What is Digital Intermediary

The fusion of several technologies has created disruptive innovation that changes the way in which people interact and transact. The rise of new and innovative business models such as mobile-based platforms in the transport industry has posed a big challenge to the incumbent in a very short time. The fusion allows start-up companies that employ the right strategies expanding their business rapidly by taking over the existing markets as well as creating new markets for them to expand in various directions. In this chapter, the authors discuss three theories to examine business expansion strategies in digital intermediation platforms: transaction cost economy, two-sided market, and value network and. Using these theories, they analyze how Gojek, an Indonesian mobile-based platform, rises and expands rapidly in a very short time. They argue that due to high intense competition, businesses that adopt disruptive technologies through mobile-based platforms by introducing products or services within the same platform are likely to be more sustainable in preserving the market.