Talking about Platforms

Synthesising research on digital platforms and digital platform ecosystems to provide a definition that integrates both concepts. Andreas' bio: Dr. Andreas Hein Head of Research Group Digital Platforms and eGovernment at the Technical University in Munich. His research focuses on digital platforms ecosystems; business models; service ecosystems; value co-creation. Link to the paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12525-019-00377-4 Link to Andreas' Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-hein-84a17391/?originalSubdomain=de

Blockchain, Machine Learning and the Future of the Digital Platform JP's bio: JP Vergne examines the evolution of capitalist societies since the early 17th century. In particular, he explores how socially contested organizations affect the renewal of industries at the vanguard of the economy. His award-winning research on piracy, on the global arms industry around 9/11, and on the rise of blockchain-powered organizations has been published in leading academic journals as well as in two books. His findings have been featured in such media outlets as the Financial Times, The Globe & Mail, The Economist, Bloomberg, CBC Radio and TV, Forbes, as well as in various cryptocurrency news sources. JP has given keynote presentations at international technology conferences (e.g. Google Zeitgeist, South by Southwest, TEDx) and at high-profile corporate events. Link to the paper: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2631787720977052 Link to JP's university page: https://www.mgmt.ucl.ac.uk/people/jeanphilippevergne JP's Twitter: @PirateOrg Further reading: Hsieh, Y., & Vergne, J. P. (2022). The Future of the Web? The Coordination and Early‐Stage Growth of Decentralized Platforms. Strategic Management Journal. doi:10.1002/smj.3455 Hsieh, Y., Vergne, J. P., Anderson, P., Lakhani, K., & Reitzig, M. (2018). Bitcoin and the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations. Journal of Organization Design, 7 (14). doi:10.1186/s41469-018-0038-1

From VP in industry to HBS and becoming a professor doing cutting-edge research about the future of the workforce. Liz's bio: Elizabeth J. Altman is an associate professor of management at the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Manning School of Business. Liz is also guest editor for the MIT Sloan Management Review Future of the Workforce Big Ideas initiative, a joint research effort with Deloitte. She has served as a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and a visiting professor at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point). Her’s research focuses on topics related to strategy, innovation, platforms, ecosystems, organizational change, and the future of work. Before entering academia, Liz spent 19 years in industry, primarily in mobile telecommunications, including nine years as a vice president at Motorola. She holds a doctorate in business administration from Harvard University, master of science degrees in mechanical engineering and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University. The Future of the Workforce Initiative at SMR: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/big-ideas/future-of-the-workforce/ Finding the Platform in Your Product: https://hbr.org/2017/07/finding-the-platform-in-your-product The Translucent Hand of Managed Ecosystems: Engaging Communities for Value Creation and Capture: https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/annals.2020.0244 Liz's upcoming book about Workforce Ecosystems on Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Elizabeth-J-Altman/dp/0262047772/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2P3GD40S7I5TZ&keywords=elizabeth+altman&qid=1673118859&sprefix=elizabeth+altman%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1 (pre-ordern now! ;) Liz on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizaltman/

As firms consider transitioning proprietary products to more open platforms to grow market share and relevance, managers might consider the concerns of external participants when designing a system to govern a platform. Rebecca's bio: Rebecca Karp is an Assistant Professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches Strategy in the MBA required curriculum. Professor Karp is a field researcher and ethnographer. Her research examines how companies formulate and execute strategies for growth. In particular, she focuses on the role innovation and differentation play in product development, integration, strategy execution, and oragnizational change. Professor Karp’s research spans the healthcare, financial services, video gaming, media and creative industries. She has also studied how large companies and entrepreneurs can develop and implement AI technologies to reshape their competitive differentiation. Link to the paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/smj.3150 Rebecca's Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-karp-a286202/

Competition, incentives, and the future of digital platforms in light of emerging blockchain and web3 technologies. Hanna's bio: Hanna Halaburda joined New York University Stern School of Business as an Associate Professor of Technology, Operations and Statistics in September 2019. In her research, Professor Halaburda studies how technology changes economic forces and thus affects business models and interactions in the marketplace. One strand of her work focuses on competition between digital platforms. Since 2011, she has built a research program in digital currencies and blockchain technologies, including analyses of incentives in consensus protocols, cryptocurrency adoption, smart contracts, and token issuance. Professor Halaburda’s work has been published in Management Science, RAND, American Economic Journal, Games and Economic Behavior, and other academic journals. In 2015 she co-authored Beyond Bitcoin: The Economics of Digital Currency, the first book analyzing digital currencies from the economic perspective. The book’s 2nd edition, co-authored with Miklos Sarvary and Guillaume Haeringer, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2022. Prior to joining NYU Stern, Professor Halaburda was an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School, and a senior economist at the Bank of Canada. She holds Master’s degrees in Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics and in Philosophy from Warsaw University, and a PhD in Economics from Northwestern University. Link to the paper: https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3636 Hanna's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanna-halaburda-7b368b12/ Hanna's Twitter: @hannahalaburda Link to Hanna's book Beyond Bitcoin: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Bitcoin_-Economics-of-Digital-Currencies-and-Blockchain-Technologies/dp/3030889300

How digital platforms are overtaking the state and how we can regain control Vili's bio: Vili Lehdonvirta is a Professor of Economic Sociology and Digital Social Research at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. His research examines how digital technologies are used to reshape the organization of economic activities in society, from gig platforms to online marketplaces and virtual currencies to crowdfunding. Link to the book, Cloud Empires: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047227/cloud-empires/ Vili's website at the OII: https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/profiles/vili-lehdonvirta/ Vili at Twitter: @ViliLe Vili at Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vililehdonvirta/

The skills platform professionals need, why there should be a Platform-MBA and how the emerging fields of decentralisation, NFTs and the Metaverse will increase the demand for people with a future-proof knowledge and skillset. Peter's Bio: Peter C. Evans has over 20 years of experience leading teams in identifying, framing, assessing, and communicating high-priority marketplace trends and disruptions that support business planning and investment prioritization. He has held senior strategy, innovation and market intelligence roles at large global enterprises including General Electric, KPMG and IHS/CERA. Recognizing the strategic significance of platforms more than a decade ago, he led and published the first global survey of platform companies. He has served as co-chair of the MIT Platform Strategy Summit since 2016. Peter is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the board of the National Association for Business Economics. Peter received his BA from Hampshire College and his master’s degree and PhD degree from MIT. (from https://platformstrategyinstitute.com/about-us/) Peter's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-c-evans-phd-217b8 Peter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pevans_c MyLearningNFT: https://mylearningnft.com/ The MIT Platform Strategy Summit: https://ide.mit.edu/events/2022-mit-platform-strategy-summit/

In this enlightening discussion, Grace Gu, an Assistant Professor of Information Systems at Boston College, delves into the paradox of trust in online platforms. She reveals how increasing consumer trust can ironically lead to disintermediation, where users might choose to bypass platforms altogether. Grace shares insights from her research on freelance marketplaces, emphasizing the potential risks involved with avoiding platform fees. She also explores strategic redesigns that can enhance customer retention and the future dynamics of platform interactions across industries.

“Digital colonization” of highly regulated industries: an analysis of Big Tech platforms' entry into healthcare and education Pinar's Bio: Pinar Ozcan is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She also serves as the Director of the Oxford Future of Finance and Technology (Fintech) Initiative. Pinar specializes in entrepreneurship and strategy in technology markets. Her current research includes the open banking project, where she examines the industry disruption in banking through regulation and entry of fintech, and the development of the sharing economy. Pinar completed her Ph.D. at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) at the Stanford University Management Science and Engineering Department, and also holds a Master of Science and dual Bachelor’s degrees from Stanford. At Stanford, Pinar directed the AEA Stanford Executive Institute, a summer executive program for the high-tech industry for three consecutive years. She also organized the Stanford Entrepreneurship Thought Leaders Seminars and helped create the Stanford Entrepreneurship Corner for entrepreneurship educators worldwide. Link to Pinar's website: http://pinarozcan.com/ Link to Pinar's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/profpinar/?originalSubdomain=uk Link to Pinar's Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=b-tTbT8AAAAJ&hl=de&oi=ao Link to the paper: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c4ffb1b6-b9ef-4a6b-8792-25fb14d949b9

Disrupting the Disruptors or Enhancing Them? How Blockchain Re‐Shapes Two‐Sided Platforms Tommaso's Bio: Tommaso Buganza is Full Professor of Leadership and Innovation at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano where he also is co-founder of LEADIN'Lab, the Laboratory for Leadership, Design and Innovation and co-founder and scientific director of IDeaLs, the research platform focused on engaging humans to make transformation happen. He is a lecturer in Innovation Management and Project Management, responsible for the Project Management Academy and coordinator of the innovation and training area at MIP. He is the Board chairperson of the Product Development Management Conference EIASM-IPDMC. His research activity explores the intersection between technological innovation and leadership. Antonella's Bio: Antonella Moretto is Associate Professor at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, with abilitation as Full Professor since July 2021. She teaches Supplier Relationship Management and Collaborative Innovation for Sustainability and Impact at the MSc of Management Engineering and she is part of the core faculty of the MIP Graduate School of Business in the area of Purchasing and Supply Management. At the MIP Graduate School of Business, she is the Associate Dean for Open Programs. At the DIG, she is co-Director of the Observatory Supply Chain Finance of Politecnico di Milano. Since 2016, she is executive committee member of Ipsera, the international research association of Purchasing. Link to the paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=59184