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This course equips students with advanced knowledge and skills for designing, participating in, and leveraging platform businesses across industries. Today’s most powerful and valuable organisations operate as platforms connecting buyers and sellers, or users and advertisers, or users and third-party developers. Students examine how organisations create and capture value through platform-based business models, focusing on the critical intersection of technical architecture, governance, and business strategy. Drawing on cases of various platform types, from markets to social media, gig economy, product-service hybrid, software and data platforms, students will learn how to launch platforms, transform existing products into platforms, and compete on and against platforms. The course emphasises evidence-based frameworks for platform strategy, ecosystem participation, and value creation while addressing contemporary challenges of trust, safety, privacy, and cultural responsiveness. Through current research and industry case studies, students develop strategic insights and practical competencies essential for bridging technical and business domains in platform initiatives within New Zealand's bicultural context and the global digital economy.
The outcomes of the course are: 1. Develop research-based knowledge of platform business model and technical architecture fundamentals, demonstrating mastery of network effects, multi-sided markets, value creation & value capture mechanisms, ecosystem structure, and technology stack decisions. 2. Evaluate and recommend research-informed platform governance approaches that balance ecosystem openness with strategic control to optimise platform growth and competitive positioning. 3. Critically assess trust and safety risk management in platform ecosystems, including algorithmic transparency, privacy protection and regulatory compliance frameworks. 4. Critique the societal and market power implications of platform ecosystems using diverse ethical frameworks, including Māori and indigenous data sovereignty principles. 5. Synthesise current research and emerging industry developments to formulate original, evidencebased recommendations for platform ecosystem challenges and opportunities.
60 points at 400- or 600-level (any subject), orwith approval from the Head of Department
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Jean-Grégoire Bernard
To pass this course you must not only achieve a final grade of 50% or higher, but also achieve a weighted average grade of at least 45% across all invigilated assessments (Mid-term test and viva voce exam).Students with Accessibility Challenges Te Ratonga Whaikaha | Student Accessibility Service provides academic support and specialist resources to students living with accessibility challenges. For information about these services, please email sas@canterbury.ac.nz or refer to: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/life/accessibility Special Considerations UC has a process which allows students to apply for Special Consideration for poor performance in an assessment or a missed assessment due to unforeseen circumstances at the time of the assessment. Special Consideration is not an extension. If you want an extension for an assignment or essay, contact your Course Coordinator. Guidelines for the Use of AI in Coursework The use of AI may or may not be permitted in courses. Within a course, permission may vary by assignment. It is the responsibility of the student to inform themselves about assessment conditions and submit work that is their own and that properly acknowledges the work of other people and tools, including generative artificial intelligence tools. It is important to familiarise yourself with the UC Misconduct Procedure Guide for Students. Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to: Where a student uses a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool for an assessment in a manner that is not expressly permitted or fails to acknowledge the use of a generative AI tool as instructed. Assessment in Te Reo Māori In recognising that Te Reo Māori is an official language of New Zealand, the University provides for students who may wish to use Te Reo Māori in their assessment. If you intend to submit your work in Te Reo Māori you are required to do the following: Read the Assessment in Te Reo Māori Policy and ensure that you meet the conditions set out in the policy. This includes, but is not limited to, informing the Course Coordinator 1) no later than 10 working days after the commencement of the course that you wish to use Te Reo Māori and 2) at least 15 working days before each assessment due date that you wish to use Te Reo Māori.
Cusumano, M. A., Gawer, A., & Yoffie, D. B; The business of platforms: Strategy in the age of digital competition, innovation, and power ; New York, NY: Harper Business, 2019.
Gillespie, T; Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, content moderation, and the hidden decisions that shape social media ; New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018.
Parker, G. G., Van Alstyne, M. W., & Choudary, S. P; Platform revolution: How networked markets are transforming the economy and how to make them work for you ; W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.
Tiwana, A; Platform ecosystems: Aligning architecture, governance, and strategy ; Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2014.
Domestic fee $1,214.00
International Postgraduate fees
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Department of Accounting and Information Systems on the departments and faculties page .