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Do You Really Want to Be an eBay
Hagiu, Andrei; Wright, JulianArticle HBS-R1303J-EStrategyLured by the success of marketplaces such as eBay, many companies have tried operating as multisided platforms, which let buyers and sellers transact directly with one another. But resellers--which acquire and then resell products and services--often fare better. To determine the right position on the continuum between pure reseller and pure multisided platform, companies must consider four factors: 1) Scale effects. Amazon draws on its formidabl...Starting at €8.20
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What's Your Google Strategy
Hagiu, Andrei; Yoffie, David B.Article HBS-R0904F-EStrategyThis article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. Multisided platforms can lower your transaction costs and increase customer reach. But powerful MSPs like Microsoft, Google, and Apple have also tended to extract most of the value from their platforms, mainly because companies that played with them didn't adequate...Starting at €8.20
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Staging Two-sided Platforms
Eisenmann, Thomas R.; Hagiu, AndreiCase HBS-808004-EStrategyFirms that aspire to develop two-sided platforms face a formidable challenge. Prospective users on each side will not invest in the platform until they are confident there will be enough users on the other side. Traditional strategies for dealing with this dilemma--subsidizing users or securing their exclusive affiliation--are costly and risky. Describes less costly staged strategies for building two-sided platforms. With the "vendor to two-sided...Starting at €8.20
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Staged Solution to the Catch-22
Hagiu, Andrei; Eisenmann, Thomas R.Article HBS-F0711B-EStrategyCompanies looking to launch a two-sided platform--between, for example, credit card users and merchants or search engine users and advertisers--must overcome the reluctance of one side to sign on until it's confident the other side will be well populated. It's a common business quandary, but Google and Charles Schwab both found a way around it.Starting at €8.20
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Finding the Platform in Your Product
Hagiu, Andrei; Altman, Elizabeth J.Article HBS-R1704G-EStrategyFive of the 10 most valuable companies in the world today--Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft--derive much of their worth from their multisided platforms, which facilitate interactions or transactions between parties. Many MSPs are more valuable than companies in the same industries that provide only products or services: For instance, Airbnb is now worth more than Marriott, the world's largest hotel chain. However, companies that w...Starting at €8.20
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When Data Creates Competitive Advantage...And When It Doesn't
Hagiu, Andrei; Wright, JulianArticle HBS-R2001G-EStrategyMany executives assume that customer data can give you an unbeatable competitive edge. The more customers you have, the more data you can gather, and that data, when analyzed, allows you to offer a better product that attracts more customers. You can then collect even more data, repeating the cycle until you eventually marginalize your competitors. But this thinking is usually wrong. Though the virtuous cycles of data-enabled learning may look si...Starting at €8.20
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Qualcomm Incorporated 2009
Yoffie, David B.; Hagiu, Andrei; Kind, LizCase HBS-710433-EStrategyPaul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, smiled as he reflected on the success of Qualcomm's code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. By the summer of 2009, CDMA was the basis for all third generation technologies available for cellular transmissions. However, while Qualcomm seemed poised for growth, Jacobs wondered how successful the company's contributions to new generation technologies would be and if they should aggress...Starting at €8.20
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PlaNet Finance: Broad Scope in Microfinance
Hagiu, Andrei; Corsi, ElenaCase HBS-708441-EPlaNet Finance was a French NGO providing technical support and training services to microfinance institutions (i.e., institutions providing financial services to the poor) and other microfinance actors, rating of microfinance institutions and management, and advisory services to microfinance investors and investment funds. Furthermore, it was creating a network of microfinance banks through a microfinance holding company. However, in a context o...Starting at €8.20
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Network Effects Aren't Enough
Hagiu, Andrei; Rothman, SimonArticle HBS-R1604D-EEntrepreneurshipIn many ways, online marketplaces are the perfect business model. Since they facilitate transactions between independent suppliers and customers rather than take possession of and responsibility for the products or services in question, they have inherently low cost structures and fat gross margins. They are highly defensible once established, owing to network effects. Yet online marketplaces remain extremely difficult to build, say Andrei Hagiu ...Starting at €8.20
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Consumer Payment Systems - Japan
Edelman, Benjamin; Hagiu, AndreiCase HBS-909007-EStrategyIn 2008, the Japanese consumer payments landscape featured ongoing widespread use of cash, limited use of credit cards and rapid rise of e-money systems based on contactless technology embedded in cards and especially mobile phones. The case details the alliances that created new products, as well as the regulations that sometimes stood in the way. Throughout, the case identifies incentives for both consumers and merchants, including direct costs...Starting at €8.20