A strategic analysis of electronic marketplaces
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on the strategic use of information systems
Economics of an Information Intermediary with Aggregation Benefits
Information Systems Research
Two-Sided Network Effects: A Theory of Information Product Design
Management Science
A Model of Neutral B2B Intermediaries
Journal of Management Information Systems
Design and Ownership of Two-Sided Networks: Implications for Internet Platforms
Journal of Management Information Systems
Modeling the dynamics of network technology adoption and the role of converters
IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking (TON)
The evolution of layered protocol stacks leads to an hourglass-shaped architecture
Proceedings of the ACM SIGCOMM 2011 conference
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Should a new "platform" target a functionality-rich but complex and expensive design or instead opt for a bare-bone but cheaper one? This is a fundamental question with profound implications for the eventual success of any platform. A general answer is, however, elusive as it involves a complex trade-off between benefits and costs. The intent of this paper is to introduce an approach based on standard tools from the field of economics, which can offer some insight into this difficult question. We demonstrate its applicability by developing and solving a generic model that incorporates key interactions between platform stakeholders. The solution confirms that the "optimal" number of features a platform should offer strongly depends on variations in cost factors. More interestingly, it reveals a high sensitivity to small relative changes in those costs. The paper's contribution and motivation are in establishing the potential of such a cross-disciplinary approach for providing qualitative and quantitative insights into the complex question of platform design.