Alina Kontareva, Dr.
Alina Kontareva is an associated researcher in the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Society research focus and a lead of the Increase corporate political responsibility and accountability of digital platforms (INCA) project (E.U. Horizon 2020). Her research interests are digital platforms, strategy, internet policy, digital technology, and innovation.
Alina holds a Ph.D. in Innovation studies from TIK – Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Culture at the University of Oslo. In the doctoral dissertation, Alina examined the uneven geographical distribution of digital platforms. She analyzed how platforms outside China and the U.S. can emerge and successfully compete with global giants like Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
Before focusing on platforms, Alina researched the internet industry in Russia and was affiliated with the Center for Science and Technology Studies at the European University in St.Petersburg. As part of the “Russian Computer Scientist At Home and Abroad” project, Alina researched the migration of tech specialists, technology transfer from academia to industry, and the role of policy and politics in Russian innovations.
Alina was a Fulbright fellow (2017) and a vistiting researcher at UC Davis (2014), and UW Madison (2022).
Entrepreneurship & innovation · Politics & lawIncrease corporate political responsibility and accountability of digital platforms
This project examines the growing corporate power of platform capitalism and its hegemony on several spheres of European society.
Journal articles and conference proceedings
Kontareva, A., & Kenney, M. (2025). Building national autonomy in a platform-dominated world: Russia state policy towards platforms. SSRN. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4776251 Publication details
Kontareva, A., & Kenney, M. (2023). National markets in a world of global platform giants: The persistence of Russian domestic competitors. Policy & Internet, 1-24. Publication details
Other publications
Kontareva, A., Bohn, S., & Spitz, S. (2026). Fairness as strategy. Guidelines for building fair platform companies in Europe. HIIG Impact Publication Series. Publication details
Kontareva, A. (2024). How Russian online platforms compete with global giants. Digital Society Blog. Publication details
Lukan, T., Deacon, B., Kontareva, A. (2024). How TikTok Science Communicators Navigate Norms and Values in the Age of Generative AI. Elephant in the Lab Blog Journal. Publication details
Lectures and presentations (15)
Building national autonomy in a platform-dominated world: Russia state policy towards platforms
Beyond Android: Building alternative ecosystems in China, Russia, and India
Strategic Autonomy in Platform-Organized Markets: Rethinking European Digital Policy
Are there platform alternatives? Lessons from the case of Yandex building a domestic online platform ecosystem
Stories from values and profits. How the construction of narratives contributed to the emergence of the digital platform field
INCA Scientific Meeting
Platform Governance in a Polarized World: Russia’s Approach to Mitigating Reliance on US Platform Giants.
Competing with platform giants: Strategies and the role of the State in the case of Russian digital platforms.
Researching Extreme Contexts: Methodological Challenges and Opportunities.
Understanding platform dominance: The role of financialization strategies in the evolution of the platform organizational form.
Protecting Domestic Platform Infrastructure: How Russia Mitigated Dependence upon US West Coast Platform Giants.
Lunch Talk | National platforms in a world of global platform giants: the case of Russian domestic competitors
The Role of Data and Data Partnerships in Digital Platforms.
Platforms, Ecosystems, and the Digital Economy.
The Role of Data in Digital Platforms: from Data Collection to Regulatory Debates
Organisation of events (3)
22.06.2024. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (National) Further information
Philipp Mahlow, Birte Lübbert, Maurice Stenzel, Alina Kontareva, Daniel Pothmann, Nele Buß, Irina Kühnlein, Sarah Spitz, Freia Kuper, Sami Nenno, Freya Hewett, Frederik Efferenn, Georg von Richthofen, Sonja Köhne, Bronwen Deacon, Matthias C. Kettemann, Thomas Christian Bächle, Nataliia Sokolovska, Martin Wrobel, Jörg Pohle, Hendrik Send, Theresa Züger, Jeanette Hofmann
Exploring Platform Alternatives: Shaping a Responsible FutureFrom ‘Big Tech’ to ‘Small Tech’: Values, Norm-Building, and Open-Source. 12.10.2023. Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany (National) Further information
Alina Kontareva
Lunch Talk | National platforms in a world of global platform giants: the case of Russian domestic competitors08.06.2023. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (International) Further information
Alina Kontareva, Daniel Pothmann, Sarah Spitz, Stephan Bohn
Participation as expert (2)
The Future of Competition: Digital Platforms, Patent Protection, and Market Dominance
How the War in Ukraine Could Reshape Global Information, Communication and Security
- 27.03.24 TAGESSPIEGEL BACKGROUND
KI: Wo steht die EU im globalen Ökosystem?
- 13.12.23 SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG DOSSIER
Plattformen: Es muss auch anders gehen
Media
Alina Kontareva, The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
An introduction to the researchers and the issues that the HIIG has been working on in the INCA project.
Alternatives and counterpowers to big tech platforms
What are platform alternatives? This video is an introduction to one of the tasks that HIIG has been leading in the INCA project.
INCA's economic dimension
Alina (HIIG) and Renato (CoLabor) – both are researchers in the INCA project – talk about the economic power of online platform companies.
Data in the future
INCA researchers talk about data. Alina highlights the role of data access and data management for the political economy.
Position
Associated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Contact
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Society
Topics: Digital Platforms, Russia's Platform Economy, Platform Capitalism