Search, Design, and Market Structure
研究了互联网降低搜索成本如何影响企业设计选择和市场结构，发现会导致部分企业面向大众、部分瞄准小众的极化格局，并解释了长尾和超级明星现象。
The Internet has made consumer search easier, with consequences for prices, industry structure, and the kinds of products offered. We provide an industry model with strategic design choices that explores these issues. A polarized market structure results: some firms choose designs aimed at broad-based audiences, while others target narrow niches. We analyze the effect of reduced search costs, finding results consistent with the reported prevalence of niche goods and long-tail and superstar phenomena. In particular, the model suggests that long-tail effects arise when there is a wide range of potential designs, relative to vertical heterogeneity among firms.