Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Digital platforms can bring tremendous business benefits to their owner companies if they attract and sustain substantial users. Digital platform growth strategies for this purpose, as suggested by the extant literature, often require technological, market, and financial advantages, which startups usually lack. We still have a limited understanding of how startups grow their platforms in disadvantageous conditions. Responding to this research problem, our in-depth case study at a Chinese digital startup identifies “strategic swaying” as an effective strategic practice in which a platform owner moves between users on two sides of its platform to influence the users’ activities for growing its platform. The findings offer new insights into digital platform growth strategy and also the governance and the launch of digital platforms. We discuss a number of implications for both research and practice, and offer directions for future research.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Gongtai and Nandhakumar, Joe, "Strategic Swaying: How Startups Grow Digital Platforms" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 17.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/Strategy/Presentations/17
Strategic Swaying: How Startups Grow Digital Platforms
Digital platforms can bring tremendous business benefits to their owner companies if they attract and sustain substantial users. Digital platform growth strategies for this purpose, as suggested by the extant literature, often require technological, market, and financial advantages, which startups usually lack. We still have a limited understanding of how startups grow their platforms in disadvantageous conditions. Responding to this research problem, our in-depth case study at a Chinese digital startup identifies “strategic swaying” as an effective strategic practice in which a platform owner moves between users on two sides of its platform to influence the users’ activities for growing its platform. The findings offer new insights into digital platform growth strategy and also the governance and the launch of digital platforms. We discuss a number of implications for both research and practice, and offer directions for future research.