Publications

Article

Managing Proprietary and Shared Platforms

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

In a platform-mediated network, users rely on a common platform, provided by one or more intermediaries, that encompasses infrastructure and rules required by users to transact with each other. A fundamental design decision for firms that aspire to develop... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Digital Platforms; Infrastructure; Competition; Cooperation; Information Infrastructure

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30 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music

At the dawn of the digital music era, record labels went along with a pricing scheme devised by Apple that they are still paying for today. The idea to "unbundle" albums into separate tracks sold... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

28 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Digital Discrimination: The Case of Airbnb.com

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman & Michael Luca; Construction; Real Estate

16 Feb 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Platform Competition Under Partial Belief Advantage

Keywords: by Hanna Halaburda & Yaron Yehezkel; Consumer Products

June 2023
Supplement

Clash of Two Giants Simulation Exercise

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

Many markets are organized around platforms that connect consumers with complementary applications and services. These platforms are two-sided because both sides - consumers and those providing applications or services - need access to the same platform to interact. A... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Platform Strategy; Technology Platform; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy; Network Effects

17 Apr 2017
Research Event

The Most Pressing Issues for Platform Providers in the Sharing Economy

is just one of many dilemmas that can incite insomnia in a sharing-economy platform provider. There’s also the threat of disintermediation between producers and consumers; the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Service

October 2013 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Intuit QuickBooks: From Product to Platform

By: Andrei Hagiu and Elizabeth J. Altman

This case focuses on the challenges and opportunities faced by a successful incumbent organization attempting to transform a large portion of its business from a traditionally product-centric operating mode to a platform-based one that leverages network effects to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Competitive Advantage; Network Effects; Consumer Products Industry

September 6, 2022
Article

Creating a Platform for Costless Personalization in Clothing

By: Shane Greenstein

This study analyzes the role of co-invention in the creation of a platform for print-on-demand-clothing, or PODC. Co-invention is the invention of a new business process to complement new technology, and turn it into a valuable commercial service. PODC copies a design... View Details

Keywords: Print-on-demand-clothing; Customization and Personalization; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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October 2021
Article

Can Self-Regulation Save Digital Platforms?

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

This article explores some of the critical challenges facing self-regulation and the regulatory environment for digital platforms. We examine several historical examples of firms and industries that attempted self-regulation before the Internet. All dealt with similar... View Details

Keywords: Self-regulation; Government Regulation; Digital Platforms; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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September 24, 2021
Article

A Labor Movement for the Platform Economy

By: Li Jin, Scott Duke Kominers and Lila Shroff

Platforms are fundamentally changing the contract between workers and companies—and the workers and creatives that create value for platform companies, and rely on platforms for their livelihoods, often have little power when it comes to getting their concerns... View Details

Keywords: Gig Workers; Decentralized Collective Action; Internet and the Web; Labor; Labor and Management Relations; Digital Platforms

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November 2012
Case

Bonnier: Digitalizing the Media Business

By: Lynda Applegate, Daniel Nylen, Jonny Holmstrom and Kalle Lyytinen

The case follows leading Scandinavian media company Bonnier as it establishes a designated R&D division for the first time. The case, in particular, focuses on its first flagship project, called Mag+, in which it creates a digital platform for publishing digital... View Details

Keywords: Media And Publishing; Media; Publishing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

June 2024
Case

Aidoc: Building a Hospital-Centric AI Platform

By: Ariel D. Stern and Susan Pinckney

In 2023, Israel-based AI health care company Aidoc evaluated its future. The company, founded in 2016, had grown from commercializing a single AI product for radiologists to a software platform that could detect 20 conditions and immediately notify care teams of... View Details

17 Jun 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Comprehensive Effects of a Digital Paywall Sales Strategy

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Ho Kim, and Reo Song; Media & Broadcasting

Blog

Leading Successful Digital Transformation

growth. For example, digital banking allowed DBS bank of Singapore to expand into India with a fully digital bank—a market it could not compete in previously. Similarly, J.P.... View Details

June 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Teaching Note

Clash of Two Giants Simulation Exercise Teaching Note

By: Feng Zhu

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 623-092. Many markets are organized around platforms that connect consumers with complimentary applications and services. These platforms are two-sided because both sides - consumers and those providing applications or services - need... View Details

Keywords: Platform Strategy; Customer Acquisition; Technology Platform; Competitive Strategy; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Management Skills

2022
Working Paper

Can a Website Bring Unemployment Down? Experimental Evidence from France

By: Aïcha Ben Dhia, Bruno Crépon, Esther Mbih, Louise Paul-Delvaux, Bertille Picard and Vincent Pons

We evaluate the impact of an online platform giving job seekers tips to improve their search and recommendations of new occupations and locations to target, based on their personal data and labor market data. Our experiment used an encouragement design and was... View Details

Keywords: Online Platform; Digital Platform; Unemployment; Encouragement Design; Job Search; Jobs and Positions; Internet and the Web; Well-being; Outcome or Result; Digital Platforms; France

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March 2008 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Sony Digital Entertainment, Japan

By: Anita Elberse

It is late 2007. So-called cell phone ("keitai") novels have turned into an extremely popular form of entertainment-on-the- go in Japan, in particular among young, female readers. In fact, consisting mostly of love stories written by amateurs in short sentences and... View Details

Keywords: Books; Marketing Strategy; Open Source Distribution; Competition; Mobile Technology; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Japan