Competition of multiplatform firms: Implications for the Internet of Things
Frank MacCrory, Evangelos Katsamakas

TL;DR
This paper explores how companies offering multiple connected devices, like smartphones and smartwatches, compete and influence consumer choices in the Internet of Things.
Contribution
The paper introduces a novel analytical model for multiplatform firms in the consumer IoT ecosystem.
Findings
New platform devices can disrupt the smartphone market under certain conditions.
Making new devices resemble smartphones can be profitable for vendors.
Multiplatform firms differ from single-platform firms in strategic behavior and market impact.
Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) technology trend is transforming business and society. This creates a need to understand strategic behavior in the consumer IoT, where firms tend to offer multiple platform devices, and new generations of devices are introduced frequently. We propose a novel analytical model that formalizes the concept of a multiplatform firm that offers a system of platforms, such as a smartphone, and a new platform device, such as a smartwatch, and orchestrates a multiplatform ecosystem. The analysis shows how a platform design decision, like offering a new standalone device, affects consumer choices and market outcomes. We identify two classes of new devices that matter, and show when a new platform device may disrupt the smartphone market. Moreover, we characterize conditions under which it is profitable for a vendor to make its new platform device look and feel more…
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Taxonomy
TopicsDigital Platforms and Economics · Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting · Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing
