Understanding Digital B2B Platforms and How They Operate

Abstract

The purpose of the following Master's Theis was to investigate digital B2B platforms, their business models and what parameters new entrants must understand regarding the specific case industry. This was done by analysing a sample industry, green energy aggregators, using a model created by a combination of various academic writings. In this connection, six parameters were deduced and applied to the context of the thesis, these included value propositions/core interactions, elements of value propositions/core interactions, monetisation of network effects, value exchanges, ecosystem knowledge and users' barriers of entry. The model and the analysis showed that it was essential to consider the perspectives of each user within the overall ecosystem in a platform business context. Thus, several of the parameters included an analysis of the contributions from each of the users. Furthermore, it was concluded that platforms within this industry all acted as gateways to the National Grid or energy markets, severed as an aggregator either combining several producers into their platform or serving as a single producer aggregator and also provided some energy optimisation, which includes forecasts on energy prices, energy production etc., and some level of control of the producer's assets capitalising on the forecasted value. Hereafter, it was found that the various platforms monetised the network effects inherent in their platform by, charging consumers for access to the value created on the platform, producers for access to the market or a combination of the two. The analysis showed that the smaller, younger platforms often chose the monetisation strategy of only charging the consumer side to foster growth on the producer side by subsidising them. Furthermore, the analysis of the green energy aggregators showed that the average ecosystem knowledge was high due to the high level of artificial intelligence and machine learning inherent in the industry and that the general user barrier of entry was above average, with a few notable exceptions. The final analysis was a taxonomy model that defined four separate quadrants in which platforms could find themselves with the two parameters: energy aggregation and monetisation strategy. All things considered, this analysis showed that some quadrants were more beneficial for companies in the early stages of development, as they induced growth mechanisms that could prove beneficial for the long term. Furthermore, it was showcased that movement among the quadrants was possible and has been done to great success by platforms before. Finally, the thesis was concluded with a discussion on the thesis¨contribtion to literature and the practical implementations of the thesis.