"Established firms aspiring an alternative to a technological platform that undermines their competitive position confront the dilemma of seeking their own economic interests and gaining legitimacy among ecosystem actors"

Khanagha, S., Oviedo, L., Paroutis, S. (2018) 'The fog of strategy - how to shape the emergence of a new platform ecosystem by drafting off another'. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2018(1).

A few words on the Article
 
In 'The Fog of Strategy: How to Shape the Emergence of a New Platform Ecosystem by Drafting off Another', Saeed Khanagha, Luciano Oviedo and Sotirios Paroutis explore the dilemma of established firms to pursue their own economic goals, while gaining recognition within the actors in their ecosystem, in a context where another platform is threatening their competitiveness.

The analysis especially focuses on Cisco and its answer to the emergence of the 'Cloud', which threatened Cisco's core technologies and strategy. The article discusses how Cisco dealt with the opposing forces of economic and legitimacy interests, by adjusting its approach to develop another platform that was complementary and not disruptive to the existing platform. 

The article outlines theories on the evolution of platform strategies and legitimacy building, in response to changes in the platform and the opposing pressures within the ecosystem. In this way, the authors offer insights on balancing novelty with familiarity and control with openness, thereby promoting platform membership and usage.