Creating a theoretical framework for platforms strategies from launch to growth

Many platforms have gained their way into consumers daily lives by shifting values and expectations, increasing ability to self-express oneself, satisfying new needs while expanding markets and creating new industries. This is what platform revolution means, yet the strategies and logic behind platforms remain much unknown. The current literature identifies as the key strategic variables for platforms to be user acquisition, standalone value, credibility, profitability, design and openness. However, these discussions don’t give clear guidance on how to implement or prioritize these variables according different platform types. While the current understanding of strategic differences and how to combine tactics and variables towards each platform type is forming, so is classifying and separating platform types from each other. While the two papers have classified platform types their conclusions differed staying unconfirmed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine platform businesses strategies and to create a theoretical framework reflecting it while answering to the research question: what strategies platforms apply as they go in business and how they attempt to grow? The empirical part of this study is aimed at developing a theoretical framework representing the strategic decisions made by platforms. It was conducted as an in-depth multi case study by interviewing 14 platform as well as testing 70 platforms’ user experience. Based on these two data sets a theoretical framework was formed that is applicable within the Western world. Consequently, the theoretical framework representing the key finding of this thesis separates 12 unique platform strategies for launching a platform business across three platform types identified as an e-marketplace, software as a service and social networking sites. Thus, stating that there are at least 12 unique platform strategies that organizations follow. The framework guides what kind of MVP, key target group and social factors each 12 platform strategy types can utilize and the boundaries each type has. It also gives descriptions on all 12 platform strategies and minimum example of four businesses that follow that strategy. Furthermore, the thesis discusses multiple vertical and horizontal expansion strategies that each platform strategy type can apply when attracting further growth towards itself and the factors that need to be considered simultaneously. The contributions done towards platform strategies, SaaS and SNS by the framework are ground-breaking and significant as they create new unique knowledge while invalidating and correcting two past attempts to classify and group platforms. However, this thesis contributes also to the conceptual understanding of the platform types, how different variables are interlinked to one another and to the framework. It also specifies the current understanding of e-marketplace platform strategies