ICT and Household-Firm Relations

Assar Lindbeck and Solveig Wikström ()
Additional contact information
Solveig Wikström: School of Business, Stockholm University, Postal: Stockholm University, S-106 69 Stockholm, Sweden

No 677, Seminar Papers from Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies

Abstract: This paper discusses how ICT and emerging electronic commerce in consumer products influence the relative efficiency in production of households and firms, resulting in changes in the division of tasks between these two types of agents. Increased information and competence of households, in combination with stiffer competition among firms, will also increase the power of households relative to firms, at least in a long-term perspective with free entry of firms. Households will also get more powerful channels to influence firms directly, i.e., beside the indirect influence via market trans-actions. We point out that this will result in various counter-reactions by firms, includ-ing increased differentiation of products and prices. Finally, we briefly consider various limitations and obstacles to electronic commerce in a long-term perspective.

Keywords: information technology; household production; division of labour; market powers; competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 D40 D80 L10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 1999-10-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:328472/FULLTEXT01 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: ICT and Household-Firm Relations (1999)
Working Paper: ICT and Household-Firm Relations (1999)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:iiessp:0677

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Seminar Papers from Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Hanna Christiansson ().