Authors: A. N. MITIN, doctor of economic sciences, professor, head of the department of management theory and practice, Ural State Law University (21 Komsomolskaya Str., 620137, Ekaterinburg), K. O. SOKOLOV, candidate of economic sciences, associate professor of the department of economics, finance and accounting, South Ural Institute of Management and Economics (9A Komarovskogo Str., 454052, Chelyabinsk)
Keywords: platform business model, multi-sided platform, network effects, innovation activity, enterprise of food and processing industry.
Abstract: More and more companies working in the field of processing of agricultural products are showing interest in the opportunities that are opening up as a result of using the platform model of business organization. Therefore, issues related to the behavior of multi-sided markets, the description of platforms and crossnetwork effects occupy a leading position in the research of econ- omists around the world. The emergence of multi-sided platforms as a new direction in business, which has largely changed the mental attitudes of industry elites, is associated with the development of the Internet and digital technologies. The authors of the article identified the possibility of using multisided platforms not only to increase the number of participants, and, as a consequence, to obtain a network effect and sales growth, but also as a tool for developing the innovation activities of food and processing enterprises that adopted the platform business model. The article defines the main functions of multi-sided platforms (attracting participants, providing communications, setting rules and standards, creating value for all groups of participants). We study the processes of value creation, characteristic of the platform model of business organization. It is shown that network effects are a leading factor in the effective scaling of the platform, the basis of its attractiveness to participants. A scheme has been developed for a multi-sided platform for the food and processing industry, which has the ability to generate several streams of income: the first stream is from the interaction of an agro-industrial enterprise with suppliers; the second stream is from the interaction of the agro-industrial enterprise with consumers; the third stream is from the interaction of suppliers with consumers of an agro-industrial enterprise. The advantages of the platform business model are highlighted in comparison with the traditional linear model of business organization of enterprises of the food and processing industry.
