In this module we have shown the power and superiority of the platform business model and the importance of platform thinking in today's business competition and growth. Parker, Marshall, and Sangeet in their 2016 HBR article (same issue with your Making the Leap article) pointed out that platforms will virtually always beat the traditional pipeline business model. Entrepreneurs are rushing to the platform business model, as we witness many of the ideas generated for new businesses are about platforms, whether it's about connecting dog walkers to owners or babysitters to parents.

However, despite the power and allure of the platforms, is it really rational for so many businesses to strive to adopt a platform model due to the allure and temptation?So how can businesses think rationally about adopting a platform or product business model? It is important to examine the specific conditions that determine when a platform model is a better fit for a certain business, such as:

First, market competition. The network effects on the platform lead to the "big gets bigger" effect, which means that competition can be fierce, especially in broad instead of niche local platforms, as also pointed out in your article. Smaller businesses with fewer resources may not be able to survive in a market with existing big players, where platforms need to deploy a lot of resources to acquire users e.g. by dispensing subsidies, and so on. Businesses need to evaluate the competition factor to decide whether to enter a local niche platform market, or not at all.

Second is the nature of capability. We know platforms focus on enabling external players to create value via interactions. For an entrepreneur or business whose main capability is the talent to come up with a differentiated or creative product or service instead of building an online ecosystem to coordinate other players, the best choice may still be a pipeline business model. Therefore, the huge advantages posed by the platform business model don't necessarily mean it is a good fit for all businesses, and entrepreneurs need to assessment the nature of their capabilities.

However, it's also important to realize that just because you are not a (pure or mainly) platform business does not mean you cannot use platform thinking to add a platform component and generate more growth. Let's not forget that platform vs product is a spectrum, and even if some companies use mainly a product business model, they can still use platform thinking to engage and interact with external parties in innovation, marketing, etc. Many product companies such as Nike, John Deere have been doing that. As the platform element grows it may start to generate revenue from the platform and become more of a hybrid model. So it may be a good approach for smaller businesses that start with a differentiated product or service and then later on transform into a platform or hybrid model after it has established a defensible business model or brand (also discussed in your article), such as 1-800-Got-Junk, and Beike from China.

Please choose ONE of the topics below and share your thoughts here. Please note that the platform we define here has to involve third parties, not in the loosely defined cases, e.g. a digital 'platform' used to house the company's own products, or just meant some 'platform' to help develop, launch or promote the company's products.

1. whether it chose a platform or the traditional pipeline business. Analyze whether you would have made the same decision, and why. Be specific about what factors will go into your decision, including any other factors than those mentioned above.

2. How a company used platform thinking to drive future growth by generating more revenue sources or improving current revenue generation. Some examples are Schneider Electric Exchange, MyJohnDeer, Disney Plus, Royal Philips launches HealthSuite, IKEA's acquisition of TaskRabbit, Target Plus, Volkswagen We.

3. Discuss how you can use the ideas of platform thinking to help you grow your personal career or business, e.g.insights from video you watched on how platform has changed the rules of strategy from resource control to resource orchestration, from internal optimization to external interaction, from a focus on individual value to a focus on ecosystem value, and so on.