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The Platform Delusion

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( 221 ratings, 24 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Platform Delusion by Jonathan A. Knee challenges the prevailing belief that tech platforms are the supreme business models of the modern age. It explores how business success doesn't solely depend on adopting this model but rather on making solid strategic decisions. The book examines various companies and industries to illustrate that a nuanced understanding is crucial for sustainable business growth.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might like this book if you are interested in understanding the difference between the hype and reality of platform businesses. It offers insightful analysis on why some platforms succeed while others fail, challenging common misconceptions and providing a nuanced look at the business strategies behind successful enterprises. This may appeal to those fascinated by business success stories and economic theory applied to the modern digital age.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An investment banker and professor explains what really drives success in the tech economy.

Many think that they understand the secrets to the success of the biggest tech companies—Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. It's the platform economy, or network effects, or some other magical power that makes their ultimate world domination inevitable. Investment banker and professor Jonathan Knee argues that the truth is much more complicated—but entrepreneurs and investors can understand what makes the giants work, and learn the keys to lasting success in the digital economy.

Knee explains what really makes the biggest tech companies work—a surprisingly disparate portfolio of structural advantages buttressed by shrewd acquisitions, strong management, lax regulation, and often, encouraging the myth that they are invincible to discourage competitors. By offering fresh insights into the true sources of strength and very real vulnerabilities of these companies, The Platform Delusion shows how investors, existing businesses, and startups might value them, compete with them, and imitate them.

The Platform Delusion demystifies the success of the biggest digital companies in sectors from retail to media to software to hardware, offering readers what those companies don't want everyone else to know. Knee's insights are invaluable for entrepreneurs and investors in digital businesses seeking to understand what drives resilience and profitability for the long term.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Platform Delusion by Jonathan Knee is praised for dismantling the mystique surrounding Silicon Valley's platform companies. It offers an accessible exploration of platform complexity, revealing investors' misconceptions about competitive advantage. Critics highlight the book's engaging narrative and its challenge to the belief that the fundamentals of business have drastically changed in the digital age.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780593189436

Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 07 September 2021

Country: United States

Imprint: Portfolio

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 162.0mm

Height: 237.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 384

About the Author

Jonathan A. Knee is the author of The Accidental Investment Banker, The Curse of the Mogul, and Class Clowns. He has written dozens of op-eds, book reviews and magazine articles over the past three decades on a wide variety of topics touching on culture, business, law, economics and public policy in publications including The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Since 2014, he has served as the Book Entry columnist for the New York Times Dealbook. He is the Michael T. Fries Professor of Professional Practice in Media and Technology at Columbia Business School, where he also serves as co-Director of the Media and Technology Program. Mr. Knee has been an investment banker for over 25 years, at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Evercore Partners, where he remains a senior advisor.

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