A trio of experts on high-tech business strategy and innovation reveal
the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable
firms in the world and the first trillion-dollar companies.
Managers and entrepreneurs in the digital era must learn to live in two
worlds--the conventional economy and the platform economy. Platforms
that operate for business purposes usually exist at the level of an
industry or ecosystem, bringing together individuals and organizations
so they can innovate and interact in ways not otherwise possible.
Platforms create economic value far beyond what we see in conventional
companies.
The Business of Platforms is an invaluable, in-depth look at platform
strategy and digital innovation. Cusumano, Gawer, and Yoffie address how
a small number of companies have come to exert extraordinary influence
over every dimension of our personal, professional, and political lives.
They explain how these new entities differ from the powerful
corporations of the past. They also question whether there are limits to
the market dominance and expansion of these digital juggernauts.
Finally, they discuss the role governments should play in rethinking
data privacy laws, antitrust, and other regulations that could reign in
abuses from these powerful businesses.
Their goal is to help managers and entrepreneurs build platform
businesses that can stand the test of time and win their share of
battles with both digital and conventional competitors. As experts who
have studied and worked with these firms for some thirty years, this
book is the most authoritative and timely investigation yet of the
powerful economic and technological forces that make platform
businesses, from Amazon and Apple to Microsoft, Facebook, and
Google--all dominant players in shaping the global economy, the future
of work, and the political world we now face.
