Factors Driving Business Model Adaptation to Multi-sided Platform Reality by Global Retail Industry in Different Countries: Case of Amazon

The modern business environment around us is in a constant change nowadays. One of the most significant changes in the economic and business sphere of recent years is the development of MSPs – multisided platforms. Companies using a multisided platform business model are the most recognizable and often-used among consumers, and the most rapidly growing and prosperous in terms of earning money among all other companies. Such companies as Uber (taxi), Airbnb or Booking (hosting and traveling), Amazon or Alibaba (retail), Google (search & information), Facebook (communication), Visa (payment system) are only a few examples of very successful companies based on a multisided business model. Development of the multisided platform as a new way to arrange the business model of a company affects lots of spheres of business, and the retail industry is among them. But there is a lack of knowledge of why companies transform their existing model to a platform one, why should they do so, or what factors overweigh and motivate them to do so, especially in the retail industry. So, the goal of this master thesis is to reveal factors driving retail companies’ participation in the multisided platform business model.