Pivoting B2B Platform Business Models: From Platform Experimentation to Multi-Platform Integration to Ecosystem Envelopment

• Published in: International journal of production economics 2024-11, p.109466, Article 109466
• Main Authors: Filosa, Clara, Jovanovic, Marin, Agostini, Lara, Nosella, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: B2B platform; digital servitization; platform business models; platform strategy evolution; process perspective; qualitative research
• ISSN: 0925-5273
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2024.109466

The landscape of digital servitization in the manufacturing sector is evolving, marked by a strategic shift from traditional product-centric to platform business models (BMs). Manufacturing firms often employ a blend of approaches to develop business-to-business (B2B) platforms, leading to significant reconfigurations in their BMs. However, manufacturing firms frequently encounter failures in their B2B platform development initiatives, leading them to abandon the initial efforts and/or pivot to alternative platform strategies. Therefore, this study, through an in-depth case study of a leading wind turbine manufacturer, articulates a three-phase pivoting framework for B2B platform BMs with corresponding platform development and strategic orientation. Initially, a manufacturer focused on asset-based product sales, supplemented by asset maintenance services, follows an emergent platformization strategy, characterized by the rise of multiple, independent B2B platforms catering to diverse functions. Next, focusing on the imposed customer journey strategy, the firm shifts towards an imposed and strategic multi-platform integration into an all-encompassing platform supported by artificial intelligence (AI), signaling a maturation of the platform BM to combine the wide range services into an energy-performance-based contract. Finally, the last step of the firm’s platform BM evolution consists of a deliberate open platform strategy to external stakeholders and enveloping its offerings in a broader platform ecosystem. The study showcases advanced AI applications that process wind farm, wind turbine, and blade data, signifying a transformative leap toward value capture via platform ecosystem. The paper advances B2B platform BMs and digital servitization literature, highlighting a progressive approach's efficacy and strategic pivoting.