Why Winner-Takes-All Thinking Doesn't Apply to the Platform Economy, by Jonathan H. Westover PhD

Abstract: The article challenges the common assumption that platform markets will inevitably consolidate around a single dominant player in a "winner-takes-all" dynamic. It argues that network effects, while providing advantages to early leaders, do not predetermine long-term market structure. Rather, differences in strategy, business models, and community relationships allow multiple platforms to coexist by catering to specific user groups. The article presents examples from the ride-sharing and e-commerce industries showing how platform leaders have prospered by embracing a "positive-sum" philosophy - empowering diverse participants, fostering interoperability, and cultivating vibrant multi-sided communities. The authors conclude that a pluralistic, community-centric mindset positions platform leaders to become prosperous nodes within continually expanding and valuable technological networks, rather than pursuing market dominance alone.