Bridging differing perspectives on technological platforms: toward an integrative framework
Author(s)
Gawer, AR
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
An integrative framework is proposed to advance management research on technological platforms, bridging two theoretical perspectives: economics, which sees platforms as double-sided markets, and engineering design, which sees platforms as technological architectures. While the economic perspective informs our understanding of platform competition, the engineering design perspective informs our view of platform innovation. The article argues that platforms can be usefully conceptualized as evolving organizations or meta-organizations that: (1) federate and coordinate constitutive agents who can innovate and compete; (2) create value by generating and harnessing economies of scope in supply or/and in demand; and (3) entail a modular technological architecture composed of a core and a periphery. In support of this conceptualization, a classification system is presented, indicating that technological platforms appear in a variety of organizational forms: within firms, across supply chains, and across industry innovation ecosystems. As an illustration, the framework is then applied to derive a simple model highlighting patterns of interaction between platform innovation and competition, yielding hypotheses that could be tested empirically by future scholars.
Date Issued
2014-09
Date Acceptance
2014-03-06
Citation
Research Policy, 2014, 2014, 43, pp.1239-1249
ISSN
0048-7333
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
1239
End Page
1249
Journal / Book Title
Research Policy
Volume
43
Copyright Statement
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the
CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
License URL
Identifier
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/a.gawer
Subjects
Platforms
Double-Sided Markets
Modularity
Economies of Scope
Organizations
Notes
Best Paper Award AOM 2014, TIM (Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Aug 2014, Technology and Innovation Division) Paper Highlights • Develops an integrative framework for technological platforms. • Bridges the economics perspective and the engineering design perspectives on platforms. • Conceptualizes platforms as evolving organizations. • Presents a classification system of platforms: within firms, supply-chains, and ecosystems. • Develops hypotheses highlighting how platform competition and innovation interact.
Edition
2014
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United Kingdom
Date Publish Online
2014-05-03