Nested Platforms with Elizabeth Altman and Mary Tripsas

Mar 11, 2026

Elizabeth J. Altman, Associate Professor and MIT digital fellow who studies platform strategy, joins Mary Tripsas, a technology management scholar. They explore nested platforms like Spotify in Sonos and Canva inside ChatGPT. Short takes cover why firms choose to host or nest, the brand and competition risks, technical trade-offs of integration, and the role of data and nesting intensity.

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ANECDOTE

Sonos Purchase Sparked The Nesting Insight

Elizabeth Altman discovered nesting when she connected Spotify through her new Sonos speaker and saw Spotify's interface inside Sonos.
That moment crystallized the concept of nested platforms and launched the authors' joint research project.

ANECDOTE

Trello For Teams Shows Nesting Complexity

Mary Tripsas highlighted Trello nesting inside Microsoft Teams and Trello's clear co-branded messaging about interacting without leaving Teams.
The Trello example shows messy webs of integrations: Trello nests into Slack and Teams while Slack also nests into Trello.

INSIGHT

Nesting Versus Hosting Is A Strategic Trade-Off

Nesting and hosting are strategic trade-offs that affect reach, control, and competition and should align with a firm's existing strategy and partners.
Hosting expands market presence and functionality but risks giving competitors access to your users; nesting widens audience but cedes UX control and data.

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In this episode, hosts Daniel and Tommaso are joined by returning guest Elizabeth Altman and first-time guest Mary Tripsas to discuss their recent jointly authored MIT Sloan Management Review article, "How Nesting Changes Platform Strategy". The conversation explores the emerging strategic trend of "nested platforms"—arrangements where one platform embeds directly into another platform's user experience.

The group dives into the strategic trade-offs companies face when deciding whether to host another platform, nest within one, or do both. They examine how these complex relationships impact market reach, branding, competition, and data sharing. Featuring real-world examples like Spotify seamlessly integrating with Sonos, Canva nesting inside ChatGPT, and Trello operating within Microsoft Teams, the episode offers a deep dive into the messy but opportunistic webs of today's digital ecosystems and introduces the concept of "nesting intensity".

Guest Bios

Elizabeth J. Altman is an Associate Professor of Management at the Manning School of Business, UMass Lowell, and a digital fellow and research affiliate at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. Her research focuses on strategy, innovation, platform businesses and ecosystems, and the future of work. Before entering academia, she spent 19 years in the industry, holding executive and leadership roles at Motorola and working as an engineer for Sony in Japan. She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, as well as master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Management from MIT. She is also the lead author of the book Workforce Ecosystems: Reaching Strategic Goals with People, Partners, and Technologies.

Mary Tripsas is a Professor of Technology Management in the College of Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. A leading management scholar, her research and teaching focus on technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and how organizations adapt to disruptive technologies and industry shifts. Prior to joining UCSB, she served on the faculties of the Wharton School, Harvard Business School, and Boston College. She earned her Ph.D. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and her MBA from Harvard Business School. Before her academic career, she worked as a software engineer and sales member for IBM, and as a strategy consultant for the Monitor Group.