Abstract
Among academics, Apple’s successful entry into music and smartphones has been heralded as a watershed moment in the company’s strategic, organizational and financial development that made it the paramount platform leader. But little is known about the making, the dynamics and the evolution of Apple’s platform economy. This article analyzes Apple’s experience with its first platform product (the iPod) and explores the transformations of Apple’s platform polices in the 1990 s in strategic, organizational and financial terms. In sharp contrast to previous economic research, it demonstrates how Apple, in fierce competition with Samsung/Android, eventually built its platform strategy on distinct competitive advantages in semiconductor design to allow for future introduction of top-notch operating systems and applications. In addition, this research revisits the internal debates and attempts at re-defining platform strategies associated with previous platform failure. The aim is to explain how, why and under what contextual circumstances actors calibrated and re-calibrated platform strategies as an ongoing and relational process.