Exploiting incumbents' potentialities: From linear value chains to multisided platforms

Abstract

Two‐sided (or multisided) platforms are significantly transforming the competitive landscape. Companies like Airbnb and Uber entered and challenged traditional industries by adopting business models able to innovatively exploit the opportunities provided by digital technologies. Recent studies have pointed out that the characteristics of multisided platforms might inspire traditional businesses to foster innovation, enabling different kinds of value creation and capture. This paper aims to explore this possibility through a longitudinal case study of an Italian tour operator that moved from a traditional linear value chain model to a multisided platform. Relying on the literature about multisided platforms and the modalities adopted by incumbents in fostering innovation, this research offers contributions to both theory and practice. Firstly, it shows how incumbents can reinterpret their resources and relationships in order to conceive new multisided platforms. Secondly, it investigates how the experience gained by incumbents can unveil technological opportunities. Thirdly, it shows how the incumbents can manage complexity and adopt a systemic perspective in developing multisided platforms. Thus, the contribution to the academic dimension is in enriching the knowledge of how multisided platforms can help incumbents in dealing with their ‘typical curse’.

Landlords with no lands: a systematic literature review on hybrid multi-sided platforms and platform thinking

“…There are relevant cases like Amazon that started with a traditional value chain buying and distributing books, that now is one of the greatest cases of Hybrid Multi-Sided Platforms, with features as their marketplace or their Mechanical Tuck. Established companies have assets, existing relationships, knowledge, a customer base and many other resources thatthrough platform thinkingcan be re-arranged in a hybrid multi-sided platform to unlock new value flows and innovation opportunities (Dell'Era et al, 2021).…”

“…Established companies have assets, existing relationships, knowledge, a customer base and many other resources thatthrough platform thinkingcan be re-arranged in a hybrid multi-sided platform to unlock new value flows and innovation opportunities (Dell'Era et al, 2021).…”

The evolution of meanings: an empirical analysis of the social media industry

“…Furthermore, as previously mentioned, social media services act as platforms where providers can simultaneously deliver multiple services to several sets of customers while leveraging the same digital platform, leading to the creation of multi-sided platforms (Gawer and Cusumano, 2014). Multi-sided platforms may act as a catalyst for embedding multiple and co-existing meanings within a service (Dell'Era et al , 2020).…”

“…As a consequence to the introduction of a new dimension upon which companies can innovate, Verganti (2009) explores the interplay between innovation in product and service meanings and the technological dimension of innovation, arguing that, when radically new technologies and radically new meanings are embodied within a product, they constitute so-called technology epiphanies (Verganti, 2011; Dell'Era et al , 2017; Goto, 2017; Trabucchi et al , 2017) . Consequently, companies need to reconsider both their business and development models to overcome their path dependency and embrace new meanings (Dell'Era et al , 2020). For example, the involvement of designers in the innovation process may aid in understanding the potentialities of new meanings embedded in a technology (Dell'Era et al , 2017; Magistretti and Dell'Era, 2019).…”

New emerging capabilities for managing data-driven innovation in healthcare: the role of digital platforms

“…(2021) propose a framework to conceptualize the platform-driven innovation phenomenon, describing different platform roles in the innovation processes. Authors classify platforms as simplifiers, catalysts and enablers of innovation.Simplifiers homogenize pre-existing transactions, for example, re-value existing assets (Dell’Era et al. , 2021).…”