A Business Model Framework to Characterize Digital Multisided Platforms

Abstract

Businesses grounded upon multisided platforms (MSPs) are found in a growing number of industries, thanks to the recent developments in Internet and digital technologies. Digital MSPs enable multiple interactions among users of different sides through information and communication technologies. The understanding of the characteristics and constituents of MSPs is fragmented along different literature streams. Moreover, very few empirical studies have been carried out to date. In order to fill this gap, this paper presents a three-level framework that describes a digital MSP. The proposed framework is based on literature analysis and multiple case study. On the one hand, the framework can be used to describe MSP as it provides an operationalization of the concept through the identification of specific dimensions, variables and items; on the other hand, it can be used as an assessment tool by practitioners, as exemplified by the three empirical applications presented in this paper.

Digital servitization: Crossing the perspectives of digitization and servitization

“…Moreover, future inquiries on platforms should start by describing the distinct characteristics of IoT platforms and address how these characteristics will influence the competitive landscape around IoT platforms. For instance, it has been argued that IoT platforms contribute to the path toward servitization, since they inherently provide mechanisms for complexity management that lead to an efficient and effective balance between standardization and customization in designing and delivering solutions (Ardolino, Saccani, Adrodegari, & Perona, 2020). Such a role and its mechanisms deserve further investigation.…”

A complexity management approach to servitization: the role of digital platforms

“…The "multisided market" approach has accentuated platforms' role in matching demand with supply, as well as promoting cross-side network effects (Gawer and Cusumano, 2014;Muzellec et al, 2015). The advent of digital technologies and, above all, the Internet has led to businesses' spreading out, based on digital, multisided platforms (Ardolino et al, 2020). This approach has used marketplace logic to expand the reach and variety of contributions to a system while keeping interactions standardized by defining their mediums of exchange and marketplace ownership (T€ auscher and Laudien, 2018).…”

Patterns of business model innovation for advancing IoT platforms

“…about product condition and usage, processes, environment, context, location), to enable communication and data exchange to make products and services more intelligent and to explore novel data-driven business opportunities (Leminen et al, 2018;Porter and Heppelmann, 2014;Ng and Wakenshaw, 2017;Raff et al, 2020). IoT platforms bundle a set of technologies (Ardolino et al, 2020) that build the basis for value creation and commercial success. Accordingly, IoT platforms comprise various activitiesfrom connecting products to the data cloud, storing, combining and analyzing data, and sharing resources and responsibilities in the value-creation process with other companies as a key driver for product-service-software systems (Cenamor et al, 2017) or data-driven product-service-systems (Zambetti et al, 2021).…”