Platform Strategies

Teacher(s)

Belleflamme Paul;

Language

English

Main themes

Specific behavior on Internet, Communities and viral marketing, e-business strategies, Internet market research, market places, e-Pricing, e-Advertising

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	During their programme, students of the LSM Master's in management or Master's in Business engineering will have developed the following capabilities CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP 1.3 Decide and act responsibly,  while taking into account the social, economic and environmental sometimes antinomic, outcomes in the short, medium and long term, for the various stakeholders. KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING 2.3 Articulate the acquired knowledge from different areas of management. INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 4.1 ldentify new opportunities, propose creative and useful ideas; insituations that require new strategic approaches, break with existing models and paradigms, promote progress and change. WORK EFFECTIVELY IN AN INTERNATIONAL AND MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT 5.1 Understand the inner workings of an organization : develop a global approach and integrate the internal logic used within the organization. TEAMWORK AND LEADERSHIP 6.1 Work in a team :Join in and collaborate with team members. Be open and take into consideration the different points of view and ways of thinking, manage differences and conflicts constructively, accept diversity.

Content

Context. E-commerce has been profoundly disrupted over the last decade by the increased adoption of platform-based business models. As an illustration, five of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization today are Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook, which have all adopted, either from the start or later on, a platform-based business model. Platforms can be defined as entities that enable interactions among users and generate value from these interactions. In contrast with traditional firms (also called ‘pipelines’), which create value in a linear way using their own staff and assets, platforms create value in a more circular way by facilitating the interaction between different groups of external and independent participants. Not only do platforms represent a large share of the global economy, but they also pervade our everyday lives. So far, however, the existing literature in management has failed to provide both professionals and students with appropriate tools to understand, in a thorough and scientifically sound way, the business models that may make those platforms successful. This course aims at filling the gap by providing students with a set of practical tools that will allow them to design strategies adapted to the specificities of platforms.
Aims and objectives. At the end of the course, students should be able to (i) master an array of specific concepts from strategic management and industrial organization, so as to (ii) understand how digital platforms operate and what sets them apart from other business, and (iii) apply this knowledge to design their own venture.
 

Teaching methods

The course will be organized according to the flipped-classroom method. Every week, the instructor will introduce the topics and then, students will be invited to go through additional learning material online, which they will cover at their own pace. Students will prepare, individually, a number of learning activities, aimed at making them engage with the material. In parallel, students will develop, in groups, their own project of platform. They will also present their work in progress, every week, to the teaching staff.

Evaluation methods

The final grade in this course will be based on grades in three activities:

• A group project (40%): Working in groups, the task will be to design a digital platform.
• Individual assignments and class participation (30%): Each week,
  • Individual activities will be assigned and graded (e.g., quizzes, small exercises, applications of concepts, etc.);
  • Members of the teaching staff will talk with each group separately; the group will present what they did for the group activities that were assigned for that week; time will also be used to answer questions about the material and to discuss the progress in the group project; the quality of the interaction will be graded;
• A final written examination (30%): the exam will cover the entirety of the material and will be organized in the two regular exam sessions (June and August/September). The purpose of the exam is to check the student's understanding of the main theoretical concepts covered in the course.

Important note. The marks for the individual coursework are set once and for all (this part of the assessment cannot be retaken). However, students have the possibility to retake the final exam in August/September and, if the mark of the group coursework is below 10/20, to replace it with an individual coursework (to be handed in August/September).
 

Other information

None

Online resources

All the learning material supporting the course will be made available on a dedicated Moodle website. The site will also be used to form groups, to announce and submit assignments, and to send course related information.

Bibliography

Reference book:

• Belleflamme, P. and Neysen, N. (2023). Platform Strategies. A Guidebook for Entrepreneurs in the Platform Economy. Routledge (forthcoming)

Other learning material supporting the course will be made available on a dedicated Moodle website.

Faculty or entity

CLSM