The emporium strikes back

“INTERESTING thesis, but don’t use the word ‘platform’ in the title. No one knows what it means.” That was the reaction of a professor at MIT in 2000 upon reading the dissertation of Annabelle Gawer, now co-director of the Centre for Digital Economy at the University of Surrey. She ignored the advice and kept the title.

If anyone were to counsel Ms Gawer against using the word today, it would be for the opposite reason: overuse. Academic papers on the concept are now legion. Books are multiplying, too: after “Platform Revolution” in March, this month will see the release of “Matchmakers” (with the p-word in the subtitle). Rare is the startup that does not want to be a platform. A rapidly growing number of incumbent firms, too, are striving to build platforms. Yet the professor’s problem remains pertinent: confusion still reigns over what exactly platforms are. And this, combined with the hype, hides the fact that they are not for everyone.