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Serving the poor: Multisided mobile service platforms, openness, competition, collaboration and the struggle for leadership

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  • Karippacheril, Tina George
  • Nikayin, Fatemeh
  • de Reuver, Mark
  • Bouwman, Harry

Abstract

Four billion people at the base of the economic pyramid live on incomes below $3000 a year in local purchasing power, and more often than not, lack consistent access to services, such as water, healthcare, banking or agricultural know-how. Rapid advances in mobile technology offer the potential to mediate access to essential services. Through this research, the answers to the following question were explored: will mobile service platforms bridge the gap between service providers and people living at the base of the pyramid in developing countries? Anchored in interviews with 31 experts in the field of mobile and ICT, qualitative analysis starting from platform leadership to explain the role of mobile service platforms is presented: how operator, device and service provider centric platforms compete, collaborate and open up (or not) for delivering scalable services to the poor. Based on the analysis in this paper, it is portended that although operator centric platforms are in pole position, device centric platform providers, being astute innovators, are positioned to close the lead by presenting alternatives to bridge the gap in developing countries. This paper frames the current debate on M4D through the lens of platform theory, and aims to provide guidance to policy makers to improve access to services for the poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Karippacheril, Tina George & Nikayin, Fatemeh & de Reuver, Mark & Bouwman, Harry, 2013. "Serving the poor: Multisided mobile service platforms, openness, competition, collaboration and the struggle for leadership," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 24-34.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:37:y:2013:i:1:p:24-34
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2012.06.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu, 2018. "Recent finance advances in information technology for inclusive development: a systematic review," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 65-93, October.
    2. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu, 2017. "Recent finance advances in information technology for inclusive development: a survey," Research Africa Network Working Papers 17/009, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    3. Lisha Ye & Huiqin Yang, 2020. "From Digital Divide to Social Inclusion: A Tale of Mobile Platform Empowerment in Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Simplice A. Asongu & Lieven De Moor, 2015. "Recent advances in finance for inclusive development: a survey," Research Africa Network Working Papers 15/005, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    5. de Reuver, Mark & Ondrus, Jan, 2017. "When technological superiority is not enough: The struggle to impose the SIM card as the NFC Secure Element for mobile payment platforms," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 253-262.
    6. Han, Luyi & Wojan, Timothy R. & Goetz, Stephan J., 2023. "Experimenting in the cloud: The digital divide's impact on innovation," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7).

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    Keywords

    M4D; ICT4D; Telecommunications; Mobile; Poverty; Platform leadership;
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