It’s important to distinguish between two strong
characteristics of the platform economy:
1. Platforms are efficient and flexible. They create better value for customers, because they make full use of digital technology to deliver more precise solutions. They make more productive use of resources. Platforms disrupt and displace existing businesses that operate with an industrial age value chain and a traditional approach to markets. This is creative destruction, and it brings progress and improved products and services, as companies that are better fit replace the old.
2. Platforms avoid many of the obligations and regulations that conventional businesses need to fulfill. Because they restructure the value-chain, they often fall outside the old categories in the labor market and in government regulations. For many platforms, it is a deliberate and explicit part of their business model to skirt any commitment or responsibilities to society.