Platform Orchestration for Efficiency, Development, and Innovation

Platform research has expanded from management of technology domains towards the service of a business. Any kind of venue -- physical or virtual - enabling a one-sided, two-sided or multi-sided market can be thought of as a platform. Digital platforms compete against each other and some become successful while others fade away. Platform cannot be managed in a goal-oriented fashion because the number of actors and relationships between them increases beyond the ability of what the platform owner can handle. However, a platform can be orchestrated by designing and facilitating processes taking place among participants. In this conceptual paper, we review the literature on platforms and participant roles. We present four platform categories and three platform orchestration modes. In conclusion, we suggest that winning platform requires simultaneous orchestration of efficiency, development and innovation in order to attract and lock-in participants, facilitate transactions, and create novel offerings.