An apple a day – how the platform economy impacts value creation in the healthcare market

Alexander Gleiss (), Marco Kohlhagen () and Key Pousttchi
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Alexander Gleiss: University of Potsdam
Marco Kohlhagen: University of Potsdam

Electronic Markets, 2021, vol. 31, issue 4, No 8, 849-876

Abstract: Abstract The healthcare industry has been slow to adopt new technologies and practices. However, digital and data-enabled innovations diffuse the market, and the COVID-19 pandemic has recently emphasized the necessity of a fundamental digital transformation. Available research indicates the relevance of digital platforms in this process but has not studied their economic impact to date. In view of this research gap and the social and economic relevance of healthcare, we explore how digital platforms might affect value creation in this market with a particular focus on Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (GAFAM). We rely on value network analyses to examine how GAFAM platforms introduce new value-creating roles and mechanisms in healthcare through their manifold products and services. Hereupon, we examine the GAFAM-impact on healthcare by scrutinizing the facilitators, activities, and effects. Our analyses show how GAFAM platforms multifacetedly untie conventional relationships and transform value creation structures in the healthcare market.

Keywords: Digital platforms; Platform economy; Healthcare market; Digital health; GAFAM; Value network analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 L14 L22 M13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12525-021-00467-2

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