The Business of Platforms

Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, David B. Yoffie

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins

A trio of experts on high-tech business strategy and innovation reveal the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable firms in the world and the first trillion-dollar companies.

Managers and entrepreneurs in the digital era must learn to live in two worlds - the conventional economy and the platform economy. Platforms that operate for business purposes usually exist at the level of an industry or ecosystem, bringing together individuals and organizations so they can innovate and interact in ways not otherwise possible. Platforms create economic value far beyond what we see in conventional companies.

The Business of Platforms is an invaluable, in-depth look at platform strategy and digital innovation. Cusumano, Gawer, and Yoffie address how a small number of companies have come to exert extraordinary influence over every dimension of our personal, professional, and political lives. They explain how these new entities differ from the powerful corporations of the past. They also question whether there are limits to the market dominance and expansion of these digital juggernauts. Finally, they discuss the role governments should play in rethinking data privacy laws, antitrust, and other regulations that could reign in abuses from these powerful businesses.

Their goal is to help managers and entrepreneurs build platform businesses that can stand the test of time and win their share of battles with both digital and conventional competitors. As experts who have studied and worked with these firms for some 30 years, this audiobook is the most authoritative and timely investigation yet of the powerful economic and technological forces that make platform businesses, from Amazon and Apple to Microsoft, Facebook, and Google - all dominant players in shaping the global economy, the future of work, and the political world we now face.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Outside the voice it’s great!

I really wish these authors would hire actor/actresses to read these. The voice is dull but the content is excellent! Great for those in the “platform” business or getting into it!

great book

gives great insight into the strategy of platform businesses as well as things to consider as both an entrepreneur or internal strategist.

Clear, well-structured, supports anaysis, planning

A good test for the frameworks explained here is the arrival of COVID-19: does such an unexpected event unravel the framework, or does it hold up and support sensible understandings in real time? For me, it DOES pass this test. I can see which aspects of platform businesses are stressed, and why. Even as my business is nudged ever-further into current platform channels, I can look ahead with clarity.

The Future is Here

Digital platforms are double edged swords, You either Victim or Victor.Will definitely disrupt our current business models, we need to adapt quick and fast especially in my homeland Africa.

Great content but

I sometimes find the narrator’s excessive use of rising intonation irritating. But it could just be generational.

Fascinating read

Appreciated the history of platforms and breakdown of terminology. Well organized and well written. Loved the principles of never getting complacent.
Intriguing conclusion of future technology and science.

Balanced overview of platforms

Great overview of the rise and success of pltforms. Balanced by a healthy portion of caution in the end. Some useful lessons to be learned here

Too broad, too shallow, not enough strategy

I can’t remember anything of significance from what I read. There were the two concepts of transaction and innovation platforms but that seems like an arbitrary distinction. Felt more like a legal and ethical review of platforms rather than a book on business strategy.

And when they did showcase winners and losers; the analysis was rather shallow — highlighting obvious things that only hindsight could reveal. I think this is due to the number of companies they surveyed. It was simply too many and their analysis lacked the depth that a deeper dive into a few companies would yield.

doesnt teach you much

basic stuff that you can probably find from some youtube videos. didnt learn much from the book