Platforms and Ecosystems with Wim Vanhaverbeke

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Jan 22, 2025

Wim Vanhaverbeke, a digital strategy and open innovation expert from the University of Antwerp, shares insights on the complexities of digital platforms. He discusses the transition from two-sided to multi-sided platforms, using examples like Airbnb and Uber. Vanhaverbeke emphasizes the integration of AI in open innovation and the managerial challenges of platform governance. The conversation also highlights the difficulties of medical data sharing and the contrasting adoption rates of digital healthcare across countries, stressing the need for evolving business models and regulatory support.

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INSIGHT

Platforms as Business Models

Digital platforms are business models using online infrastructure.
They facilitate interactions between different user groups, sometimes going beyond two-sided markets into more complex B2B multi-sided platforms.

INSIGHT

Digitalization in Open Innovation

Open innovation and digital platforms intersect as both facilitate interaction between different parties for innovation.
Digitalization has been present in open innovation from its early stages, with platforms connecting companies and scientists.

ANECDOTE

Early Platform Examples

Goldcorp and Netflix used early digital platforms for crowdsourcing solutions, like algorithm optimization.
Bayer developed an internal digital platform, Inox Flow, to track startup interactions and improve communication.

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Bridging the Gap: Open Innovation, Digital Platforms, and the Role of Government

Guest Wim Vanhaverbeke

Bio

Expert in digital strategy and open innovation.
Professor at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
Well-known for his work in open innovation, large companies, and memes.
Made significant contributions to digital platforms, particularly regarding their strategic role in reshaping highly regulated industries like healthcare.

Summary This episode features Professor Wim Vanhaverbeke, an expert in digital strategy and open innovation. The conversation begins by defining digital platforms as online infrastructures that facilitate interactions between different user groups. Vanhaverbeke emphasizes the importance of moving beyond two-sided markets to consider the complexities of multi-sided platforms in a B2B context. The discussion explores the interplay between open innovation and digital platforms, highlighting how platforms have enabled new forms of open innovation, such as crowdsourcing and internal innovation platforms.

Vanhaverbeke emphasizes the evolution of open innovation strategies, noting the shift from companies relying on third-party platforms to building and managing their platforms for internal and external collaboration. This evolution presents new challenges for managers, who must now decide whether to build, buy, or partner for platform solutions while considering the implications for data ownership, governance, and value creation.

The episode concludes with a discussion on the challenges of platform adoption in highly regulated industries like healthcare. Vanhaverbeke argues that governments play a crucial role in fostering platform adoption by proactively shaping regulations that encourage data sharing and interoperability. He contrasts the European approach of regulating in advance with the Chinese model of allowing innovation to flourish and then addressing emerging challenges.

Publications & Papers Mentioned Vanhaverbeke, W., Chesbrough, H. W., & West, J. (Eds.). (2006). Open innovation: Researching a new paradigm. Oxford University Press. Vanhaverbeke, W., Chesbrough, H. W., & West, J. (Eds.). (2014). New frontiers in open innovation. Oxford University Press. Vanhaverbeke, W., Roijakkers, N., & Hannan, M. T. (2023). Legitimizing digital technologies in open innovation ecosystems: Overcoming adoption barriers in health care. California Management Review, 65(2), 110-132.

Website wimvanhaverbeke.be