How platform leaders win

Purpose – To study successful strategies in platform industries, which are IT products that enable (a network of) users to communicate with each other, and that, consequently, exhibit network effects.Design/methodology/approach – The authors studied 15 platform industries, including their first‐mover, early entrants and current leaders. Also studied were historical documents, for example to find the time of market entry.Findings – Unlike traditional products (e.g. consumer products), platforms evolve over time by technically integrating separate platforms (“embrace and extend”). Two key patterns were found among platform leaders: follower advantage and staircase strategies. While follower advantage is also prevalent in traditional industries, staircase strategies are not. Complementary resources (i.e. resources the firm possesses outside of the product in question, for example R&D skills or customer relations) did not explain why the current leaders won.Research limitations/implications – First‐mover adva...