Platform Strategy for Global Markets

This book explains the strategic behaviors of platform firms on the global market, drawing on extensive research on the mobile communication systems, semiconductor equipment, personal computer, and automobile electronics industries. The book focuses on Ericsson, Applied Materials, Intel, and Bosch as representative global platform companies. The book’s introductory section reports on the rise of platform business and addresses the theoretical basis of their competitive edge, based on a review of prior studies on the network effect of open standards and the economic theory of strategic behavior. The platform business obviously secures a competitive advantage on the global market. Yet this theory alone does not provide sufficient explanation for why the platform business achieves competitiveness on the market. The book proposes a theoretical framework and provides rigorous supporting evidence by using case studies and empirical analysis on the global business of platform firms. This evidence reflects the variety of global ecosystems: the mobile communications system in China, the semiconductor equipment industry in East Asia, personal computers in Taiwan, and automobile electronics in China. In conclusion, the book reviews these studies and identifies the key factors of platform strategy on the global market. Given its breadth of coverage, the book will benefit all academic researchers and undergraduate students in management and economics with an interest in global competition and collaboration in the open economy.