Business Model Configurations for Digital Platform Success - Towards a Typology of Digital Platform Business Models

Competition between digital platforms is harder compared to non-platform businesses. Fierce platform competition reduces digital platforms’ chances of success. Research has identified many aspects of digital platforms and their surrounding ecosystem that influence the success of digital platforms. This research is comprehensive but not integrated. The business model as an activity system provides a lens to orchestrate various dimensions of digital platforms. We conduct a case survey of published case studies on digital platforms and analyze their business models using a multi-value qualitative comparative analysis. The resulting business model configurations reveal how surviving digital platforms combine different value propositions, value capture mechanisms, and value creation strategies. We identify four configurations of digital platform business models (matching, spreading, innovating, and dominating business models) leading to digital platform success (i.e., survival). In our future research, we will identify more detailed business model configurations using a larger case sample.     «

Competition between digital platforms is harder compared to non-platform businesses. Fierce platform competition reduces digital platforms’ chances of success. Research has identified many aspects of digital platforms and their surrounding ecosystem that influence the success of digital platforms. This research is comprehensive but not integrated. The business model as an activity system provides a lens to orchestrate various dimensions of digital platforms. We conduct a case survey of published...     »