Comparing Platform Business Models

To remain competitive, companies need to understand how to innovate their platform business models or transform their pipeline business models to be successful. Thus, being able to compare platform business is key. Litarature shows that there is no proven approach to compare platform business models. This paper fills this gap by following the design science approach to develop a management tool based on the balanced score card and the platform business model canvas by Eisape. The platform business model components are clustered according to the balanced scorecard perspectives and interlinked according to their influence onto success. This paper identifies key performance indicators for successful platform business models and tests the model by comparing the (platform) business models of Airbnb, Marriott and Uber. The result is of relevance to the scientific community as it builds upon the discussion of what attributes and characteristics describe (platform) business models and contributes to the discussion on management tools for platform business models. It is of relevance for practitioners as it introduces and evaluates an easy to use visualization tool for the strategic management platform businesses.

企业若要保持竞争力，需明确如何革新自身的平台商业模式，或是将管道商业模式转型为平台商业模式以实现成功运营。因此，平台商业模式的对比分析是核心研究议题。现有研究表明，目前尚无经过验证的平台商业模式对比方法。本文采用设计科学研究方法（design science approach），基于平衡计分卡（balanced scorecard）与Eisape提出的平台商业模式画布，开发了一款管理工具以填补这一研究空白。本文依据平衡计分卡的四大维度对平台商业模式的构成要素进行聚类，并根据各要素对企业成功的影响路径建立关联逻辑。本文确定了成功平台商业模式的关键绩效指标（key performance indicators, KPI），并通过对比爱彼迎（Airbnb）、万豪（Marriott）与优步（Uber）的（平台）商业模式对该模型进行了实证检验。本研究成果对学术界具有重要价值：其一，它丰富了关于（平台）商业模式属性与特征的讨论；其二，也为平台商业模式管理工具的相关研究作出了学术贡献。同时，本研究对企业实践者亦具备实用价值：它推出并评估了一款操作简便的可视化工具，可用于平台企业的战略管理。