Platforms and Ecosystems

Emerging technologies have powered platforms from the fringes to the mainstream, blurring traditional organizational boundaries and creating operational agility. In fact, digital platforms and ecosystems are rapidly evolving as the most thriving business model for the digital economy.

While digital platform pioneers have disrupted industries like retail, travel, and mobility, incumbent firms or the non-digital native companies are shaping their platform and ecosystem strategies to create value and stay competitive.

Authored by a distinguished team of academia, Michael  G. Jacobides, London Business School; Arun Sundararajan, New York University; and Marshall Van Alstyne, Boston University, in collaboration with Deloitte, this report highlights how digital platforms and ecosystems are re-inventing business models and looks at the key aspects, exciting possibilities, and benefits that they offer. 

The World Economic Forum and Deloitte conducted interviews with senior executives from 16 different digital platform and ecosystem firms across different business-to-business (B2B) business-to-consumer (B2C) industries.

These narratives illustrate how these companies are tackling the challenges encountered in their journey. Additionally, the executives of these companies share key lessons and recommendations to consider when building a digital platform and ecosystem.

This whitepaper is a part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Shaping the Future of the Digital Economy and Society initiative.