peculiarities relevant for strategic firm decisions in online marketplaces. (LO6)
- Students are able to apply simple economic principles in the design of these online marketplaces. (LO7)
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(*)- Students know the relevant theoretical and empirical backgrounds and relationships for the respective online markets. (LO1)
- Students understand how different online marketplaces work. (LO2)
- Students understand the resulting consequences of the usage of information and communication technologies on these markets. (LO3)
- Students understand the strategic incentives that different allocation mechanisms offer on online marketplaces and they can derive optimal behavioural strategies for market participants. (LO4)
- Students understand the limitations of online markets. (LO5)
Course Objectives
- Introduction of the fundamentals of mechanism design and its role in creating efficient market systems.
- Highlighting the importance of incentive compatibility and individual rationality in mechanism design.
- Exploring the structure and dynamics of B2C and B2B e-commerce markets.
- Presenting different auction formats, including English, Dutch, first-price, and second-price auctions.
- Discussing the challenges of common-value auctions and multi-unit auctions
- Explaining the concept of many-to-many electronic exchanges, including stock exchanges and commodity markets.
- Introducing the basics of blockchain technology and its applications in online marketplaces.
- Discussing the economic implications of cryptocurrencies and their role in decentralized markets.
- Providing a basic understanding of game theory principles and their application to online marketplaces. (Dominant and Nash Equilibria, Mixed Strategies, Bayesian Nash Equilibria)
- Illustration of the relevance of game theory in strategic decision-making within e-commerce and online auctions.
- Guiding students in applying simple economic principles to the design and analysis of online marketplaces.
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| Beurteilungskriterien |
(*)The following elements are used for evaluation:
- Exam (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6, LO7): Individual exam, there is a possibility to repeat it twice in case of negative results or scheduling issues. It consists of ten short, very different questions ranging from simple reproductions of the material learned and simple arithmetic examples to less structured questions in which the main focus is on the students' ability to understand the content. Students get maximally 20 points; 50 % are necessary for a positive grade.
- Homework (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6): The following criteria are used to evaluate the term paper: consistency of the economic argumentation, depth of the analysis of the selected market, reasonability and correctness of the data analysis, formal execution of the paper. Students receive a maximum of 10 points; 50 % are necessary for a positive grade.
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| Lehrmethoden |
(*)- The course is held in form of distance learning. Hence, we will not meet in class. The whole content of the course (videos, slides, additional material) is accessible via the JKU's Moodle system. This enables students to study the content asynchronously and therefore also during the summer vacation. (Hence, this course is also an offer for part-time students who have professional commitments alongside their studies.)
- Students (or groups of students) have the obligation for personal meetings with the lecturer either in person or via videoconference to discuss open questions or topics that are difficult for them. There is time to discuss their perspective on the prepared material. Some students make use of this opportunity once or rarely; other students make use of it frequently.
- Students have to write a term paper in which they have to select a very specific online marketplace for which empirical data is available that can be used for a small data analysis exercise. The term paper should include a discussion of (i) general strategic aspects of the chosen online marketplace and (ii) a simple data analysis exercise based on the data for this online marketplace.
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| Abhaltungssprache |
Englisch |
| Literatur |
(*)- Extensive slides and videos divided into 59 different sections
Reading Material (Selection):
- Game Theory 101 from William Spaniel (gametheory101.com)
- Nir Vulkan, The Economics of E-Commerce. A strategic guide to understanding and designing the Online Marketplace; Princeton University Press 2003.
- Krishna Vijay, Auction Theory, second edition, Elsevier, 2009.
- Milgrom Paul, Putting Auction Theory to Work, Cambridge University Press, 2004.
- Pekec Aleksandar, Rothkopf Michael, Combinatorial Auction Design, Management Science 2015.
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| Lehrinhalte wechselnd? |
Nein |
| Frühere Varianten |
Decken ebenfalls die Anforderungen des Curriculums ab (von - bis)
977DIGEOMPK20: VU Online Marktplätze (2020W-2021S)
575WBECOMPK10: VU Online Marktplätze (2011W-2020S)
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