Over the past two decades, some of the most profitable and successful firms are those that have adopted a digital platform model—a strategy whereby the company allows two or more disparate groups to interact over a platform to co-create value; for example, website developers and users on Akamai, recruiters and employees on LinkedIn, and drivers and customers on Uber. In this two-day program, participants eager to develop or launch a digital platform approach will learn why and how their business strategies may need to be revised to be successful.
Platform Strategy: Building and Thriving in a Vibrant Ecosystem
Certificate Track:
Strategy and Innovation
Location:
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition:
$3,700 (excluding accommodations)
Program Days (for ACE Credit) 2
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In 2013, fourteen of the top 30 global brands by market capitalization were platform-oriented companies—companies that created and now dominate arenas in which buyers, sellers, and a variety of third parties are connected in real time. In today’s networked age, the cloud, social media, and mobile devices are fueling this platform competition, and more and more companies want in. However, many companies do not succeed in becoming platform leaders because their technology and/or business strategies fall short.
While many platform strategies are well known (e.g. Apple’s iTunes), there are other less-heralded platforms that are exploring new ways to create and capture value. These include: dynamic pricing, usage fees, highly targeted product and service offerings, inbound marketing, and network effects.
Key questions the faculty explores include:
Through case studies and Q&A, experienced managers will emerge with insights into how they can refresh their company’s strategic approach and participate profitably in the multi-sided marketplaces of the future.
By the end of this two-day course, participants should be able to:
This course is intended for leaders of:
Some comments from the students in the MBA course on which this program is based:
“Great course, great professors! Very good learning experience. Thanks.”
“Catherine’s enthusiasm for the subject was contagious. The subject was taught in a very engaging manner.”
“The course content is excellent and may just transform the way you currently execute your organization’s product development strategy.”
Pierre Azoulay is the Sloan Distinguished Associate Professor of Management and an Associate Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Azoulay teaches courses on strategy and technology strategy at MIT Sloan. Previously, he was an associate professor of management at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. His research centers on how organizational design and social networks influence the productivity of research and development in the healthcare sector. Currently, Azoulay is studying the impact of superstar researchers on the research productivity of their colleagues in the academic life sciences. He also is interested in the topic of academic entrepreneurship, having recently concluded a major study of the antecedents and consequences of academic patenting. In the past, he has investigated the outsourcing strategies of pharmaceutical firms, in particular the role played by contract research organizations in the clinical trials process. He is a faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Azoulay holds a Diplôme D’études Supérieures de Gestion from the Institut National des Télécommunications, an MA in telecommunications from Michigan State University, and a PhD in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management
Catherine Tucker is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Marketing MIT Sloan School of Management. Her research interests lie in how technology allows firms to use digital data to improve their operations and marketing and in the challenges this poses for regulations designed to promote innovation. She has particular expertise in online advertising, digital health, social media and electronic privacy. Generally, most of her research lies in the interface between Marketing, Economics and Law. She has received an NSF CAREER award for her work on digital privacy and a Garfield Award for her work on electronic medical records.
Tucker is Associate Editor at Management Science and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She teaches MIT Sloan's course on Pricing and the EMBA course Marketing Management for the Senior Executive. She has received the Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching as well as being voted "Teacher of the Year" at MIT Sloan. She holds a PhD in economics from Stanford University, and a BA from Oxford University.
Sample Schedule—Subject to Change
| DAY 1 SAMPLE | |
| 08:00AM - 10:00AM | What is a "platform"? |
| 10:00AM - 12:00PM | Platform Customer Behavior |
| 12:00PM - 01:00PM | Networking Lunch |
| 01:00PM - 03:00PM | Economics of Platform Competition: Frameworks |
| 03:00PM - 05:00PM | Economics of Platform Competition: Application |
| DAY 2 SAMPLE | |
| 08:00AM - 10:00AM | Platform Pricing: Frameworks |
| 10:00AM - 12:00PM | Platform Pricing: Application |
| 12:00PM - 01:00PM | Networking Lunch |
| 01:00PM - 03:00PM | Building and Staging the Platform Ecosystem |
| 03:00PM - 05:00PM | Platform Thinking for the Non-Platform Business |
The program will cover these cases and important examples of platform strategy:
Platforms are what our friend Pierre Azoulay, an economist at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, calls “the internet of things your mom won’t do for you anymore.”
VIEWThe multisided platform business model is getting a lot of attention these days, thanks to the successes of Facebook, eBay and Airbnb. Here’s a look at what it takes to set up a platform where many constituencies can do business.
VIEWMultisided platforms such as eBay and Facebook create value by enabling interactions between two or more customer groups. But building and managing a winning platform isnt easy.
VIEWThere’s probably never been a better time for platform businesses. But, warn two experienced economists, that doesn’t make them easy to launch successfully.
VIEWMichael Cusumano is the Sloan Management Review Distinguished Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, with a joint appointment in the MIT Engineering Systems Division.
VIEWWhat does it take to build a platform where many constituencies can do business?
VIEWUnder the right circumstances, companies of any size can grow to become platform leaders. And particular business and technology decisions can help platform-leader wannabes achieve their goals.
VIEWMany business leaders and marketers are wondering how a resurgence of consumers attempting to regain their privacy will affect innovation in the global economy. While there is a clear relationship between innovations that rely on consumer data and the protection of consumer privacy, there may be compromises to consider that are amenable to both the innovator and the consumer.
VIEWToo often, companies treat privacy policies as a compliance cost. Instead, think of managing consumer privacy as a way to give people a positive experience with your brand.
VIEWIn the quest for progress, companies continue to explore how technology can interpret consumer data to improve our quality of life. However, with heightened concern among consumers over privacy, businesses must be aware of how their online privacy controls are affecting their relationships with their customers and how privacy policies can strengthen trust.
VIEWThomas P: Interesting class with lots of good insights. The MIT facility and support staff are excellent and greatly enhance the experience.
Ricardo A: Great content and class interaction.
Chris Van H: Great lessons to think through a platform strategy. If you miss the opportunity to implement, it will cost you.
Evgeniya F: This is an insightful and strategic session, highly recommend attending.
Karl-Heinz R: I strongly recommend this course to everyone, who is interested in platforms. The faculty engagement and the quality of the discussions, with participants from all over the world, made this course so valuable for me.
Federico I: Excellent and super-dynamic!
Abdul R: All in all the course was really good and helpful. I found Day 1 to be more helpful in understanding the concepts and real world examples.
José Luis Núñez D: It's key to understand and even anticipate all the dynamics involvedin the platform-based economy. The course will give you somerecipes to go beyond the Internet of Things/Everithing/People/Messages to the Internet of Platforms
Dr. Khalid A: Thanks a lot, great program.
Stefano P: Excellent class. In-depth and objective discussion on what a platform is and is not. Cutting edge thinking and practical frameworks on how to develop a platform end-to-end, and on how to decide between developing a product/service or developing a platform.
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"Great class. Enjoyed every bit of it. The platform framework is excellent and forces managers to ask the right questions in order to develop a good business model." -- Ashwin M.
Pierre Azoulay on Platform Strategy: Building and Thriving in a Vibrant Ecosystem.
Participant, Christian Abera Degu shares his experience at Platform Strategy: Building and Thriving in a Vibrant Ecosystem.
Catherine Tucker is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Marketing MIT Sloan School of Management. Her research... more
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