LEARNING OUTCOMES

Credits: 3

Schedule: 02.11.2021 - 07.12.2021

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Tero Ojanperä

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

tero.i.ojanpera@aalto.fi

timo.vuori@aalto.fi

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• applies in this implementation

  The course focuses on developing skills to define and formulate a modern platform strategy based on platform business model, AI and human intelligence. 
  

  The starting point for the course is that the leading firms with a platform business model do not define themselves in terms of traditional industry boundaries. Rather, they actively seek to transcend the boundaries and create synergistic value across industries. 
  

  LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  The students will during the course learn to

  1. understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create an industry-transcending strategy approach based on platforms, AI and human intelligence (creativity, courage and insights).
     
  2. execute platform creation from business model perspective including network effects. Specifically, student will learn skills and techniques for 
     
  • managing psychological dynamics of business model transformation;
    
  • evaluating the degree of friction and transactions cost in the current offering and reducing them;
    
  • developing focused offering to build engagement;
    
  • business approach to application programming interfaces (APIs);
    
  • creation of learning loop using AI;
    
  • expanding offering to new industries by leveraging platform’s core capabilities
    

  This course is for master students who already have background knowledge about basic concepts of platforms such as network effects. 

  
  

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• applies in this implementation

  Students will work in groups on a case study “Develop platform strategy for firm X” throughout the course. The case study company can be selected freely or together with lecturer. Group size is 2-4 persons.

   Students will prepare contribution to the case study related to weekly session theme based on pre-reading material. Assignment is to summarize the main point from the article and how could that we applied into their case firm.

  The purpose of this assignment is to help students to develop own thinking and to help translating theory into practice in addition to making sure that they understand the basic ideas in the readings.

DETAILS

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Details on the schedule

• applies in this implementation

  Week 1	Industry transcending strategy and new business models  - Introduction to intelligent platforms. How to manage three inter-dependent dynamics to transform firm’s business model: 1) creating network effects, 2) adopting AI, and 3) developing creativity and courage to leap to new domains from business model perspective Ant Financial Blog Alibaba and the Future of Business, Ming Zeng, Sep, 2018, Harvard Business Review    Psychological dynamics of business model transformation: Intelligent platforms challenge many of business's underlying assumptions, including ways of working that organizations have honed for years that may need to change. Vuori, T O. and Huy, Q N (2018) How Nokia Embraced the Emotional Side of Strategy, Harvard Business Review (digital article), https://hbr.org/2018/05/how-nokia-embraced-the-emotional-side-of-strategy
  Week 2	Transaction costs, friction and business expansion: simplifying the value chain from the user’s viewpoint by eliminating transaction costs and friction to create network effects The Best Platforms Are More than Matchmakers, Alstyne&Schrage, HBR, Aug 2016.
  Week 3	Role of focused offering in building platforms and network effect  - techniques to identify on the most value-adding service and to define phase approach starting with focus, refining the offering and building engagement/community to drive network effects https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/12/how-peloton-exercise-bikes-and-streaming-gained-a-cult-following.html
  Week 4	Business approach to APIs  - APIs role in creating platform business, how to manage APIs as products and over their life-cycle, API business models. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/what-it-really-takes-to-capture-the-value-of-apis
  Week 5	Creation of learning loops with AI – techniques to create business goals for AI,  produce relevant data, and maximize continuous learning to learn faster than competition Getting AI to Scale, HBR https://hbr.org/2021/05/getting-ai-to-scale Tesla AI:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucp0TTmvqOE
  Week 6	Transcending industry boundaries to create synergistic value across industries - how to break psychological barriers to reach creative insights and to expand offering to a new sector by leveraging a platform’s core capabilities Case study: Amazon history https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2018/10/business/amazon-history-timeline/index.html Blog to explain three strategies to expand your platform Outside-in: starting from market trends and opportunities Inside-out: starting from your current strengths and assets ‘What if we bought’: considering how you could leverage another company’s strengths

  
  

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