Platform Strategies
Important information on Platform Strategies Winter Term 2025/26
Please apply on StudOn once the link is available
Important Dates Winter Term 2025/26
1) 06.10.2025, Start course entry via StudOn (first come, first served), max. 45 participant (Preliminary, still subject to changes)
2) 16.10.2025, End course entry (Preliminary, still subject to changes)
3) 27.10.2025, Start registration for the term paper topics and group work (Preliminary, still subject to changes)
4) 28.10.2025, End registration for the term paper topics and group work (Preliminary, still subject to changes)
5) 03.11.2025, Submission of group work documentation (1000 words)
6) 05.01.2026, Submission of term paper (3000 words)
Subject to change without notice; Detailed information via StudOn
| Semester: | Winter Term 2025/26 |
| Format: | Block course in presence (no online participation possible) |
| Course Type: | Lecture |
| Location: |
Lecture will be held at Lange Gasse 20, 90403 Nürnberg (LG) and Findelgasse 7-9, 90402 Nürnberg (FG), see the different rooms and time slots below |
| Time: | Block course:
27.10.2025 time: 13:15-16:30 (LG H3 GfK-Hörsaal 13:15-14:45, LG H2 Hörsaal 15:00-16:30) 28.10.2025 time: 17:00-20:00 (FG 0.015 Auditorium maximum – Kurt Glässer-Saal) 29.10.2025 time: 17:00-20:00 (FG 0.015 Auditorium maximum – Kurt Glässer-Saal) 30.10.2025 time: 16:00-19:00 (FG 2.024 Seminarraum) 31.10.2025 time: 15:00-18:00((Preliminary, still subject to changes) Excursion to JOSPEHS |
| Language: | English |
| Credit points/ Contact hours: | 5 ECTS |
| StudOn: | Link (old semester, updates for 2025/26 will follow soon) |
| Campo: | Link (old semester, updates for 2025/26 will follow soon) |
| Lecturer: | Prof. R. Srinivasan |
| Teaching Assistant: |
Prof. Dr. Angela Roth Tizian Kernstock |
How and why does a platform like Google function so well? On the one side, you have users who search and access information for free, and on the other, you have companies who pay for ads. But how does such a complex system maintain itself and remain successful over the years?
This is the kind of questions that this course aims to answer. In academic terms, the course builds on the platform and network aspects in core strategy and aims to highlight the specific strategies for firms operating in platform-mediated-networks (PMN). Firms in platform-mediated-networks face certain challenges atypical of usual product or service firms: they operate in multi-sided markets, face network effects that allow only a few firms to exist as platform intermediaries, and traditional rules for pricing fail in such markets.
The course will be taught through a set of cases that ensures that participants appreciate the multi-dimensional nature of managing in network businesses.
The seminar is delivered by Prof. R Srinivasan who is a guest lecturer coming from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and who specialises in multi-sided platform organizations, strategy processes in rapid growth organizations, and competitive, corporate and international strategies.
Through the years Prof. Srinivasan has accumulated not only knowledge but also experience with helping platform firms set up the right business models and successful strategies.
You can visit his blog about his research, consulting and teaching interests. It provides insights about strategy in general, digital strategy, and what it means for firms, especially start-ups, and platform business models, with a focus on Indian firms.
Grading structure:
- Project report: Students develop in teams a business plan about a platform business idea (50% of module score). Submission deadline: 03.11.2025
- Handout: Students develop individually an essay about a platform of their choice, discuss key concepts encountered during the lectures and apply them to the chosen platform. (50% of module score). Submission deadline: 05.01.2026
Post-Exam Reviews:
For a post-exam review, please contact us within the first week after the publication of the grades to arrange an appointment.