Opening Platforms: How, When and Why?

摘要: Platform-mediated networks encompass several distinct types of participants, including end users, complementors, platform providers who facilitate users' access to complements, and sponsors develop technologies. Each these roles can be opened - that is, structured encourage participation or closed. This paper reviews factors motivate decisions open close mature platforms. At the provider sponsor levels, entail: 1) interoperating with established rival platforms; 2) licensing additional providers; 3) broadening sponsorship. With respect users a involve: backward compatibility prior generations; securing exclusive rights certain complements; absorbing complements into core platform. Over time, forces tend push both proprietary shared platforms toward hybrid governance models characterized by centralized control over technology (i.e., closed sponsorship) responsibility for serving an role).