How Nesting Changes Platform Strategy

60 MIT Sloan Management Review  

Platforms

platform gains additional capabilities and features

for customers, along with access to new markets and

complementor ecosystems, but it also provides poten-

tial competitors with an entry point to its customers.

Our interviews with executives of both host and

nested platform companies reveal key questions

businesses should ask if they’re considering pursu-

ing this strategy: Is access to new markets worth los-

ing some control of customer relationships? How can

platforms safeguard their market positioning, cus-

tomer experience, brand, data, and margins when

giving another platform access to their customers

and complementors?

As platform ecosystems mature, it is increasingly

vital that companies ...