Optimization and Visualization of Strategies for Platforms
Optimization and Visualization of Strategies for Platforms, Complements, and Services. by Richard B. LeVine BA, Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, 1980 MS, Computer Science, Union College, Schenectady New York, 1986 SUBMITTED TO THE ALFRED P. SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2003 ©2003 Richard B. LeVine. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of Author: Alfred P. Sloan School of Management May 8, 2003 Certified by: Professor James Utterback, Chair, Management of Technology Program Reader Certified by: Professor Michael Cusumano, Sloan Management Review Distinguished Professor of Management Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: David Weber Director, Management of Technology Program 1 of 160 Optimization and Visualization of Strategies for Platforms, Complements, and Services by Richard B. LeVine Submitted to the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management on May 8, 2003, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Science. Abstract This thesis probes the causal elements of product platform strategies and the effects of platform strategy on a firm. Platform strategies may be driven by internal or external forces, and the lifecycle of a firm and of a platform strategy evolve over time in response to both the needs of the firm and the changes in the external environment. This external environment may consist of a “platform ecology,” in which the platform strategies of firms affect one another.
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