Platformisation - An exploratory study on how organisations can adopt a platform business model

Abstract

The emergence of digital technologies has altered new opportunities and profoundly changed how organisations are structured and operate, giving rise to the platform paradigm. In a rapidly changing environment, platforms can quickly respond to new conditions and significantly increase customer value. Therefore, it is not a question of if but when to incorporate a platform into every organisation. The scholarly society is successively moving from platforms as things to platformisation as a process. However, there is a discrepancy between theory and practice concerning platformisation. The literature lacks a general framework for organisations to utilise when transforming their businesses. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine key success factors, challenges and strategies of platformisation to ameliorate the gap between what is written and what is done. The study combines the trajectories to investigate how organisations can adopt a platform business model in a B2C context. The study adopts a qualitative research strategy with an abductive approach to enable an in-depth elucidation and understanding of the phenomenon. Existing theory is, therefore, used as a springboard. It is a multiple-case study with elements of cross-sectional design. A literature review and semi-structured interviews investigate relationships between variables and variation across multiple cases. The empirical findings are compared with the literature using thematic analysis. The findings showcase six key success factors, five challenges and 10 strategies of platformisation. The identified variables are interlinked in a framework to provide guidelines for organisations adopting a platform business model. The study adds an overview to existing literature that incorporates practical findings into theory. It contributes with a framework of key connections for platform owners to recognise when exploring or exploiting a platform business model. Hence, the study may help spur platform performance.