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[alvinstrat]

A Quick Review Of The 7 Platform Business Articles Among The 10 Most Cited Articles In 2023 In The Strategic Management Journal

A quick review of the 7 most cited articles on platform businesses (also called ibusinesses or more generally known to the public as apps and digital business) which are quite popular in strategy science these days.

This is unsurprising given the proliferation of many successful platform businesses from Google to Facebook to Tiktok to Alibaba over the past 2 decades. A lot of contemporary research has been focused on analysing these businesses to try to understand in detail how they work and what are the ingredients that facilitate business success.

Platform ecosystems as meta-organizations: Implications for platform strategies – Tobias Kretschmer, Aija Leiponen, Melissa Schilling, Gurneeta Vasudeva

This is an special feature introductory review of the meta-organisational features of platform ecosystems. It is interesting to me because it focuses on areas such as motivation, authority and governance, which are not that well understood yet.

Liminal movement by digital platform-based sharing economy ventures: The case of Uber Technologies – Raghu Garud, Arun Kumaraswamy, Anna Roberts, Le Xu

This is the famous case study of Uber. I have read it a few times previously.

It is basically describing the marketing and PR of Uber as it navigates governments. The authors focused on the non market strategies of Uber and found that Uber used a series of interrelated market and nonmarket strategies, which they label as liminal movement, to generate cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy as it disrupted the taxi industry worldwide a decade ago.

Mutualism and the dynamics of new platform creation: A study of Cisco and fog computing – Saeed Khanagha, Shahzad (Shaz) Ansari, Sotirios Paroutis, Luciano Oviedo

This is an interesting case study of Fog and Cloud, 2 competing platform businesses involving Cisco. Cisco is a complementor (basically this means it is not the owner but a participant) on Cloud while on Fog it is the owner.

The authors developed a process model to reveal how a firm in a peripheral role in a platform ecosystem can reposition itself through a dynamic mix of material, symbolic and institutional actions to develop and legitimise an alternative platform.

User preferences and strategic interactions in platform ecosystems – Claudio Panico, Carmelo Cennamo

This is a study on ecosystem innovativeness (complement novelty and quality) vs ecosystem size (number of complementors/complements).

From proprietary to collective governance: How do platform participation strategies evolve? – Siobhan O’Mahony, Rebecca Karp

This is a study on how platform participants (also called complementors as above) adapt their strategies when a platform leader changes the rules governing access and control.

Platform governance matters: How platform gatekeeping affects knowledge sharing among complementors – Yuchen Zhang, Jingjing Li, Tony W. Tong

This is a study on how gatekeeping affects complementors' knowledge sharing. The authors find causal evidence that a lapse in gatekeeping reduces knowledge sharing among iOS app developers and the effect is mitigated among developers with greater knowledge complexity but magnified among those with greater knowledge routineness.

Platforms for the people: Enabling civic crowdfunding through the cultivation of institutional infrastructure – Danielle Logue, Matthew Grimes

This is a case study of a civic crowdfunding platform drawing upon institutional theory where the authors created a process model of social-mission platform creation.

[alvinstrat]

Working Hard For White Collar Jobs

How exactly does a white collar worker work hard?

Working long hours? Doing push ups and running 1km every hour?

The old school IB analyst style where they would deliberately delay the entire week and give you a deck to do on Friday just so you will work through the weekends to deliver on Monday? I.e. bad manager and bad planning?

I have always felt knowledge workers need to gain deep knowledge, work smart, do the correct things and solve problems and issues flexibly to take the business or brand to a higher level. 🙂

Maybe many lousy clueless managers (and they are the majority) need to finally learn to manage and strategise and plan, lead, monitor and control and delegate.

[alvinstrat]

The US Fed Reserve Is Doing A Great Job

Having loosely followed their meetings and interviews these past 3 years, I feel that the current Federal Reserve team is doing a good job.

There are 7 current governors and 4 of them are economics PhDs with deep economics science and research and policymaking background. 2 are with legal and policymaking backgrounds. Jerome Powell, the chair, has a background in law, investment banking and policymaking.

The current governors are notably more modern and science based compared to past ones.

They are trying to balance fiscal policies (huge countercyclical expansionary moves during Covid by the politicians along with supply chain shocks) which are significantly out of their control with monetary policies within their control to ensure a healthy economy and acceptable long run inflation rate of 2% and doing a decent job so far.

The 1970s stagflation and crazily high 20% interest rates will likely not recur again unless there is a severe black swan event and the Fed messes up along with the government of the day.

[alvinstrat]

Bad Marketing - Sterra

The consistently misleading advertisements are bad, there is no need to claim that there is a lot of viruses and bacteria in tap water and cause public alarm just to sell water purifiers.

The false country of origins on their website (certain countries of origin such as Japan and Korea may lead to more positive perception of the product) and all these show that the marketing and communications staff who where in charge of all these lack competence and knowledge.

A brand should be handled by a knowledgeable brand guardian to avoid such PR crises which are very hard to recover from and may even destroy the business.

These are pointless and incompetent marketing and communications.

For Sterra, a good marketing lead will want to push recovery steps and consequently repair the brand reputation or at least lessen the damage.

Apologising and fixing the errors publicly is the first step. Putting in place better systems and audits to prevent future missteps is needed.

Partnerships, media mentions, marketing to mitigate the crisis (donations, c-suite apologies, inviting the media to audit the new systems, communications with employees, customers and the public, making bold changes, etc) can result in better brand recovery and minimise loss of equity and may even reinforce consumer and employee loyalty long term if done correctly and with integrity.

Overall, horrible marketing even for a startup.

[alvinstrat]

Kamala's Impressive Performance During Her Debate With Trump

I am very impressed with Kamala's debate. She comes across as positive, cheerful, intelligent, factual, logical, resilient and able to sling back at Trump sometimes as well.

It will be interesting to see what she can do if elected President.

[alvinstrat]

Flat Fee Realtors, Homeseller And Patrick Chee

Personally I am surprised it took so long for a realtor to come up with flat fees. He doesn't just charge flat fees, he also has some process and service innovation in the sense he does not go for viewings (which allows him to charge lower fees), etc.

I ppoke to Patrick once and even told him he could raise his fees slightly if net profit is too low, people should be willing to pay a bit more for a big ticket transaction to a brand they recognise and trust.

He strikes me as an ethical, intelligent and competent realtor though he couldn't afford much formal education when he was young. Homeseller is a great example of authenticity in organic marketing via Tiktok.

Surely other realtors will try to compete with flat fees now. It is a very low barriers to entry sector that is very competitive and hence, branding is key.

Homeseller occupies the space between DIY buyers/sellers and 2% commission agents. It is a very attractive proposition and I believe they are expanding into other countries and real estate services now.

[alvinstrat]

Is An MBA Worth It?

A discussion that arises all the time.

The value of an MBA:

Can someone learn accounting, finance, management, strategy, economics, hr, marketing, etc, on the job or part time after work via self reading?

I think generally not to the level of an MBA. Self reading can work for motivated adults but certain things are quite hard to self teach, i.e. statistics, data analysis, when you get stuck etc.

In practice, I have never met someone who has the energy and discipline to self learn all MBA concepts well after 9 hours of work daily without the curriculum designed by a professional.

A top 100 MBA that is AACSB etc accredited will have professors who are doing cutting edge research teaching those courses and an accredited curriculum that guarantees minimum standards are met.

Someone will have knowledge of the near cutting edge in accounting, finance, management, etc, that is way ahead of what is being used in companies usually.

It is accredited meaning minimum standards are met and properly assessed which is not the case for self learning or on the job experience which is often of much lower quality of course. This is also the reason why many registrable professions such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, nurses, etc, all need to pass an accredited formal course of learning before they are allowed to practise.

Business school also have a professors with deep work experience to teach alongside more research focused colleagues (but these people usually have significant work experience as well and are often actively consulting or even sitting on boards or fractional c-suites, some also are very involved in PEs and VCs, they are usually not just 'nerds' who do experiments and work on excel and surveys).

Meeting interesting people

The cons of an MBA:

The cost is extremely high and maybe it is not worth it financially.

The cost is high because MBAs are major revenue generating courses for top business schools and it funds the salaries of top professors as well as their research and all the labs, etc.

There may not be a financial return despite what some business schools try to promote.

Having knowledge does not mean one will be able to apply it or get a financial return. Luck, meeting good bosses, being in the right team, country, etc, all matter.

MBA does not guarantee successful entrepreneurship or career.

Successful entrepreneurship depends on taking risks, resources, luck, resilience, networks, etc.

MBAs may face discrimination from ignorant or insecure managers and colleagues

Much of this usually comes from people who have never done a rigorous MBA themselves as those who have understand the experience better.

Jack Ma, one of the richest men in China (well, at least publicly, I am sure there are people richer than him covertly) famously hates MBAs and proclaimed that he once hired an MNC director who couldn't manage small budgets.

[alvinstrat]

Is Ecommerce Replacing Physical Retail?

I was just reviewing my own monthly shopping and I realised that post Covid, I am buying a lot more things online via Amazon Fresh and iherb. In fact, my iherb spending is catching up with what I spend in Guardian.

I think this is due to falling delivery costs and times, especially in highly urban Singapore.

This brings about interesting questions about whether the 'liability of foreignness' is being eroded given that brands can sell to consumers overseas almost as easily as to local consumers these days in many industries with ecommerce, good logistics, low tariffs, etc.

Case in point, I used to buy lip balm from Guardian in Singapore almost weekly. I was on iherb when they sold me a test pack of lip balm for $1, so I tried it. The product (Sierra Bees) was great, so I have switched to buying my lip balm from iherb along with my monthly shopping there, where I buy fish oil, olive oil, etc, all with better quality and prices than what I can get in Singapore. The only downside is the slightly longer wait time (2-4 days usually) for receiving it, but it is a non issue for me.

[alvinstrat]

Digital Spend Makes Up Majority Of Marketing Budgets

Out of 100 senior marketers I have met in the past decade, I can count on 1-2 hands the number of marketers whom I would classify as having an 'advanced level' of digital marketing knowledge.

I guess as older digital marketers, we were just early adopters.

Digital spend comprises the majority of marketing budgets these days (up to 80%), yet the number of senior marketers who are highly competent in it is very low and many in billion dollar companies (not resource scarce SMEs) still act like it is such a 'new thing' and act surprised at it.

It is hard to pick up a high level of digital knowledge 'on the job' if one starts from a low base, as evidenced by the current state of affairs in marketing. In fact, I don't think it is even possible for 5% of marketers without a relevant background to even pick up advanced html, css, analytics and intermediate statistics 'on the job'.

Good marketing is timeless and evolves with every era, regardless of channels. Technology is a great enabler and boosts efficiency and productivity.

[alvinstrat]

After Losing $200k Opening A Cafe In Europe, S’porean Couple Now Hawkers Selling Shiok Nasi Lemak

It is generally a bad idea to start an FnB business. Barring those that have resources, a strong brand or some special recipe that makes customers drool (in other words, the good ol' sustainable competitive advantages), most FnB businesses have low net profit margins, face low barriers to entry and hence intense competition, face rising labour costs, shortage of staff and rising rents as well.

[alvinstrat]

Demand Generation Vs Cold Calling

[alvinstrat]

Lawrence Wong

Singapore's newest Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently took office.

In my opinion, he is younger, of a different generation and more egalitarian and left wing minded. His style is more consultative in nature as well.

He is well qualified for the job and is a good pick for the PAP as I believe he will help them to swing votes over, given that the median voter today (a 40 year old university educated PMET) want a more modern and consultative approach.

Since taking office, he has rolled out policies that are more left wing and articulated views that are more socially progressive and less conservative.

The last election saw several close shaves for the PAP as they nearly lost several GRCs.

The electorate will vote again soon and decide whether they are, in aggregate, happy with the pace of change and the direction of the country.

[alvinstrat]

The Humans Behind Our MRT Station Shops

[alvinstrat]

Commentary: What drives Gen Zs at work and how can bosses better engage them?

I think our Gen Zs with about 2-4 years of work experience are great to work with generally. They are the most well educated generation by far (i.e. smart) and the most modern. Many of them are able to adapt to changes and digitally savvy.

2-4 years is the sweet spot where they have ironed out their newbieness and have enough operational experience to deliver results under the guidance of well meaning senior employees.

Granted, they will of course lack certain exposure and life and work experience, but they are generally great to manage and to work with in my opinion.

I think they (like many thinking people) generally don't accept huge power distances, gross inefficiencies and abuse that well, so managers with such styles may generally struggle with them.

[alvinstrat]

What it takes to achieve world-changing scientific breakthroughs

Reading this article, I am reminded of how hard good research truly is.

To someone who is not acquainted with research, they may have a view that research is a leisurely lifestyle where phds write about their opinions and fake theories and contribute merely fictional tales to society.

In reality, world class research is the hardest intellectual endeavour one can do. Researchers are not trying to do what has already been done, as that is pointless to researchers. It is far from the hardest physical endeavours as farmers, competitive athletes, etc, probably work harder physically.

Good research by definition entails rejecting the status quo and competing with similarly skilled and qualified experts worldwide to come up with innovation that is real, replicable and reproducible.

Countries should invest in more good science and research as companies often find it to be unprofitable or too long term to invest in, also they rarely understand it.

Everything we see around us today, from the modern economic system, to what a company is, to covid vaccines, to our understanding of the universe, is created by scientists and researchers who continue to push the boundaries daily via the scientific method

[alvinstrat]

Ex-Google CEO walked back claims that remote work is hurting the company. But a lot of CEOs have said the same thing

I think Eric has a point in that fully remote work for software engineers is a bit too 'remote' and personally I feel a hybrid flexible mode works best.

I do find it weird he feels WORK from home means lower productivity given that from what I recall Google, FB, Amazon all started from WFH (Google began in a garage, FB in Mark's dorm and Amazon in Jeff's home) and surely Larry and Sergey did the foundational research for Google via many late nights reading at home during their PhDs, where it is quiet and they can focus. Even OpenAI supports WFH.

I personally have never had an issue with staff WFHing as I know how much effort is typical for their workload, as long as they are present in the office for meetings when needed. Most of the work was done well and efficiently.

For staff that are incompetent, location of work usually does not matter as they will be incompetent regardless whether they are in the office, at home or anywhere else. It is a cognitive issue more than a locational issue.