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

Harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to increase wellbeing for all: The case for a new technology diplomacy

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is experiencing a period of intense progress due to the consolidation of several key technological enablers. AI is already deployed widely and has a high impact on work and daily life activities. The continuation of this process will likely contribute to deep economic and social changes. To realise the tremendous benefits of AI while mitigating undesirable effects will require enlightened responses by many stakeholders. Varying national institutional, economic, political, and cultural conditions will influence how AI will affect convenience, efficiency, personalisation, privacy protection, and surveillance of citizens. Many expect that the winners of the AI development race will dominate the coming decades economically and geopolitically, potentially exacerbating tensions between countries. Moreover, nations are under pressure to protect their citizens and their interests—and even their own political stability—in the face of possible malicious or biased uses of AI. On the one hand, these different stressors and emphases in AI development and deployment among nations risk a fragmentation between world regions that threatens technology evolution and collaboration. On the other hand, some level of differentiation will likely enrich the global AI ecosystem in ways that stimulate innovation and introduce competitive checks and balances through the decentralisation of AI development. International cooperation, typically orchestrated by intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, private sector initiatives, and by academic researchers, has improved common welfare and avoided undesirable outcomes in other technology areas. Because AI will most likely have more fundamental effects on our lives than other recent technologies, stronger forms of cooperation that address broader policy and governance challenges in addition to regulatory and technological issues may be needed. At a time of great challenges among nations, international policy coordination remains a necessary instrument to tackle the ethical, cultural, economic, and political repercussions of AI. We propose to advance the emerging concept of technology diplomacy to facilitate the global alignment of AI policy and governance and create a vibrant AI innovation system. We argue that the prevention of malicious uses of AI and the enhancement of human welfare create strong common interests across jurisdictions that require sustained efforts to develop better, mutually beneficial approaches. We hope that new technology diplomacy will facilitate the dialogues necessary to help all interested parties develop a shared understanding and coordinate efforts to utilise AI for the benefit of humanity, a task whose difficulty should not be underestimated

Networks in Entrepreneurship

The value of networks as integral part of the explanation of entrepreneurial success is widely acknowledged. However, the network perspective lacks specification of the various dimensions of a network and their impact on the early development of a venture. We make a distinction between a Schumpeterian start-up pursuing a radical innovation and a Kirznerian venture on basis of an incremental innovation. This distinction is introduced as a contingency in the way networks contribute to the ability of the entrepreneur to discover opportunities, to get resources, and to gain legitimacy. In this explorative study three cases on high technology firms in The Netherlands provide empirical material to develop a number of propositions on the network effect on the survival or performance of start-ups.networks;discovering opportunities;entrepreneurial processes;high-tech entrepreneurship;start-up firms

Net Neutrality: An International Policy for the United States

Consider this scenario: Alex and John still are avid video game players and play hours a day, each connecting from the same town through different ISPs. However, since it is a peak Internet traffic time, it may be difficult for them to play. While Alex has the Diamond package from his ISP that ensures he has guaranteed high-bandwidth connection, John\u27s ISP does not offer anything other than regular residential service. John must compete with everyone else in his local area for bandwidth, including a few who constantly watch high-definition video-on-demand and subsequently constrain bandwidth for other users. Would it not be a great solution for John to buy a better package that would ensure that he has a guaranteed connection like Alex? Perhaps he could, but it might take a network that discriminates based upon traffic and that is decidedly not enshrined with network neutrality

The role of telecommunication companies in Internet of things

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementInternet of Things is pervading the enterprise and consumer worlds. This technological concept is leading towards pervasive connectivity and encompasses everything connected to the Internet, being used for defining objects that ‘talk’ with one another. As stated by many reports, it is expected to generate a huge amount of added value through applications and the resulting services. Telecommunication companies with their central role, and their well established ability to connect millions of devices, are in a distinctive situation brought by the opportunity of new revenue streams and new challenges resulting from this revolution of connectivity. Their share of the added value market that is generated by the IoT is going to be dependent on the role they are going to play in the value chain. The purpose of this work is to investigate the impact Internet of Things will have on the telecommunications industry and to identify and analyse the possible directions for telecommunication companies as they take their role in IoT. In addition the IoT value chain is examined, possible business models for telecommunication companies in IoT are identified, and technology and business related challanges are elaborated. Furthermore in this work, a case study on Makedonski Telekom AD is presented. Telecommunication companies, being in the process of planning and/or implementing IoT have several business models to consider. The ones that will position themselves highly on the value chain, will have to play smart in order not to focus too heavily on industry specific solutions and balance in adding highly differentiated vertical offers where feasible on one hand, and facilitate third‐party vertical solutions where differentiation is more difficult and the investment is too great on the other, so they do not underplay their hand in the connectivity and life cycle management layer