众人拾柴火焰高?支付平台引入四方模式对绩效的异质影响

The More the Merrier? Platform Opening,Total Factor Productivity and Market Performance

本文首先在理论层面建立起支付平台“运行模式转型→全要素生产率变动→绩效表现”的逻辑链条,然后利用广义合成控制法实证考察美国运通支付平台引入四方模式对其交易量和加成率的异质性影响。研究结果显示,支付平台引入四方模式导致交易量显著上升但加成率显著下降,“鱼与熊掌不可兼得”的结果说明引入四方模式对平台绩效产生了结构分化效应。进一步分析发现,支付平台引入四方模式经由全要素生产率渠道“趋吉避凶”地作用于绩效表现。全要素生产率及其分解项的提高,显著地增强了支付平台“四方化转型”产生的交易量扩容效应,部分地抵消了支付平台“四方化转型”产生的加成率收窄效应,使得支付平台引入四方模式后对其加成率的负面影响不至于太强。本文的研究结论对支付平台运行模式设计和支付产业生态圈建设具有启发意义。

This paper established a transmission channel,i.e. platform openness→total factor productivity→market performance,to understand the logic of platform opening affecting market performance. Based on a unique operational data of four global oligopolistic payment platforms from the first quarter of 2006 to the third quarter of 2013,this paper empirically examines the heterogeneous impact of platform opening on trading volume and mark-up,using the generalized synthetic control method. The results of econometric model show that the platform trading volume increased significantly but the mark-up decreased significantly after the transition from closed mode to open mode of American Express. This conclusion is robust in series of tests,such as placebo test,parallel trend test and replacement of other empirical methods.The results of the mechanism analysis show that platform opening affects market performance through total factor productivity channel. To be more precise,the positive effect of total factor productivity reverses or partially offsets the negative impact of other factors,explaining the motivation of open platforms’ pursuit for trading volume rather than markup. In terms of trading volume,the positive mediating effect of TFP outweighs the negative direct effect of other factors,resulting in a positive net effect of platform opening on trading volume;in terms of mark-up,the positive mediating effect of TFP is not as strong as the negative direct effects of other factors,but it at least offsets the negative effect,making the drag effect of platform opening on mark-up less strong. The conclusions of this study are instructive for the ecosystem construction of China’s bank card payment industry.