The Business of Platforms Audiobook By Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, David B. Yoffie cover art

The Business of Platforms

Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Business of Platforms

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, David B. Yoffie
Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.59

Buy for $21.59

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

A trio of experts on high-tech business strategy and innovation reveal the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable firms in the world and the first trillion-dollar companies.

Managers and entrepreneurs in the digital era must learn to live in two worlds - the conventional economy and the platform economy. Platforms that operate for business purposes usually exist at the level of an industry or ecosystem, bringing together individuals and organizations so they can innovate and interact in ways not otherwise possible. Platforms create economic value far beyond what we see in conventional companies.

The Business of Platforms is an invaluable, in-depth look at platform strategy and digital innovation. Cusumano, Gawer, and Yoffie address how a small number of companies have come to exert extraordinary influence over every dimension of our personal, professional, and political lives. They explain how these new entities differ from the powerful corporations of the past. They also question whether there are limits to the market dominance and expansion of these digital juggernauts. Finally, they discuss the role governments should play in rethinking data privacy laws, antitrust, and other regulations that could reign in abuses from these powerful businesses.

Their goal is to help managers and entrepreneurs build platform businesses that can stand the test of time and win their share of battles with both digital and conventional competitors. As experts who have studied and worked with these firms for some 30 years, this audiobook is the most authoritative and timely investigation yet of the powerful economic and technological forces that make platform businesses, from Amazon and Apple to Microsoft, Facebook, and Google - all dominant players in shaping the global economy, the future of work, and the political world we now face.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
Business Development & Entrepreneurship E-Commerce Technology Data Science Machine Learning Marketing

Listeners also enjoyed...

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Vol. 2 Audiobook By Harvard Business Review cover art
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Vol. 2 By: Harvard Business Review
Platform Revolution Audiobook By Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, Sangeet Paul Choudary cover art
Platform Revolution By: Geoffrey G. Parker, and others
The Platform Delusion Audiobook By Jonathan A. Knee cover art
The Platform Delusion By: Jonathan A. Knee
Matchmakers Audiobook By Richard Schmalensee, David S. Evans cover art
Matchmakers By: Richard Schmalensee, and others
The Innovation Stack Audiobook By Jim McKelvey cover art
The Innovation Stack By: Jim McKelvey
Unlocking the Customer Value Chain Audiobook By Thales S. Teixeira, Greg Piechota cover art
Unlocking the Customer Value Chain By: Thales S. Teixeira, and others
Billion Dollar Brand Club Audiobook By Lawrence Ingrassia cover art
Billion Dollar Brand Club By: Lawrence Ingrassia
Trailblazer Audiobook By Marc Benioff, Monica Langley cover art
Trailblazer By: Marc Benioff, and others
The Creative Curve Audiobook By Allen Gannett cover art
The Creative Curve By: Allen Gannett
Straight Talk for Startups Audiobook By Randy Komisar, Jantoon Reigersman cover art
Straight Talk for Startups By: Randy Komisar, and others
The Hidden Habits of Genius Audiobook By Craig Wright cover art
The Hidden Habits of Genius By: Craig Wright
The Cold Start Problem Audiobook By Andrew Chen cover art
The Cold Start Problem By: Andrew Chen
Build Audiobook By Tony Fadell cover art
Build By: Tony Fadell
Connecting the Dots Audiobook By John Chambers, Diane Brady cover art
Connecting the Dots By: John Chambers, and others
Elastic Audiobook By Leonard Mlodinow cover art
Elastic By: Leonard Mlodinow
The CEO Next Door Audiobook By Tahl Raz, Kim R. Powell, Elena L. Botelho cover art
The CEO Next Door By: Tahl Raz, and others
Blitzscaling Audiobook By Reid Hoffman, Chris Yeh, Bill Gates - foreword cover art
Blitzscaling By: Reid Hoffman, and others
Metaverse for Beginners Audiobook By George Lenko cover art
Metaverse for Beginners By: George Lenko
Crossing the Chasm Audiobook By Geoffrey A. Moore cover art
Crossing the Chasm By: Geoffrey A. Moore
Launch Audiobook By Jeff Walker cover art
Launch By: Jeff Walker

People who viewed this also viewed...

Platform Revolution Audiobook By Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, Sangeet Paul Choudary cover art
Platform Revolution By: Geoffrey G. Parker, and others
Matchmakers Audiobook By Richard Schmalensee, David S. Evans cover art
Matchmakers By: Richard Schmalensee, and others
Most relevant  
I really wish these authors would hire actor/actresses to read these. The voice is dull but the content is excellent! Great for those in the “platform” business or getting into it!

Outside the voice it’s great!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

gives great insight into the strategy of platform businesses as well as things to consider as both an entrepreneur or internal strategist.

great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A good test for the frameworks explained here is the arrival of COVID-19: does such an unexpected event unravel the framework, or does it hold up and support sensible understandings in real time? For me, it DOES pass this test. I can see which aspects of platform businesses are stressed, and why. Even as my business is nudged ever-further into current platform channels, I can look ahead with clarity.

Clear, well-structured, supports anaysis, planning

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Digital platforms are double edged swords, You either Victim or Victor.Will definitely disrupt our current business models, we need to adapt quick and fast especially in my homeland Africa.

The Future is Here

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I sometimes find the narrator’s excessive use of rising intonation irritating. But it could just be generational.

Great content but

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Appreciated the history of platforms and breakdown of terminology. Well organized and well written. Loved the principles of never getting complacent.
Intriguing conclusion of future technology and science.

Fascinating read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great overview of the rise and success of pltforms. Balanced by a healthy portion of caution in the end. Some useful lessons to be learned here

Balanced overview of platforms

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I can’t remember anything of significance from what I read. There were the two concepts of transaction and innovation platforms but that seems like an arbitrary distinction. Felt more like a legal and ethical review of platforms rather than a book on business strategy.

And when they did showcase winners and losers; the analysis was rather shallow — highlighting obvious things that only hindsight could reveal. I think this is due to the number of companies they surveyed. It was simply too many and their analysis lacked the depth that a deeper dive into a few companies would yield.

Too broad, too shallow, not enough strategy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

basic stuff that you can probably find from some youtube videos. didnt learn much from the book

doesnt teach you much

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.