Episode 17: Prof. R. Srinivasan Discusses Platform Business Models

The IIMB Podcast

In the seventeenth episode of IIMB Podcast series Dr. R. Srinivasan, Professor in the Strategy area at IIM Bangalore shares his insights on Platform Business Models. He recently authored a book with the same title and released a MOOC on IIMBx. Dr. R Srinivasan talks about the functioning of a platform, how they grow, the various types of platforms that exist and the architectural elements of platforms. He also talks about the reasons for the recent growth in the number of platform businesses and the impact caused by higher penetration of Internet and smartphones. Further, the episode touches upon how the landscape has become quite competitive, and what determines a winner in this virtual race, which begins from solving the chicken-egg problem in acquiring the first block of customers but does not end, rather becomes even more challenging, upon establishing dominance through setting standards. Towards the end, the episode delves into the extent to which regulations and market maturity affect success, while drawing parallels between the developing countries and the West, and opportunities that exist through overcoming traditional market inefficiencies.