Sometimes dry, sometimes undercooked, but a useful snapshot of the rising new service economy—of considerable interest to...
An exploration of “a simple-sounding yet transformative concept that is radically changing business, the economy, and society at large.”
A platform, by the definition of business professors Parker (Tulane Univ.) and Van Alstyne (Boston Univ.) and Singapore-based analyst Choudary, is “a new business model that uses technology to connect people, organizations, and resources in an interactive ecosystem in which amazing amounts of value can be created and exchanged.” So value is created—not goods, not cures for cancer, but value, and most often in such a way that the people who own the platform leverage what other people own, be it a car (Uber) or knowledge (Wikipedia). In a mixed metaphor, the authors argue that platforms “beat pipelines because platforms scale more efficiently by eliminating gatekeepers.” Pipelines have shutoff valves and not gates, but never mind: the idea is that old-school regulatory agencies, editors, tax authorities, and other middlemen get out of the way of the transaction. The “positive network effects” thus achieved create the value, if they can be monetized properly—and how they’re monetizing out there, whether evading city hotel taxes in the case of Airbnb or using reputation ratings to vet babysitters in the case of Sittercity. The authors take their arguments on platforms beyond the business level to advocate delivering government services in similar form, as Singapore—authoritarian, ultracapitalist, and the authors’ seeming ideal—has done to some extent (though, they note, San Francisco, less authoritarian and less capitalist, has done even more). At the same time, they note the regulatory headaches the platform model induces, offering ideas for a “regulation 2.0” regime that encourages transparency while reducing inertia. In all this, it helps to have some background in the language and concepts of finance, economics, and business (“short-term micro-patent”), though that is not a barrier to entry.
Sometimes dry, sometimes undercooked, but a useful snapshot of the rising new service economy—of considerable interest to students of business.Pub Date: March 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-393-24913-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
Wilms, who teaches at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, looks into the future of American manufacturing and concludes it could be made to work again in certain circumstances. Convinced that a strong manufacturing sector is an essential ingredient of domestic prosperity, Wilms has little patience with analysts who laud a postindustrial economy's promise. He nonetheless argues that the age of mass production is over, making it vital for management and labor to develop a new, appreciably less adversarial modus vivendi if they are to survive, let alone thrive, in the face of increasingly intense competition in outlets for capital and consumer goods throughout the Global Village. Over a span of more than five years, the author enjoyed apparently open access to four major California enterprises in various stages of reorganization or reform. Interviews were conducted at all levels of the corporate hierarchies and also on the assembly lines. His case studies encompassed the Douglas Aircraft subsidiary of McDonnel Douglas; a joint venture of South Korea's Pohang Iron & Steel Co. and US Steel, at the latter's Pittsburgh works; a passenger-car plan allying General Motors with Japan's Toyota; and Hewlett-Packard's Santa Clara division in the heart of Silicon Valley. Drawn as they are from firsthand observations, the author's findings carry considerable weight. Aware that the attitudinal changes required can be wrenching for all concerned, he goes on to address the new, more cooperative roles that could be played by employers and unions alike. High on his list of priorities is a mutual commitment to an in-house system of continuous learning, which can help a workforce adapt to the technological, financial, and market changes that may bring hard times overnight, even to companies long deemed world-class. Uncommonly sensible and convincingly documented perspsectives on the import of human resources in an era that places a premium on flexible, street-smart manufacturing. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8129-2030-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Times/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1996
An honest look at an appalling situation, exemplified by the tragedy of the illegal-alien-bearing ship the Golden Venture. At first Kwong's (Asian American Studies/Hunter Coll.; The New Chinatown, 1987) dates seem wrong: Surely he is describing the 19th-century slave trade, not present-day smuggling of illegal Chinese immigrants. But the setting is the present, and transporting people from the Chinese province of Fuzhou to America is as profitable for Chinese ``snakeheads'' today as was the earlier commerce in human beings conducted by Europeans. The voyagers get to pay off the debt incurred by family members to finance their horrific trip by laboring for years under inhumane conditions for less than minimum wage. How could this be happening? Kwong's central thesis is that illegal immigration must be understood as a labor issue. Aliens have always filled the demand for cheap labor in this country, and powerful economic forces exploiting this supply of labor are no less present today than in the past. From the produce fields of California to New York's sweatshops, employers depend on illegals not only to keep their labor costs down, but also as a key weapon in the fight against a strong labor movement. The established unions have been worse than useless in response to this tactic, with their institutionalized and isolated leadership able to think of nothing beyond ``Buy American'' campaigns. Legislation to curb immigration is popular but expensive and relatively ineffective, and employers have wielded political clout to insure that laws prohibiting the hiring of illegals are easy to violate and rarely enforced. Kwong leaves no doubt that the fundamental cause of the trade in illegal immigrants is not the greediness of the foreign snakeheads, but rather that of American capitalists who demand labor so cheap, only illegals can provide it. Ultimately, the only hope Kwong sees for improving this situation is a renewed and committed labor movement—a very dim hope indeed.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1998
ISBN: 1-56584-355-X
Page Count: 288
Publisher: The New Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
