Digital Platform Ecosystems Research Articles

The institutional impact on the digital platform ecosystem and innovation

PurposeThe digital platform (DP) develops through a network capability that combines technological infrastructure and resources to provide goods or services. This article investigates how institutions influence the development of the DP entrepreneurship ecosystem (EE) in a developing economy context.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative approach based on interviews with 33 DP business executives in Nigeria was the chosen research method. The interview method took the form of face-to-face, telephone and zoom video meetings, depending on the respective preferences of the participants. The research philosophy is based on interpretivism. Hence, the collected data were analyzed thematically and interpreted to make sense of the business executives' perspectives about the DP landscape as well as its institutional enablers and barriers.FindingsThe findings reveal institutional elements that are either too underdeveloped or weak to nurture an effective DP system resulting in high cost of doing business. A key cultural challenge is obtaining an honest workforce and managers. Also, there is lack of effective policies, weak regulation, multiple taxation and foreign competition, which affects local digital firms. Although cultural diversity has several merits, differences in cultural values and languages create marketing and promotion challenges. Moreover, the low level of digital literacy between Generation Z, Millennials and others, such as Baby Boomers and Generation X, poses a significant challenge concerning customer segmentation.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on digital technologies, the complexity of platform architectures and institutional logic has attracted interest in recent years. This article explored the institutional logic influencing the development of DP ecosystem (providing knowledge about EE in a developing world context). Despite the institutional challenges, there are multiple opportunities for Nigerian DP sector to flourish in the fast-growing economy.Originality/valueThe value of this article is related to how micro-, meso- and macro-institutional forces combine to support or become barriers to the development of the DP ecosystem, especially in developing economies where digitalization is creeping into every business sector and society.

Pickled eggs: GenerativeAIas research assistant or co‐author?

Pickled eggs: Generative<scp>AI</scp>as research assistant or co‐author?

Digital industrial platform development: A peripheral actor's perspective

Breakthrough technologies enabled digital industrial platform ecosystems are shaping the future industries. This study examines the development process of digital industrial platforms led by peripheral industrial actors through the lens of digital business model innovation. Utilizing an exploratory case study of HXB in the chemical fabric industry, we identify three digital business model innovations that contribute to successful digital industrial platform development: industrial transaction platformization, industrial factory digitalization, and digital platform enablement. We develop a framework to elucidate how these innovations facilitate digital industrial platform development and discuss how peripheral actors can overcome legitimacy limitations to deploy these innovations.

The hope of exponential growth – Systems mapping perspective on birth of platform business

The traditional pipeline-based approach to operating business is currently challenged by the platform-based approach. The research on digital platforms and platform business is well established and includes multiple different design frameworks for building platform business but they seem to lack the dynamic nature of platform design. We explore the birth of digital transaction platforms as a dynamic process to demonstrate the dynamic complexity of designing platform-based businesses. The paper presents a multiple case study focusing on the birth phases of four resource constrained start-ups. Based on literature study and theme interviews, we apply systems mapping to analyse the early growth of four digital platform ecosystems. Our findings indicate that the growth of platform-based business is a result of various self-reinforcing and balancing feedback loops, which create dynamic behaviour of the system. In the early phases of platforms lifecycle, start-ups struggle to offset the dominating feedback structures that limit the growth. These feedback structures vary based on business environment and platform design choices made by the platform company. The research contributes to academic discussion on digital business by providing empirical and theoretical insights into growth dynamics of business based on digital platforms.

Sustaining complementor engagement in digital platform ecosystems: Antecedents, behaviours and engagement trajectories

AbstractDigital platform ecosystems increasingly dominate the enterprise software domain, and the persistence of platforms depends on the sustained engagement of complementors. However, there is a limited understanding of its antecedents, complementors' evaluation of antecedents and the manifestations and dynamic changes of complementors' engagement. Therefore, we investigate complementors' engagement within platform ecosystems over time. We draw on actor and stakeholder engagement from service research to conceptualise complementor engagement (CE) and create an integrated empirical understanding of CE and its dynamics in digital platform ecosystems. Our embedded case study builds on 30 interviews with complementors in Anubis and Osiris enterprise software platform ecosystems. Inductive data analysis reveals five CE antecedents: platform resources and rules, platform value proposition, platform agents, customer needs and other complementors' value propositions. The antecedents are associated with three CE behaviours: generating, networking and synchronising. Further analysis of CE over time resulted in 26 different sequences representing stable and changing engagement trajectories, the latter comprising selective, growing and abating engagement as subcategories. We show how complementors' evaluations of antecedents lead to behaviour changes, providing a novel perspective on the dynamics underlying CE. Finally, we link complementors' evaluation outcomes to their (dis)satisfaction, contributing to the discussion on what drives and impedes CE. The findings implicate the debate on dynamic platform governance and inform platform owners about using cooperative and competitive approaches in the short and long term.

Digital platform ecosystems in flux: From proprietary digital platforms to wide-spanning ecosystems

Digital Platform Ecosystems (DPEs) represent a distinct form of interorganizational relationship cultivated on digital infrastructures. Although DPEs are researched extensively among management scholars, shortcomings in formalizing their emergence remain. Particularly re-occurring patterns and temporal dimensions of emergence continue to be relatively unexplored. We review existing literature in an integrative manner and shed light on DPE emergence by deriving a framework comprising four distinct stages. We thereby sharpen the understanding of DPEs and bring convergence to an increasingly fragmented field of research by accounting for industrial innovation management, organizational, market-based, and ecosystem-based views. As a result, we present a classification of DPE emergence stages and related key activities contributing to the progression from a nascent digital platform into a wide-spanning DPE. Finally, we propose multiple avenues for future research.

Digital platform regulation: opportunities for information systems research

PurposeInformation Systems (IS) research has built up a considerable understanding of digital platform ecosystems, while policymakers worldwide are aiming to introduce platform regulations that seek to erode fundamental mechanisms of digital platforms. This viewpoint article provides an introduction to how platform regulation affects our current understanding of digital platform ecosystems and suggests opportunities for future research.Design/methodology/approachA detailed analysis of the effects of the European Union (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA) on current findings of organizational, technical and economic IS platform research.FindingsGovernment regulations of digital platforms such as the DMA likely affect the central mode of operation of platforms in the scope of the regulation. The authors preconceive a major impact on platform openness, governance, steering the platform supply-side, modularity, nestedness, network effects, pricing and single-/multi-homing. In addition, the authors present opportunities for future research in each of these IS platform research streams.Originality/valueLandmark regulations implemented in the past, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), caused paradigm changes that fertilized research opportunities in IS and beyond. This viewpoint article aims to nudge studies that examine the changed mode of operation of platforms following platform regulation.

Research on the mechanism of sustainable business model innovation driven by the digital platform ecosystem

Research on the mechanism of sustainable business model innovation driven by the digital platform ecosystem

When Do You Enter? Entrepreneurial Firms’ Entry Timing and Product Performance in the Digital Platform Market

The digital platform market has evolved into a critical location for firms to engage in innovation and entrepreneurship. However, there is no clear answer to the question of when entrepreneurial firms should enter the digital platform market in order to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. A balanced panel and an individual fixed effect model were built using monthly product data from game developers on the Steam platform. Furthermore, in accordance with first-mover advantage theory, this study empirically investigated the impact of entry timing on product performance of entrepreneurial firms in the digital platform market, as well as the moderating effect of product updates. The results show that the impact of entrepreneurial firms’ entry timing on product performance in the digital platform market has a U-shaped relationship, which is moderated by product updates. These findings not only have implications for entrepreneurs looking to compete in the digital platform market, but also contribute to the sustainable development of the digital platform ecosystem.

Regulating Big Tech: the role of enhanced disclosures

Abstract Attempts by governments to curb the market power of ‘Big Tech’ (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft) are impeded by limited public information on their diversified digital platform ecosystems. Big Tech’s annual 10-K financial reports disclose little about their globally dominant ‘free’ services, platform user numbers, and monetization practices, and suites of products. To support antitrust and regulatory oversight, we propose mandatory 10-K type disclosures covering Big Tech’s: (i) internally used operating metrics (e.g. monthly active users), which underpin platform market share and monetization; (ii) ubiquitous ‘free’ products which escape traditional ‘profit and loss’ reporting; (iii) ‘monetization’ processes detailing how platforms make money from user data and attention; and (iv) product-by-product reporting through updating segment reporting rules. Disclosures should be mandatory for digital ‘gatekeepers’ and eventually integrated into reporting standards for all digital platforms.

Promoting value emergence through digital platform ecosystems: Perspectives on resource integration in China

Although value co-creation of user-enterprise platforms has been investigated in recent decades, only a few empirical efforts have been made to explore the value emergence of digital platform ecosystems from the perspectives of the enterprise, supplier, government, and user interactions, specifically concerning the complexity and emergence of interactions arising out the integration of micro-, meso-, and macro-level resources in China. To address this research gap, this study examines the relationship between user whole-process engagement, value emergence, resource integration, and firm performance from the perspective of resource integration combined with complex systems theory. A questionnaire survey of 377 digital enterprises in different industries in China was conducted; subsequently, the theoretical model was tested by using empirical and experimental methods. The empirical results showed that the emergence of efficiency and integrated value played a mediating role in the relationship between user whole-process engagement and firm performance. Resource integration positively moderated the relationship between user whole-process engagement and value emergence. Simultaneously, value emergence promoted the improvement of multidimensional performance of enterprise platforms, and its impact on a firm's social performance was greater as compared to that on the firm's economic performance. Thus, the research has interesting implications for theory, enterprises, and government.

Unveiling the Dynamics of Product Service Systems: Insights from Digital Platform Ecosystems and Customer Engagement Perspectives

Unveiling the Dynamics of Product Service Systems: Insights from Digital Platform Ecosystems and Customer Engagement Perspectives

Blockchain and cloud platforms in banking services: A paradox perspective

PURPOSE: The banking sector is under intense pressure from digitalization. One of the accompanying processes is the development of digital platforms and platform ecosystems in banking services. The paper aims to present the dynamic pattern of behavior among partners stemming from the tensions between governance costs and co-created value within platforms in banking services. METHODOLOGY: The study employs an approach based on a systematic literature review of 54 publications selected from Scopus and WoS databases. We applied an approach that consists of two steps. The first step of the research was a literature review and critical analysis of the sources related to our research questions. In the second step, we propose a causal loop diagram research procedure, which is a research system dynamic tool used in modeling system dynamics. FINDINGS: There are different types of platforms, and among the most important are blockchain-based and cloud-based platforms. In both types, the relations between owners, complementors, and customers are important. The tension between governance costs and co-created value informs behavior patterns among platform partners. The degree of interconnectedness between platform participants and the level of centralization of banking services depends on the platform type. The study highlights that blockchain-based and cloud-based platforms play a significant role in the transformation of the current banking services. The choice of platform type has important implications for the platformization of banking services. IMPLICATIONS: The pattern of behavior among platform partners identifies the self-reinforcing dynamics that suggest how managers can navigate the tension over time amidst the asymmetry of benefits and risks. The research findings can be informative for financial regulators and they help work out a policy that reduces the asymmetry of benefits and contributes to the more sustainable development of digital platforms. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This paper addresses the paradox perspective on the banking sector changes during the intensive processes of digitalization and the creation of new ‘platform ecosystems.’ This topic has not been studied in this context so far.

Pioneering digital platform ecosystems: The role of aligned capabilities and motives in shaping key choices and performance outcomes

AbstractResearch SummaryWe inductively analyze rich qualitative and quantitative data on the global census of pioneering mobile money firms to examine how firm characteristics shape digital platform ecosystem configuration choices regarding (a) internal versus external integration and (b) the creation of network externalities through open versus closed end‐user access. In contrast to received wisdom, we find pioneering firms were equally likely to engage in external and internal integration; moreover, diversifying entrants were less likely to internally integrate than startups. We uncover the important role of motives, in addition to capabilities, for creating alignment between pioneering firms and their partners. Such alignment was key for addressing path‐dependent implementation challenges through experimentation and navigating nascent industry uncertainty for success.Managerial SummaryOur study showcases how enterprising firms pioneered and diffused mobile money, a digital platform that improves access to financial services. The successful take‐off and growth of this industry, as revealed by our inductive analysis, was contingent on aligned capabilities and motives among platform co‐providers and critical partners. We illuminate why and how pioneer capabilities and motives influenced key platform choices regarding internal versus external integration, and open versus closed end‐user access. These choices then created different implementation challenges. The successful pioneers navigated these challenges to create a robust ecosystem for network effects by engaging in two actions: they developed lasting partner relationships, and they experimented to determine distinct demand segments, identify unmet needs, and develop value propositions.

Digital Platform Ecosystems and Conglomerate Mergers: A Review of the Brazilian Experience

This article highlights some of the key challenges for the Brazilian merger control regime in dealing with mergers involving digital platform ecosystems (DPEs). After a quick introduction to DPEs, we illustrate how their market power may be strengthened through conglomerate mergers, and yet these concerns remain largely unaddressed in the current landscape for merger control in Brazil. The article is divided in four sections. First, we introduce the reader to the framework for merger control in Brazil. Second, we identify the possible theories of harm related to conglomerate merger, and elaborate on the way in which their application may be affected by the context of DPEs. Third, we conduct a review of previous mergers involving DPEs in Brazil, aiming to identify the theories of harm employed (and those that could have been explored) in each case. Fourth and finally, we summarize and results and suggest adaptation to merger control in Brazil, advancing proposals for a more consistent and predictable analysis. Digital Platforms, Digital Ecosystems, Merger Control, Conglomerate Mergers, Competition Law, Antitrust, Brazil

Fluidity and the customer experience in digital platform ecosystems

Fluidity is the ability of a digital platform ecosystem to change form to align with changing consumer preferences and stay relevant in the marketplace. This study advances that three dimensions and their five sub-dimensions determine the fluidity of a digital platform ecosystem. They are the (1) functional dimension with its two subdimensions of platform openness and platform quality (i.e., user-friendliness and quality of service offerings); (2) the mechanical dimension which consists mainly of platform design; and (3) the humanistic dimension with the sub-dimensions of network effects and network interactivity. This study advances that firms can manage these dimensions to improve the fluidity of their platforms. Furthermore, we propose that improved fluidity enhances the customer experience and increases switching costs.

How do localized socio-economic platform ecosystems emerge?: a mobile platform to bring the market to villagers in Himalayan forests

ABSTRACT Disasters like forest fires have become a persistent challenge in Himalayan regions due to highly inflammable Pine leaves. Solutions like producing bio-briquettes require involvement of local villagers, which depends on creating socio-economic and social entrepreneurship opportunities. Our research addresses these challenges by developing and evaluating governance interventions to connect villagers with local market through a mobile app platform and shape an ecosystem. We conduct an interpretive case study based on literature on digital platform ecosystems and multi-sided platforms. We use activity theory to analyze case data on implementation of governance interventions and behavior of ecosystem actors towards the challenge of producing and selling pine briquettes through the platform. Our findings suggest that characteristic features of a platform ecosystem running in a socio-economic setting differ substantially from commercial ecosystems. Our research could be one of the first to contribute to digital platforms for development in a local socioeconomic context.

Platform Compatibility and Developer Multihoming: A Trade-off Perspective

Digital platform ecosystems feature interplatform competition. A potential strategy for a platform with market disadvantage is to make itself compatible with competitors to attract multihoming of developers. However, many questions remain unresolved regarding how a platform’s compatibility strategy impacts developers’ multihoming decisions and subsequent app performance. In this study, we use the context of web browser platforms (i.e., Firefox and Chrome) to investigate how the increase in the technological compatibility of a secondary platform (Firefox) influences developer multihoming from a primary dominant platform (Chrome). We theoretically consider how increased platform compatibility influences the trade-offs in developers’ multihoming decisions and their subsequent app development choices. Based on this trade-off perspective, we posit and empirically investigate the effects of increased platform compatibility on developer multihoming, and the subsequent development choices and app performance resulting from multihoming. Our findings illustrate that developers with larger user bases on the primary platform are more willing to multihome than those with smaller bases, but increased platform compatibility reduces this gap and enables developers with smaller user bases to better embrace multihoming. Increased platform compatibility also encourages multihoming developers to develop exclusive apps for the secondary platform. Moreover, increased platform compatibility facilitates multihoming developers to leverage their primary-platform user bases to enhance their secondary-platform app performance, and this effect is influenced by the development type (porting or exclusive development). Our study generates unique insights that add to the theoretical understanding of platform compatibility, multihoming, and platform competition.

Customer brand engagement and co-production: an examination of key boundary conditions in the sharing economy

PurposeDigital platforms have transformed how brands engage with collaborative consumption actors, such as prosumers. This study aims to examine the role of customer innovativeness and perceived economic value as important boundary conditions on the effects of customer brand engagement behavior on co-production, which subsequently influences customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test the model using survey data from 430 users of a digital platform (i.e. UBER) in Australia. Hypotheses were tested using the bias-corrected bootstrapping method.FindingsThe findings suggest that customer innovativeness and perceived economic value positively moderate the effects of customer brand engagement behavior on co-production. Further, the mediating effects of co-production on satisfaction are stronger for highly innovative customers and for those who associate high perceived economic value with the brand.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides novel insights on the boundary conditions of the effects of customer brand engagement behavior on co-production. Future research could apply this study’s conceptual framework to other digital platforms to extend the generalizability of this framework.Practical implicationsThis study provides managerial insights into how firms can customize marketing strategies to encourage customers as prosumers in co-production by targeting highly innovative customers and focusing on perceived economic value.Originality/valueThis study builds on service-dominant logic and social exchange theory to examine the role of customer innovativeness and perceived economic value as novel boundary conditions in digital platform ecosystems.

A multilevel, multi-mode framework for standardization in digital B2B platform eco-systems in international cargo transportation—A multiple case study

Standardization is gaining importance for digital platform eco-systems as they try to balance both stability and flexibility of their core as well as their boundary resources. Our knowledge on which factors influence standardization processes in business-to-business (B2B) focused digital platform eco-systems remains limited. Using three B2B platform eco-systems from the cargo transportation and seaport eco-system context, we apply a multiple case study to investigate which factors affect the standardization mode and the standard adoption. Based on 19 interviews and a systematic coding procedure, we identified 24 factors and cluster them into four overarching themes. We show the relatedness between standardization and innovation research, identify standard characteristics as the most important theme of factors and show that standardization has to be seen as a dynamic and interconnected process, as some factors are interdependent but the controllability varies between factors. Lastly, implications of these results and future research directions are discussed.