Citation
The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power
TL;DR
Platforms create value through network effects requiring complementor participation
This analysis of platform ecosystems frames them as mutualistic networks where platform and complementors create value together. The book examines how platforms like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook have built ecosystems where third-party developers and the platform mutually benefit from participation.
For understanding organizational mutualism, platforms represent the most prominent contemporary example of designed interdependence at scale. Platform governance, revenue sharing, and ecosystem management are organizational implementations of mutualistic principles.
Key Findings from Cusumano et al. (2019)
- Platforms create value through network effects requiring complementor participation
- Successful platforms balance value creation with value capture from ecosystem
- Platform governance must prevent exploitation while encouraging investment
- Ecosystem health depends on all participants benefiting from participation