The Case of iOS and Android: Applying System Dynamics to Digital Business Platforms

摘要

Platforms are multi-sided marketplaces that bring together groups of users that would otherwise not have been able to connect or transact. The app markets for Apple iOS and Google Android are examples of such markets. System dynamics is a powerful method to gain useful insight into environments of dynamic complexity and policy resistance. In this paper, we argue that adapted to the context of digital business platforms, the practice of system dynamics facilitates understanding of the role of incentives in such marketplaces for increasing participation, value generation, and market growth. In particular, we describe our efforts to simulate the market competition between iOS and Android in terms of the interacting markets for devices and their apps.