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- All HBS Web
(2,184)
- People (2)
- News (469)
- Research (1,232)
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- Summer 2014
- Article
When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda
We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there... View Details
Keywords: Platform Governance; Direct Network Effects; Indirect Network Effects; Complements; Tragedy Of The Commons; Equilibrium Selection; Coordination; Foresight; Strategy; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Network Effects
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Hanna Halaburda. "When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?" Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 23, no. 2 (Summer 2014): 259–293.
- Article
How to Launch Your Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists
By: Benjamin Edelman
The ubiquity of Internet access has caused a sharp rise in the number of businesses offering platforms that connect users for communication or commerce. Entrepreneurs are particularly drawn to these platforms because they create significant value and have modest... View Details
Keywords: Platforms; Launch; Mobilization Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Network Effects; Adoption; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Advertising Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Transportation Industry; Financial Services Industry
Edelman, Benjamin. "How to Launch Your Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists." Harvard Business Review 93, no. 4 (April 2015): 90–97. (Reprinted in Launch a Start-Up That Lasts, Harvard Business Review OnPoint, Winter 2016.)
- 2021
- Chapter
Digital Infrastructure
By: Shane Greenstein
What determines the supply of innovative digital infrastructure and how does variance in supply shape the performance of digital services? The essay reviews research into the economic impact of deployment, innovation, and adoption of digital infrastructure. It... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Infrastructure; Economics; Policy; Research; Analysis; United States
Greenstein, Shane. "Digital Infrastructure." In Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment, edited by Edward L. Glaeser and James Poterba. National Bureau of Economic Research, and University of Chicago Press, 2021.
- 2015
- Working Paper
Multi-Sided Platforms
By: Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright
We study the economic tradeoffs that drive organizations to position themselves closer to or further away from a multi-sided platform (MSP) business model, relative to three traditional alternatives: vertically integrated firms, resellers or input suppliers. These... View Details
Hagiu, Andrei, and Julian Wright. "Multi-Sided Platforms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-037, November 2014. (Revised March 2015.)
- 2007
- Working Paper
Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details
Keywords: Price; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Digital Platforms
Zhu, Feng, and Marco Iansiti. "Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-031, November 2007.
- July 2018
- Article
Does Copyright Affect Reuse? Evidence from Google Books and Wikipedia
By: Abhishek Nagaraj
While digitization has greatly increased the reuse of knowledge, this study shows how these benefits might be mitigated by copyright restrictions. I use the digitization of in-copyright and out-of-copyright issues of Baseball Digest magazine by Google Books to... View Details
Nagaraj, Abhishek. "Does Copyright Affect Reuse? Evidence from Google Books and Wikipedia." Management Science 64, no. 7 (July 2018): 3091–3107.
- July 2021
- Article
Outsourcing Tasks Online: Matching Supply and Demand on Peer-to-Peer Internet Platforms
By: Zoë Cullen and Chiara Farronato
We study the growth of online peer-to-peer markets. Using data from TaskRabbit, an expanding marketplace for domestic tasks at the time of our study, we show that growth varies considerably across cities. To disentangle the potential drivers of growth, we look... View Details
Keywords: Two-sided Market; Two-sided Platforms; Peer-to-peer Markets; Platform Strategy; Sharing Economy; Platform Growth; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Strategy; Market Design; Network Effects
Cullen, Zoë, and Chiara Farronato. "Outsourcing Tasks Online: Matching Supply and Demand on Peer-to-Peer Internet Platforms." Management Science 67, no. 7 (July 2021): 3985–4003.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Global Harms, Local Profits: How the Uneven Costs of Natural Disasters Affect Support for Green Political Platforms
By: Silvia Pianta and Paula Rettl
Large-scale fires are becoming increasingly common due to climate change. While conventional
wisdom suggests that firsthand experiences with natural disasters foster green coalitions
by raising awareness of environmental degradation, we propose an alternative... View Details
Keywords: Climate Impact; Politics; Environmental Issues; Environmental Protection; Economic Analysis; Economic Behavior; Economic Geography; Economy; Economics; Climate Change; Environmental Management; Political Elections; Natural Disasters; Green Technology; Environmental Sustainability; Latin America; Brazil
Pianta, Silvia, and Paula Rettl. "Global Harms, Local Profits: How the Uneven Costs of Natural Disasters Affect Support for Green Political Platforms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-023, September 2023. (Revised January 2025.)
- October 2024
- Case
EU's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act
By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah von Bargen
Since the early 2020s, the EU began passing regulations on digital platforms and their marketplaces. One of the first was the Digital Services Act package, consisting of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). These regulations were focused on... View Details
Yoffie, David B., and Sarah von Bargen. "EU's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act." Harvard Business School Case 725-372, October 2024.
- January 2002 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
Digital China Holdings Limited: ERP as a Platform for Building New Capabilities
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Guoqing Chen and Kai Reimers
This case analyzes a complex ERP implementation that takes place in one of the leading companies in China. The issues are indistinguishable from those facing a U.S. organization. View Details
Keywords: Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Information Technology; Complexity; Problems and Challenges; China
McFarlan, F. Warren, Guoqing Chen, and Kai Reimers. "Digital China Holdings Limited: ERP as a Platform for Building New Capabilities." Harvard Business School Case 302-080, January 2002. (Revised May 2002.)
- 2024
- Working Paper
Webmunk: A New Tool for Studying Online Behavior and Digital Platforms
By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin and Chris Karr
Understanding the behavior of users online is important for researchers, policymakers, and private companies alike. But observing online behavior and conducting experiments is difficult without direct access to the user base and software of technology companies. We... View Details
Farronato, Chiara, Andrey Fradkin, and Chris Karr. "Webmunk: A New Tool for Studying Online Behavior and Digital Platforms." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 32694, July 2024.
- December 2020 (Revised December 2021)
- Case
Komatsu and Smart Construction
By: Rajiv Lal, David J. Collis and Akiko Saito
Komatsu, Japan's leading construction equipment manufacturer, is considering investing in a digital platform "Smart Construction" that will digitise the entire work process on a construction site, allowing for substantial reductions in cost and time while improving... View Details
Keywords: Platform; Digital Business; Construction; Business Model; Strategy; Technology Adoption; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Construction Industry; Japan
Lal, Rajiv, David J. Collis, and Akiko Saito. "Komatsu and Smart Construction." Harvard Business School Case 521-042, December 2020. (Revised December 2021.)
- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 13 Platform Systems vs. Step Processes—The Value of Options and the Power of Modularity
This is the first chapter in Part 3. Its purpose is to contrast the value structure of platform systems with step processes from a technological perspective. I first review the basic technical architecture of computers and argue that every computer is inherently a... View Details
Keywords: Platform Systems; Step Processes; Computer Architecture; Modularity; Information Technology; Digital Platforms
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 13 Platform Systems vs. Step Processes—The Value of Options and the Power of Modularity." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-073, January 2019.
- April 2021
- Article
Homing and Platform Responses to Entry: Historical Evidence from the U.S. Newspaper Industry
By: K. Francis Park, Robert Seamans and Feng Zhu
We examine how heterogeneity in customers’ tendencies to single-home or multi-home affects a platform’s competitive responses to new entrants in the market. We first develop a formal model to generate predictions about how a platform will respond. We then empirically... View Details
Keywords: Single-homing; Multi-homing; Platform Responses; Newpaper; Television; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Newspapers; Television Entertainment; History; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry
Park, K. Francis, Robert Seamans, and Feng Zhu. "Homing and Platform Responses to Entry: Historical Evidence from the U.S. Newspaper Industry." Strategic Management Journal 42, no. 4 (April 2021): 684–709.
- January–February 2019
- Article
Why Some Platforms Thrive and Others Don't
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
In the digital economy, scale is no guarantee of continued success. After all, the same factors that help an online platform expand quickly—such as the low cost of adding new customers—work for challengers too. What, then, allows platforms to fight off rivals and grow... View Details
Zhu, Feng, and Marco Iansiti. "Why Some Platforms Thrive and Others Don't." Harvard Business Review 97, no. 1 (January–February 2019): 118–125.
- 04 Aug 2006
- What Do You Think?
What Happens When the Economics of Scarcity Meets the Economics of Abundance?
of scarcity has not been repealed by the digital Long Tail prices are set by demand, not the constraints of supply." Edward Hare opened an aspect View Details
Keywords: by James Heskett
- November 2022
- Case
Arcos Dorados’ Quest for the Digitalization of Last-Mile Delivery in Colombia
By: Jorge Tamayo, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal
In 2018, Francisco Staton, Managing Director of Arcos Dorados in Colombia had to decide on the company’s strategy to expand its food ordering and delivery business in the country. Arcos Dorados stood as McDonald’s largest independent franchisee, and Colombia was one of... View Details
Keywords: Digital Transformation; Delivery; McDonald's; Latin America; Quick Serve Restaurants; QSR; Transformation; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Logistics; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia
Tamayo, Jorge, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago, and Mariana Cal. "Arcos Dorados’ Quest for the Digitalization of Last-Mile Delivery in Colombia." Harvard Business School Case 723-395, November 2022.
- July 2021
- Article
Information Transparency, Multihoming, and Platform Competition: A Natural Experiment in the Daily Deals Market
By: Hui Li and Feng Zhu
Platform competition is shaped by the likelihood of multi-homing (i.e., complementors or consumers adopt more than one platform). To take advantage of multi-homing, platform firms often attempt to motivate their rivals’ high-performing complementors to adopt their own... View Details
Keywords: Platform Competition; Multi-homing; Information Transparency; Daily Deals; Groupon; LivingSocial; Digital Platforms; Information; Competition
Li, Hui, and Feng Zhu. "Information Transparency, Multihoming, and Platform Competition: A Natural Experiment in the Daily Deals Market." Management Science 67, no. 7 (July 2021): 4384–4407.
- February 2022 (Revised February 2024)
- Case
Sekisui House and the In-Home Early Detection Platform
By: John D. Macomber and Akiko Kanno
To address an aging population and sales declines, a major Japanese homebuilder considers pivoting to provide and support an in-home health detection platform, in competition with tech companies. This case considers the point of view of major builders regarding how... View Details
Keywords: Voice Assistants; Architecture; Smart Home; Aging Society; Digitalization; Real Estate; Home Automation; Sensors; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Health Care and Treatment; Housing; Age; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Health Industry; Japan
Macomber, John D., and Akiko Kanno. "Sekisui House and the In-Home Early Detection Platform." Harvard Business School Case 222-070, February 2022. (Revised February 2024.)