Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World

Fantastic book at the right time. Lots of food for thought as we face organising for the future

What started as an average read, turned into something far more illuminating and enjoyable. Though much of the focus isn't on AI (as expected), the authors go deep on why software is changing the very fabric of the modern business. In this way, AI is only part of the discussion. More imperative to the argument is the nature of a digital operating model...and the blurring of industry boundaries this dictates. Well worth a read. The authors have definitely done their homework!

I enjoyed this professional development book as it combined the success of modern tech giants and their use of AI. At times the chapters were a bit wordy. However, the diagrams and formatting allowed those sections not speaking to you to be skipped.

If there is something beyond 5 🌟s, I would have given to this book. It is an insightful read.

Research framed and based, easily digestible, rich in insights. Good structure and well written. Highly recommended for specialists and newcomers alike.

I have read this book and I highly recommend it. One of the best books I have read on the opportunities offered by digital transformation and AI. It provides a very thoughtful overview of how AI has changed the way the company can create and capture value. Since the beginning the book is full of real life example that helps understand the underlying theories such as the chapter focused on Ant Financial. I particularly like the chapter on AI factory where the authors define AI factory made by: i) data pipeline, ii) algorithm development, iii) experimentation, iv) software infrastructure. The reality is that AI should not be something only for firms in the tech space but for all the firms. The book has made me even more aware of the potential that data can have also for industries not in the tech space. In addition, the chapter on strategic network analysis is very interesting as well. It really helps to understand with real life example (in the book Uber example) how firms can strengthen or weaken value creation and capture in networks. It is a 5 star!

Disappointing. First chapter manages your expectations that the rest of the book is out of date. Started to read beyond that but not with engagement or interest. Wouldn’t recommend.

Easy to read and insightful on its matter

Excelente livro, bastante interessante, pois explica os conceitos de inteligência artificial utilizando grandes empresas como exemplo.

Competing in the Age of AI is an overview of the changing business landscape with competition from digital operating models. We are certainly living in a time of change of historic proportions and business models are changing rapidly and achieving enormous scale with completely different resources than in previous eras. Business school professors Marco Iansiti and Karim Lakhani discuss the changing nature of competition and provision of services in this new world and make clear that changes to business operating environments will be the norm and all businesses need to adapt to the new environment or face marginalization. It is readable, intuitive and at times provovative; definitely timely given the acceleration of change due to Covid. The authors start by discussing how operating models adopting AI and use of algorithms on datasets to drive business decisions is changing the business landscape and has completely different economies of scale. The authors talk about the nature of the value add of the firm and how traditionally business models have diminishing returns to scale at certain points while business models focused on AI and larger data sets to drive greater efficiency have positive learning effects from the scale of the business. The authors then discuss with a multitude of case examples how new operating models work and how software integration across business verticals is a pre-requisite for scale. The authors give anecdotes from Amazon, Alibaba, Netflix and Microsoft to give substance to the strategic decisions that went into addressing operating challenges that were inevitably part of migrating businesses from traditional operating models to one based on driving efficiency through use of algorithms on customer data. The authors discuss what needs to occur to make these changes for any given firm and the institutional challenges that come with such architecture changes at the core. The authors describe how digital business models are encroaching on traditional businesses which are completely unprepared for the level of competitiveness that would come from digital operating models. The authors discuss the variety of competitive advantages that can arise in digital operating models. They describe various network effects and learning effects that one should focus on, they describe the lack of certain scales in particular operating models like UBER that differ from the scale effects in AirBNB. The authors give a good overview of how to think about monopolization potential of business and operating models and the paths to profitability prior to the scale benefits being in place. The authors end with a discussion of the challenges of digital operating models when it comes to influence and bias. The current political environments show this in abundance but the authors describe the issues with Cambridge Analytica to focus on deep problems that come from harvesting data with the goals of influencing. No real solutions are provided other than some discussion on the need for businesses to understand their social responsibility (good luck). Competing in the Age of AI is an excellent overview of how digital operating models are disrupting and scaling in so many places. They describe how firms can potentially adapt by changing their own operating models and they describe when such operating models are more and less likely to succeed. Certainly this is just a heuristic overview but the lessons are valuable and the discussions they provide of real businesses give good case studies to think about. I don't believe the policy discussion is particularly useful or realistic but this is not an economic policy book it is a business school book. In the description and analysis of the changing landscape for business, this book does well for the reader.

Competing in the Age of AI is not merely a business book; it is a manifesto for how organizations must reinvent themselves when algorithms and networks become the primary engines of value creation. Marco Iansiti and Karim Lakhani combine rigorous empirical insight with lucid strategic guidance, producing one of the most important management books of the decade. What makes this work exceptional is the clarity with which it explains the seismic shift from traditional “pipeline” models to platform thinking. The authors open with a definition that becomes the backbone of the book: “A platform is a business based on enabling value-creating interactions between external producers and consumers… providing an open, participative infrastructure and setting governance conditions to facilitate matches among users.” Through this lens, they brilliantly contrast pipelines—where firms push products through controlled, asset-heavy chains—with platforms that orchestrate value creation by enabling external participants. The authors show how platforms consistently outcompete pipelines because they: Unlock new sources of supply and value; Scale more efficiently by removing internal bottlenecks; and Harness data-driven feedback loops that compound improvements over time. Their treatment of network effects is especially masterful. They don’t stop at defining them: “Network effects refer to the impact that the number of users of a platform has on the value created for each user…” Instead, they show how world-class platforms manage these effects through thoughtful governance, quality control, reputation systems, and rules that prevent negative network dynamics. The idea of frictionless entry—allowing users to join and participate with minimal barriers—emerges as a defining competitive advantage. Combined with demand economies of scale, the authors illustrate how market power shifts from production excellence to the sophisticated orchestration of interactions. The book’s strategic implications are immense. Iansiti and Lakhani offer a credible roadmap for leaders who must transform their organizations to survive: 1. Reconfigure companies to be modular, adaptive, and deeply data-driven. 2. Move from controlling supply chains to orchestrating networks of producers, consumers, and partners. 3. Build durable feedback loops powered by data, algorithms, and standards. Treat strategy as a continuously evolving system shaped by experimentation and AI—not a static plan. Their examples—from digital-native giants to legacy incumbents attempting reinvention—make the playbook both accessible and actionable. In a world where artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of competition, Competing in the Age of AI is essential reading. It explains not just what the future looks like, but how to build an organization capable of thriving in it. This is a rare book: intellectually rigorous, strategically practical, and urgently relevant. A true five-star read.

That's how you learn the difference between books written by ex businessmen and professors. A lot os smart words and hollow charts. No usefull information or even inspiration. It's probably expected as the subject is quite new and people who are on the cutting edge do not hare a lot. Still, not of any help for those who are looking for actual hints, tools or right approach.