What happens when digital platforms stop owning the whole marketplace? Open Transaction Networks (OTNs) let independent apps connect buyers and sellers through shared digital infrastructure—rather th...

Platforms show up in unexpected places—even in Belgium’s fight against drug trafficking. A recent Guardian article reveals three unsettling platform parallels: short-term rental platforms can be expl...

Substack may grow in content and engagement while making it harder for individual writers to earn a living. I connect Scott Carney’s diagnosis to mission drift, subscription fatigue, and growing compe...

Platforms can lose their mission even when founders and investors stay faithful to the original story. In this new note, I look at a quieter mechanism: users multihoming across platforms with differen...

Uber’s $14.8 billion bid for Delivery Hero nearly doubles its delivery footprint to 99 markets and plugs dozens of local food‑delivery networks into its global app. In my new post, “Uber Eats the Hero...

Platforms don’t just “go bad” by squeezing their users — they can also lose their mission and export hidden costs to everyone around them. My latest three posts look at: - Enshittification explained...

Platforms can look like unambiguous success stories from the inside while quietly exporting costs to everyone around them. In my new Platform Strategies post, I focus on these external harms: socia...

How platforms may grow away from their original purpose.

Platforms don’t just “enshittify” by squeezing their users; they can also drift away from the very problems they were meant to solve. In this new post, I explore mission drift: how civic, cooperative ...

Platforms don’t just “go bad” by magic. In my latest Platform Strategies post, I unpack Cory Doctorow’s famous “enshittification” thesis using the tools of platform economics, showing when he’s right,...

According to The Verge, Substack is under pressure because its 10 per cent revenue share increasingly pushes high‑earning writers to look for cheaper, flat‑fee alternatives like Ghost and Beehiiv. The...

Uber’s latest announcements—hotel booking via Expedia, plans to add Vrbo rentals, and AI‑powered trip planning—push it further toward a bundled “travel super‑app.” The article uses a platform‑strategy...

In the first part of this post (The Kneecap Effect: Network Economics of Minority Tongues), I argued—using the Irish band Kneecap and the work of Gabszewicz, Ginsburgh and Weber—that languages behave ...

What do an Irish hip‑hop trio, Basque immersion schools and endangered Breton have in common? Part 1 of this two‑part series uses their stories to introduce the ‘network economics’ of languages, drawi...

In early March, I had the pleasure of visiting WITS Business School in Johannesburg as part of an Erasmus+ mission.

How Batibouw, as a brick‑and‑mortar platform, can help a crisis‑hit Belgian construction sector coordinate, innovate, and find new paths to sustainable growth.

Robbie Williams now has the most UK #1 albums of all time. The former Take That member’s latest, Britpop, debuted atop the UK album chart today, becoming his 16th #1. That surpasses the record of 15 s...

Belgian municipalities have a bumpy ride with traffic-routing apps.

LEGO’s SMART Play platform is an impressive step in the company’s digital transformation—but what does it tell us about openness, network effects, and competition “for” versus “in” the market? This pi...

A new post is up on Platform Strategies: a dive into how surplus‑food apps like Too Good To Go and AI‑driven demand forecasts are quietly reshaping incentives in grocery retail – sometimes cutting was...

Every December, platform markets put on their Christmas costumes.

Platform Economics Behind the Angoulême Meltdown

Europe’s railways are a vital part of the continent’s infrastructure, connecting cities and regions while providing sustainable and comfortable travel options for both passengers and freight. Yet, des...

This post analyzes the economic and managerial mechanisms behind BlaBlaCar’s rise in India, and draws actionable lessons for entrepreneurs.

Site web de la revue "Regards Economiques" des économistes de l'UCLouvain.

Catch the story everyone in entertainment is talking about: how Taylor Swift’s dominance is changing the rules for artists everywhere. Want to know what’s really behind “the Taylor Swift effect”? Rea...

YouTube announced a wave of major updates today at its annual Made on YouTube event, highlighting a strategic push into new activities and monetization strategies.

Uber’s latest announcement—integrating Blade’s helicopters into its app in 2026—illustrates the logic and ambition behind platform diversification and envelopment.

Airbnb has launched a new feature called "Reserve Now, Pay Later" that lets users in the U.S. reserve a property without paying upfront, potentially allowing people to cancel their bookings with less ...

🌍✈️ Can digital platforms save the world’s “secret places” — or are they the ones putting them on the map? From the cobbled streets of Clovelly to real-time crowd apps and selfie parks, my latest pie...

Recently,I explored how the food-delivery industry has evolved across the US and Europe, highlighting why DoorDash’s acquisition of Deliveroo was anything but surprising (see https://paulbelleflamme.s...

In 2011, Eric Ries popularised the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as part of the Lean Startup methodology.

What explains KissKissBankBank's takeover by Ulule?

🚦 WhatsApp is changing—and so is the game for Meta. Meta’s decision to introduce ads on WhatsApp could redefine the platform’s future, but will users accept it? In my latest post, I break down the st...

How the travel giant is leveraging “densification” and “diversification” to dominate the experience economy

The online food delivery market has transformed dramatically over the past decade, reshaping how millions of Europeans and Americans order their meals.

How can platforms strive in this promising market?

Belgium's largest trade fair for construction provides a compelling case study to illustrate the strategies of platforms.

What explains KissKissBankBank's takeover by Ulule?

L’absorption de KissKissBankBank par Ulule n’est pas une surprise. Ulule a mieux tiré parti des retombées positives entre projets que sa rivale.

Musk’s platform has lost 2.7 million active US users in two months, while its rival has gained 2.5 million

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In October 2024, Airbnb introduced a new feature, the Co-Host Network, to facilitate connections between new hosts and experienced local co-hosts.