Unlocking growth: exploring factors driving platform-based business models development

Purpose This paper identifies and investigates the factors driving the growth of platform-based companies.Design/methodology/approach Through a diversified approach combining literature review, secondary source analysis and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals, the study offers a theoretically informed analysis identifying and discussing eleven key factors driving the expansion of digital platforms.Findings The identified factors are not mutually exclusive and often work synergistically combining specific growth strategies, which are analyzed and categorized to feed practical insights. The findings suggest that successful digital platforms flexibly adopt and leverage the identified growth factors according to their available resources, unique needs, specific market position and maturity.Originality/value The research bridges the gap between academic literature and industry practice, providing actionable insights for practitioners aiming to design and implement effective growth strategies.