Android and the demise of operating system-based power: Firm strategy and platform control in the post-PC world

The emergence of new mobile platforms built on Google's Android operating system represents a significant shift in the locus of the platform bottleneck, or control point, in the mobile industry. Using a case study approach, this paper examines firm strategies in a market where the traditional location of the ICT platform bottleneck-the operating system on a device-is no longer the most important competitive differentiator. Instead, each of the three firms studied has leveraged different core competencies to build complementary services in order to control the platform and lock-in users. Using platform theories around bottlenecks and gatekeeper roles, this paper explores these strategies and analyzes them in the broader context of the changing mobile industry landscape. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.