Taxonomy of platform envelopment: A case-study of Apple and Samsung

The increasing prominence of platform products is a novel phenomenon impacting most industries. Consequently, several industries, such as IT, have become platform battlegrounds. These battles largely unfold through what is known as platform envelopment. This paper creates a distinction between two alternative approaches to platform envelopment in relation to strategy, through a case-study of Apple and Samsung, which is conducted by examining various sets of press releases and blog posts regarding the product introductions between 2006 and 2011. The results will provide an insight into how envelopment actually occurs and apply a strategic perspective into this, thus contributing to the platform literature.