B U I L D P L A T F O R M S , N O T J U S T P R O D U C T S
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The value train can be used to examine all
three of these competitive
dynamics for newspapers and the critical questions in each case: Who has
leverage in the relationships in the value train? Where is disintermedia-
tion happening or possible? Where is intermediation happening?
Looked
at through the lens of
the value train, it becomes clear that the goal for any
business
is not simply to defeat, or even outperform, its direct competitors
(e.g., the
Washington Post vs. the
New York Times). The overriding competi-
tive goal is to gain more leverage in its value train.
Two Rules of Power in Value Trains
More generally, we can identify two broad principles
that determine who
tends to gain power within value trains.
PRINCIPLE 1: POWER TO THE UNIQUE VALUE CREATOR
At every stage in the value train, each business needs
to create unique value
in order to exert competitive leverage on its partners upstream (to the left)
and downstream (to the right). The more a business is able to distinguish
itself from both symmetric and asymmetric competitors at its own stage
in the value train, the more bargaining power it will maintain with its own
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