Digital platforms now shape how markets function, how innovation unfolds, and how consumers and firms interact. This handbook offers an accessible guide to understanding these powerful business models and their economic and societal implications. Bringing together insights from economics, strategy, information systems, marketing, and policy, it provides an integrated perspective on platforms as market intermediaries, innovation ecosystems, and data-driven infrastructures.
The book combines foundational frameworks with rich real-world use cases spanning industries such as the gig economy, healthcare, education, cloud computing, and supply chains. By synthesizing established research while highlighting emerging challenges and open questions, this handbook serves as an authoritative reference and a forward-looking guide. It is an essential resource for researchers, students, policymakers, and practitioners navigating the ever-evolving platform economy.
