Typology of technological platforms: study of platform dynamics

Nowadays, using the word “platform” in the area of management researches, especially in technology management, has expanded metaphorically and conceptually. This word describes a collection of parts of a general system which interarts with the other parts of the system, and together form the system architecture; it is used to describe managerial phenomena at the level of discrete products, product systems, supply chain of industry, markets, and industries. The aim of this study is reviewing systematically, classifying, and presenting a framework of different technological platforms in order to understand their dynamics and proposing a comprehensive typology of different types of them under a coherrent theoretical logic; thus, the field in which this word is used is focused instead of concentrating on its varied meanings. The results indicate that there are five technological platforms including organizational, product, supply chain, market, and industrial ones which are classified in three groups of internal, supply chain, and external platforms. After a comprehensive classification of different platforms is created, their dynamics are shown by presenting a continuum in the form of increasing the authorities of the factors involved in platform, the participative innovation potential and the competition among factors involved in platform for innovation.