International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication

The Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication (한국인터넷방송통신학회)
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A Case Study on Kakao's Resilience: Based on Five Levers of Resilience Theory

  • Received : 2017.06.23
  • Accepted : 2017.07.17
  • Published : 2017.08.31
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to prove the Korean Internet company, Kakao's resilience capacity. For it, this paper reviews the previous literatures regarding Kakao's business models and discusses 'resilience' theory. Then, it organizes the research questions based on the theoretical background and explains the research methodology. It investigates the case of Kakao's business and organization. The case analysis shows that five levers of resilience are a good indicator for a successful platform business evolution. The five levers are composed of coordination, cooperation, clout, capability, and connection: First lever, coordination that makes the company to restructure its silo governance in order to respond to actual business flow starting from the basic asset like game and music content; second lever, cooperation where the firm provides creative people with playground for startups such as KakaoPage; third lever, clout where the company shares its data by opening its API of AI and chatbot to $3^{rd}$ party developers; fourth lever, capability where the firm establishes AI R&D center, KakaoBrain as the function of multi-domain generalist for developing diverse platforms tackling customer needs; and the last fifth lever, connection where the firm continues to expand its platform business to the peripheries, O2O businesses such as KakaoTaxi, KakaoOrder, KakaoPay, and KakaoBank. In conclusion, this study proposes Internet companies to be a resilient platform utilizing those five levers of resilience in order to form successful platform. This study contributes to the agile innovation of Internet platform with ecological sense.

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References

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