Course 2020-2021 a.y.

• ICT platforms, ecosystems and innovation.
• Competing for innovation in ICT platforms and the role of complementors.
• Pricing in ICT platforms, regulation, and net-neutrality.
• Owning, Using, Renting: the basic economic principles of the sharing economy.
• Value creation in the sharing economy: the emergence of new business opportunities and new firms.
• The implications of the sharing economy for consumption.
• The evolution of regulation: information asymmetry, externalities and trust.

• Identify the characteristics of ICT platforms and the emergence of new business models.
• Explain the economics of platforms in terms of pricing and product/service offerings.
• Recognize the implications of the sharing economy for consumers and businesses.

• Illustrate the main regulatory issues related to platform-based markets.

• Interpret the dynamics of competition in platform-based sectors.
• Apply the methodologies and relevant theoretical approaches to discuss the strategies of existing and new firms.
• Analyse the most relevant regulatory implications for companies operating in platform-based markets.
• Develop innovative ideas concerning new platforms.
• Prepare the discussion of a case study of an innovative platform.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Online lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments

The learning experience of the course is articulated around different teaching methods. Besides traditional frontal lectures, the students have the opportunity to discuss case studies and incidents concerning the development of new business models in platform markets, to interact with guest speakers from different platform-based companies, who provide their practical insights and perspectives on the process of innovation and competition in ICT platform-based markets, to work in team for the development of a final group project. The group work should aim at analysing the development of an innovative platform-based company. At the end of the course, all projects are presented and all students actively participate to the discussion, providing their comments and perspectives on the cases developed by other groups. Students are supposed to prepare a report of their case, which are used for the student assessment together with the presentation.

In order to evaluate the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, the assessment procedure involves two main parts:

1. 50% group work (written report and final presentation). The report is worth 90% of the final grade, while the presentation accounts for 10%. With the group work, students have to apply the knowledge acquired during the course to discuss and examine the empirical evidence related to the emergence of new business models in the ICT platform markets. Specifically, students are able to apply the existing approaches and methodologies to a specific case, identifying the economics of platforms (pricing and product/service offerings), analysing the regulatory implications of the development of a new platform-based service and interpreting the dynamics of competition in a specific context. In doing so, students have the opportunity to show teamwork abilities, as well as presentation and communication skills.
2. 50% written exam based on course readings and lecture notes, consisting of open questions aimed to assess students’ ability to apply the analytical tools illustrated during the course and to explain the different theoretical approaches to innovation and competition in platform-based markets. The exam typically includes a set of statements to discuss, aimed to assess the ability of students to articulate their reasoning and to evaluate the potential effects of innovations and new business models for existing platform-based companies and within the overall market.

For non attending students, the final grade is completely based on a written exam including a set of compulsory open questions, which cover all the topics of the course. The exam aims at assessing the learning outcomes both in terms of understanding the theoretical approaches to innovation and competition in platform-based markets, and in terms of applying the methodologies to discuss the strategies of existing and new firms, as well as to evaluate the potential effects of innovations and new business models for existing platform-based companies and within the overall market. To this aim, besides course readings and lecture notes, students have to prepare on a set of additional readings.

• The list of course readings are made available on Bboard at the beginning of the course.
• All the readings are available on the Bocconi Library's Course Reserve.

• The list of course readings and specific additional readings for not attending students are made available on Bboard at the beginning of the course.
• All the readings are available on the Bocconi Library's Course Reserve.