EXIT TO COMMUNITY: STRATEGIES FOR MULTI-STAKEHOLDER OWNERSHIP IN THE PLATFORM ECONOM

DAO Harvard presents strategies for multi-stakeholder ownership in the platform economy, including the concept of "exit to community." This approach involves transitioning ownership of a platform to its users and other stakeholders, aiming to increase accountability and democratize the platform economy 12345. The paper discusses various models such as the oracle model, federation model, and tokenized framework. However, it also acknowledges that there are differing opinions on the effectiveness of these strategies Perplexity AI.

The paper highlights the challenges faced by the platform economy, including concerns about accountability and the potential for exploitation. Scholars have raised concerns about algorithmic and data-driven business models, exploitation of digital labor, abuse of market power, failures in corporate governance, and manipulative government interventions DeepL. It emphasizes that withdrawal from platforms is not a cost-free act and involves irrecoverable losses of social capital, reputation, and assets DeepL. This concept is related to the idea of sunk cost Sunk Cost.

To address these challenges, the paper proposes the concept of "exit to community" as an alternative exit strategy for platform companies. It suggests three potential mechanisms: transferring shares to a non-charitable perpetual purpose trust, forming a consortium of platforms, and tokenizing company shares DeepL. However, it notes that these strategies may be more relevant to the software industry dependent on advertising rather than blockchain companies or those involved in plurality DeepL. The paper also mentions that similar discussions can be found in Connected Papers https://gyazo.com/b24ba65d6612b50d838208f630f6082f.

The paper further explores the definition of "exit to community" and provides a case study of CoSocial, a virtual platform company. It delves into the means of implementing each option and discusses the governance and financial implications within specific organizational contexts DeepL. It also addresses potential criticisms and outlines future research directions DeepL.

In conclusion, the paper reviews existing proposals for platform regulation and governance, highlighting the limitations of relying solely on state intervention. It discusses the potential risks and challenges associated with such regulations and proposes the concept of "exit to community" as an effective strategy to ensure accountability to the platform's stakeholders while providing economic benefits to founders and early investors DeepL.