The Chicken or the Egg Problem : strategies for populating multi-sided business platforms

Author(s)
Cunningham, Andrew, S.M. (Andrew James) Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Alternative title
Strategies for populating multi-sided business platforms
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program.
System Design and Management Program.
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Abstract
Platform businesses such as Google, Amazon, VISA and Apple are major players in today's economy. But how do platform businesses start? Why would a customer visit Amazon Marketplace if there were no products, and why would businesses sell products on Amazon if there were no customers? This is a critical challenge for new platforms, and is known as the Chicken or the Egg Problem. This paper explores both successful and unsuccessful previous attempts to solve this challenge, identifies critical strategies that were used, and outlines recommendations for future platform businesses.
Description
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, May, 2020
 
Cataloged from the official version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-88).
 
Date issued
2020
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/132815
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Engineering and Management Program., System Design and Management Program.
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