This study examines the role of platform venture positioning for platform growth. Following the literature on strategic positioning, we used an exploratory large-N research design. Original longitudinal data and web performance data from 162 sourcing platforms were analyzed using linear mixed-effects modeling. The results show that companies specializing in a single product category grow faster than generalists offering multiple product categories. This contrasts with previous expectations that generalist platforms would perform better, as they are expected to generate network effects faster and take full advantage of the scalability of platform technologies. We suggest that differentiation is a key strategic choice for effective competitive identity building and platform adoption, challenging the conventional “winner-takes-all” narrative.
