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  • 2019
  • Book

The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

The Business of Platforms explores the strategic, economic, and technology management challenges of digital platform businesses. We have five major themes in the book: 1) The world’s most valuable companies are all platforms, in part because platforms have network effects, with the potential for a winner-take-all or winner-take-most outcome. 2) Platforms come in 3 flavors: innovation platforms, transaction platforms, and hybrid platforms. We suggest that the world is moving towards more and more hybrids, and we identify the key steps in building a successful platform. 3) Failure is more likely than winner-take-all: mispricing, mistrust, mistiming, and hubris lead to hundreds of failures. 4) Old “dogs” can learn new tricks: conventional companies can adapt to a platform world with a buy, build, or belong strategy. And 5) Platforms are a double-edge sword: abuse of power, bullying poor labor practices, and bad actors can undermine even the most successful platforms. The book concludes with an exploration of platform battles of the future, including voice wars (Alexa vs. Hey Google vs. Siri), ridesharing and autonomous car platforms, quantum computing, and CRISPR.

Keywords

Strategy; Technology; Platform; Internet and the Web; Management; Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms

Citation

Cusumano, Michael A., Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie. The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power. Harper Business, 2019.
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About The Author

David B. Yoffie

Strategy
→More Publications

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    • June 2022 (Revised July 2022)
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    The Voice War Continues: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri in 2022

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    Doubling Down: Elon Musk’s Big Bets in 2022

    By: David Yoffie
    • May 29, 2022
    • Harvard Business Review France (website)

    Pourquoi le business model des plateformes est-il si performant? [Why Is the Platform Business Model So Successful?]

    By: Annabelle Gawer, Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie
More from the Authors
  • The Voice War Continues: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri in 2022 By: David B. Yoffie
  • Doubling Down: Elon Musk’s Big Bets in 2022 By: David Yoffie
  • Pourquoi le business model des plateformes est-il si performant? [Why Is the Platform Business Model So Successful?] By: Annabelle Gawer, Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie
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