Understanding the Reactive Practices of Third-party Developers

Abstract

Increasingly, building software systems by using third-party modules is recognized as a crucial success factor for the software industry. Much research looks at how software platforms should be configured to stimulate the development of third-party software. Yet, there is a lack of research on third-party software developers’ actual activities in relation to the platform ecosystem they work within. As a result, our understanding of the platform-centric ecosystem is limited. This paper aims to understand the nature of third-party software developers’ work by conducting a systematic investigation of this workforce from a practice perspective. In particular, we pay close attention to third-party software developers’ behavioral responses towards platform changes. Through a case study, we identify four reactive practices enacted by third-party developers: recognizing, processing, adapting, and influencing. We generalize the observation into a model of the reactive mechanism. The study contributes to the theorizing of platform-centric ecosystems by highlighting the critical role of third-party developers.