This paper addresses the role of modularity in coring a platform strategy. For that purpose, we follow Baldwin and Henkel (2015) by considering both technical and strategical issues materialized by modularization. We contribute to the recent literature addressing the strategic issues of modularization through the lenses of Intellectual property (IP) modularity by answering the following research question: “how and why IP modularity can be used in the technical and strategical design of a digital platform? We investigate the case of digital platform strategy adoption by leading global car manufacturers, in the domain of automotive connected services. Through our in-depth case study, we characterize three generic IP models which outline the key role of modularity in enabling the alignment of the various IP status and technologies. In other words, IP modularity is considered as a strategic tool that enable the alignment of IP status and technologies owned by a platform owner and his complementors. This alignment enables in turn technological and IP complementarities between a focal firm and its partners.
