| Project Detail |
Uncovering the illusion of choice in digital platforms
In the rapidly evolving landscape of e-commerce platforms, users often encounter a vast array of choices. However, behind this facade of options lies a subtle standardisation through tools and services that can influence user decisions. This phenomenon can be described as an ‘illusion of choice’ and can lead to unequal treatment among users who self-select into different categories based on platform offerings. Addressing this issue, PLATEX investigates how standardised tools affect user behaviour and performance on leading European platforms. With the support of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the PLATEX project aims to uncover whether AI-driven customisation can mitigate the unintended consequences of standardisation, offering tailored solutions.
PLATEX studies how users are affected by increased standardization associated with tools and services offered by platforms, and whether AI offsets these effects through customization. PLATEX reveals a potential “illusion of choice” where optional tools shape competition on platforms and enable unequal treatment of users under the veil of self-selection. In the empirical context of the e-commerce industry, PLATEX examines how a tool offered by a leading European price comparison platform impacts users’ behavior and performance. In a second step, PLATEX integrates platform and AI research to examine the interplay of standardization and customization through AI. To this end, PLATEX conducts experiments on a newly created peer-to-peer chat platform and analyses the use of an AI tool based on natural language processing (NLP), using an innovative methodological approach that combines the benefits of lab and field experiments. PLATEX builds on a two-way transfer of knowledge between the researcher, whose research identity centers on ecosystems and platforms, and the host institution IESE Business School, where the supervisor of the project, Prof. Sampsa Samila, directs the AI and Future of Management Initiative. The training advances the researcher’s knowledge and network in the field of AI, adds to her methodological toolkit with experimental methods, and sets her on the path to a tenured professorship at a leading European business school. It also positions her for non-academic roles in the fields of data science, business development and technology regulation. |
