In recent years, many high-technology industries, ranging from “smart” cell phones to social networking Web sites such as Facebook Inc. and MySpace.com, have become platform battlegrounds. These markets require distinctive competitive strategies because the products are parts of systems that combine core components made by one company with complements usually made by a variety of companies. If a platform leader emerges and works with the companies supplying complementary products and services, they can together form an “ecosystem” of innovation that can greatly increase the value of their innovations as more users adopt the platform and its complements. However, companies often fail to turn their products into industry platforms.
Our previous research focused on understanding the levers or strategic mechanisms that existing platform leaders use to maintain their positions. (See “About the Research,” p. 31.) This article focuses on the special problems of companies that want to become platform leaders — “platform-leader wannabes.” Many companies do not succeed in becoming platform leaders because their strategies fail to tackle adequately both the technology and business aspects of platform leadership. The technological challenges involve designing the right architecture, designing the right interfaces/connectors and disclosing intellectual property selectively, in order to facilitate third-parties’ provision of complements. The business challenges include either making key complements or introducing incentives for third-party companies to create the complementary innovations necessary... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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