Data Scale, Data Scope and Platform Enterprise Performance: Insights from Digital Platform M&As

Data is a key asset for digital platforms,and mergers and acquisitions(M&As)are an important way for platform enterprises to acquire it.The types of data obtained from intra-industry and cross-sector M&As differ,as does the extent to which they interact within or between platforms.The impact of such data on corporate market performance is an important question to consider when selecting strategies for digital platform M&As.Based on our research on advertising-driven platforms,we developed a two-stage Hotelling game model for comparing the market performance effects of intra-industry M&As and cross-sector M&As for digital platforms.We carried out an empirical test using relevant data from advertising-driven digital platforms between 2009 and 2021,as well as a case study on Baidu’s M&A activities.Our research discovered that intra-industry M&As driven by“data economies of scale”and cross-sector M&As driven by“data economies of scope”are both beneficial to the market performance of platform enterprises.Intra-industry M&As have a more significant positive effect on the market performance of platform enterprises because the same types of data are easier to integrate and develop the“network effect of data scale”.From a data factor perspective,this paper reveals the inherent economic logic by which different types of M&As influence the market performance of digital platforms,as well as policymaking recommendations for all digital platforms to select M&A strategies based on data scale,data scope,and the network effect of data.

Scale and scope economies in small household rice farming in Vietnam

The Vietnamese agricultural sector has experienced a dramatic structural change based on increased specialization in rice cultivation.However,small-scale rice-farmers have continued to grow multiple crops,especially in less developed provinces.While the literature advocates crop diversification for reasons of both economic and ecological sustainability,there lacks empirical evidence as to whether crop diversification brings efficiency and productivity gains to small farms.The present study is the first applications of the input-oriented stochastic distance function approach in estimating scale and scope economies using data of multi-crop farming households in Vietnam.We find strong evidence of product-specific economies of scale.Scope economies are also present for rice,vegetable,and other annual crop production.This suggests that crop diversification enhances efficiency and productivity.However,there still exists significant technical inefficiency in crop production,indicating opportunities to expand farm output at the existing level of inputs and technologies.More specifically,our empirical results indicate that it is desirable to expand vegetable and other annual crop production in mountainous areas while rice cultivation can be further expanded in delta and coastal regions.

Is a Single Product Cost Function Appropriate for Institutions of Higher Education？ Empirical Evidence From China＇s Research Universities＊

Many studies exist in the literature of scale and scope economies in institutions of higher education employing multi-product cost functions of quadratic, constant elasticity substitution （CES）, or hybrid translog form. A single product cost function is normally considered inadequate and yield distorted results. Both quadratic and single product cost functions have been applied to university data from China＇s Ministry of Education （MOE）. This study compares those two methods and their statistical results and finds that ray economies of scale from these two cost functions are quite similar though the single product cost function which can not be used to calculate product-specific economies of scale or economies of scope.

The internal efficiency in higher education:An analysis based on economies of scope

Among the studies of the internal efficiency in higher education,most have focused on the scale of university(the economies of scale),but little on internal operating efficiency in higher education,especially on the combined efficiency of outputs(the economies of scope).There are few theoretical discussions or experimental research on whether teaching resources are complementary with research resources,or whether resources in undergraduate cultivation are shared with those in postgraduate training.In the background of the resource scarcity,it is significant to study the economies of scope in higher education to realize intensive development of higher education.Based on the multiproduct cost function and the data of universities attached to the Ministry of Education,this paper attempts to deal with the complementarities of resources used in undergraduate cultivation,postgraduate training and research to find that universities produce these outputs without sufficient resource sharing,the diseconomies of scope in postgraduate training is highest.As far as the quality of teaching and research are concerned,diseconomies of scope of the outputs are great.The main reasons are as follows:poor distribution of facilities,teachers and books,overlapping internal management systems,and the current postgraduate cultivation model.Therefore,relative departments should take internal resource sharing in higher education into account when making the administration policy of higher education.