Future of Governance for Digital Platform Ecosystems

Abstract

The future of governance and regulation of digital platforms is uncertain. The development of digital platforms depends on a number of political and social factors in addition to economic and technological drivers. Particularly, the role of governance and institutions are crucial for structuring platform ecosystems. Therefore, this paper explores alternative futures of digital platform ecosystem governance through the scenario planning approach. This approach allows considering alternative future trajectories rather than rely on extrapolation of current trends. The paper discusses different scenarios developed by international and national organizations. Three alternative futures for the governance of digital platform ecosystems emerge resulting from scenario matching: private platform ecosystems, government platform ecosystems, and decentralized platform ecosystems. The conclusion highlights the key implications of different meta-scenarios.