By including the effects of learning over time on both the production of components and their integration into complete products, we develop an engineering-based model of outsourcing. This model provides an alternative explanation for much of what other outsourcing theories predict, as well as...

Outsourcing arrangements continue to evolve from peripheral activities, such as food services and back office transaction processing, to encompass more core activities such as new product development. Some arrangements maintain a clear lead organization while others, such as open source...

Platform-mediated networks encompass several distinct types of participants, including end users, complementors, platform providers who facilitate users' access to complements, and sponsors who develop platform technologies. Each of these roles can be opened - that is, structured to encourage...

In today’s highly competitive business environment, a growing number of platforms are opening their technologies. This leads us to wonder whether sharing one’s proprietary technology is altruism or a shrewd business move. In this paper, we study the incentive of why firms share their...

We consider openness in private and socially optimal licenses under conditions where network effects and multiperiod innovation are both possible. For private firms, we model a variety of possible business models from completely closed to fully open, and find that opening a platform can increase...