Paper Number
1166
Paper Type
Short Paper
Abstract
This work-in-progress study explores the existence of two distinct strategic approaches assumingly employed by multi-sided platform (MSP) incumbents: killer acquisitions and kill zones. Killer acquisitions aim at acquiring potential rivals before they become competitors, while kill zone approaches entail using market power to threaten potential new entrants to not enter a specific market. Based on antitrust research, our study introduces the two phenomena to the nascent stream of platform strategy in competitive, multi-sided markets. The study draws on an empirical study of 1411 MSPs across 43 industrialized countries from 2013 to 2020. Our study contributes to the research stream of competitive strategies in multi-sided intermediary markets by, among others, introducing the two phenomena in this field, by adding longitudinal research to investigate MSP strategy making, and by offering unique insights to policy makers and managers.
Recommended Citation
Charlet, Maximilian, "Don't Fly Too Close to the Sun: Investigating Killer Acquisitions and Kill Zones in Multi-Sided Platform Markets" (2024). ECIS 2024 Proceedings. 11.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2024/is_governance/track21_is_govern/11
Don't Fly Too Close to the Sun: Investigating Killer Acquisitions and Kill Zones in Multi-Sided Platform Markets
This work-in-progress study explores the existence of two distinct strategic approaches assumingly employed by multi-sided platform (MSP) incumbents: killer acquisitions and kill zones. Killer acquisitions aim at acquiring potential rivals before they become competitors, while kill zone approaches entail using market power to threaten potential new entrants to not enter a specific market. Based on antitrust research, our study introduces the two phenomena to the nascent stream of platform strategy in competitive, multi-sided markets. The study draws on an empirical study of 1411 MSPs across 43 industrialized countries from 2013 to 2020. Our study contributes to the research stream of competitive strategies in multi-sided intermediary markets by, among others, introducing the two phenomena in this field, by adding longitudinal research to investigate MSP strategy making, and by offering unique insights to policy makers and managers.
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