AEM 4615 - Digital Platform Strategy

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Forbidden Overlap: due to an overlap in content, students will receive credit for only one course in the following group: AEM 4615, AEM 5615, NBA 5615.
Prerequisite: AEM 2200 or equivalent. Co-meets with AEM 5615.

C. Forman.

Business platforms are a set of business and technology building blocks that serve to facilitate the creation of complementary products and services. They are an essential feature of modern economies, particularly among products and services created by software. The emphasis of this course is on how to create, grow, gain value and capture market share from platforms. Course content will draw concepts from network effects, information asymmetry, pricing, and game theory. Students will apply these concepts to make decisions on how to manage platforms in case studies drawing from social media, entrepreneurship, enterprise software, and mobile services, among others. The course will be useful for students interested in founding new businesses, managing technology ventures and investing.

Outcome 1: Formulate and implement strategies to grow, maintain, and capture value from platforms.

Outcome 2: Demonstrate competency in applying concepts from economics and strategic management that inform understanding of how and when platforms grow and decline.

Outcome 3: Identify and analyze evidence of the impact of platforms on markets and broader society and communicate results.

Outcome 4: Offer critical analysis of contemporary business events related to platforms.

Outcome 5: Develop effective skills in communicating strategic decisions.