Platform Leaders Research Articles

Literature review on industrial digital platforms: A business model perspective and suggestions for future research

Rapid digitalization of industries has led to the proliferation of complex industrial digital platforms; however, few industrial platform leaders have successfully established sustainable business models around their offerings. The need for a concrete definition of industrial digital platforms and their business models further complicates our understanding of the issue. In this prospecting review, we critically analyze the existing literature on industrial digital platforms to identify key research themes and research gaps and propose a future research agenda for the industrial digital platform literature from a business model perspective. Drawing on insights from research on industrial platforms, digitalization, digital servitization, and business-to-business (B2B) relationships, our analysis focuses on three key themes in defining the boundaries of industrial digital platforms and the crucial aspects of value creation, value delivery, and value capture on such platforms: (a) co-creative value creation, (b) digitally integrated value delivery, and (c) mutual value capture. The findings of this study and a future research agenda framework provide a roadmap for advancing the understanding of business models for industrial digital platforms. This research aims to contribute to the emerging field of industrial digital platforms and guide future research endeavors in this domain, unlocking the full potential of these platforms for businesses and industries.

“I Am Your Partner, Am I Not?” An inquiry into stakeholder inclusion in platform organizations in times of crisis

In this paper we contribute to the understanding of how failed stakeholder inclusion in times of crisis can lead to distrust of platform organizations. Drawing on the revelatory case of Airbnb, we explore how stakeholder inclusion was practiced when the platform was confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, a severe context in which its business practices were disrupted and social interactions uprooted. Our qualitative analysis suggests that platform leaders failed to notice a dissonance between articulated stakeholder meaning and understanding (i.e., what they said) and the crisis response practices implemented (i.e., what they did and did not do). This ultimately fostered distrust and selective disengagement as stakeholders re-interpreted Airbnb’s claims about their role and how stakeholders were given voice in times of crisis. Drawing on research in psychology, we utilize the concept of inattentional blindness as a novel metaphorical explanation for failed stakeholder inclusion in platform organizations in times of crisis.

Engaging with deepfakes: a meta-synthesis from the perspective of social shaping of technology theory

PurposeThis study aims to establish a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies of how individuals engage with deepfakes, focusing on limiting adverse effects and capitalizing on their benefits.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on deepfakes, incorporating study-specific analysis followed by a cross-study synthesis.FindingsBased on the meta-synthesis, the study developed an integrated conceptual framework based on the perspectives from the social shaping of technology theory embedding deepfake-related assertions, motivations, the subtleties of digital platforms, and deepfake-related repercussions.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers crucial insights into the evolving nature of deepfakes as a socio-technical phenomenon and the significance of platform dynamics in deepfake production. It enables researchers to comprehend the cascading effects of deepfakes and positions them to evaluate deepfake-related risks and associated mitigation mechanisms.Practical implicationsThe framework that emerges from the study illustrates the influence of platforms on the evolution of deepfakes and assists platform stakeholders in introducing effective platform governance structures to combat the relentless proliferation of deepfakes and their consequences, as well as providing guidance for governments and policymakers to collaborate with platform leaders to set guardrails for deepfake engagement.Originality/valueDeepfakes have been extensively contested for both their beneficial and negative applications and have been accused of heralding an imminent epistemic threat that has been downplayed by some quarters. This diversity of viewpoints necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. In responding to this call, this is one of the first to establish a comprehensive, theoretically informed perspective on how individuals produce, process, and engage with deepfakes through a meta-synthesis of qualitative literature on deepfakes.

How digital platform leaders can foster dynamic capabilities through innovation processes: the case of taobao

ABSTRACT Although enterprises can promote dynamic capabilities by managing their innovation processes, the specific innovation processes and ways to encourage such capabilities have been under-researched. This exploratory research illuminates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and innovation processes through a case study of the largest Chinese e-commerce platform, Taobao, a vast and complex digital platform with various actors and interactions with numerous related platforms. Based on previous research, interviews with ten management personnel at Alibaba from April 2019 to August 2021, and secondary data, we found six innovation processes specific to this digital platform. Furthermore, we found that each of these innovation processes relates to specific dynamic capabilities and, therefore, a platform leader can improve its dynamic capabilities by organising its innovation processes in the digital platform ecosystem. The presented findings show important implications for strategic management and information systems by connecting dynamic capabilities and innovation management theories. In particular, our findings enable us to describe how the innovation processes management induces strong dynamic capabilities, such as environmental scanning and sensing capability, innovation capability, and integrative capability.

Exploring SMEs' behavioral intentions of participating in platform-based innovation ecosystems

PurposeSmall- and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) significantly contribute to the success of platform-based innovation ecosystems (PIEs). However, less is known about their behaviors and behavioral intentions (BIs) toward participating in PIEs. Considering that SMEs' BIs directly influence their behaviors and reveal the underlying logic of their behaviors, this study, therefore, focuses on SMEs' BIs and explores the antecedents to reveal the rational effects on BIs of the participation.Design/methodology/approachAn extended framework is proposed to understand SMEs' BIs toward the participation and empirically tested with data from a sample of 189 Chinese SMEs based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results show that (1) the framework has a good fit in the context of PIEs and a large predictability of SMEs' BIs toward the participation; (2) as expected, SMEs' BIs are directly positively affected by their attitudes (ATTs), subjective norms (SNs) and platform leaders (PLs), while indirectly positively influenced by perceived usefulness (PU) and ease and negatively influenced by perceived risks (PRs) via mediation effects and (3) surprisingly, BIs are directly negatively affected by platforms probably because of the potential collaborative risks based on platforms.Originality/valueThis study enriches PIE literature by focusing on complementors and proposing a framework of SMEs' BI toward joining PIEs, and it also expands the application of BI–behavior theories in the context of PIEs by offering a BI–behavior perspective to analyze the rational logic of SMEs' behaviors of participating to PIEs. Practically, the main findings not only benefit SMEs to better understand their BIs and to make a wise choice toward the participation, but provide implications for PLs to proactively design interventions for attracting SMEs’ complementors.

Managing service providers in the sharing economy: Insights from Airbnb’s host management

Platforms in the sharing economy match service providers and consumers. The service providers control most of the customer experience. Nevertheless, platforms have to provide a distinctive customer experience to differentiate their brands in the marketplace. This study examines the tactics platform leaders can use to align the services the providers offer with the desired customer experience. Our inductive qualitative analysis of Airbnb’s efforts to shape the Airbnb experience revealed nine tactics that are associated with three strategies, namely, orienting, enabling, and incentivizing and controlling. Our findings contribute to the literature on the management of service providers in the sharing economy.

Acting in secret: Interaction, knowledge construction and sequential discussion patterns of partial role-assignment in a MOOC

Forum discussions have been utilised widely as a means of facilitating learning interaction and social-knowledge construction in online learning. Much research has been conducted on the instructional interventions that benefit asynchronous discussions. Role-playing, or assigning roles to discussants, has been proven effective in promoting interactivity and knowledge construction in the context of both face-to-face and online learning. However, assigning and rotating roles to thousands of learners in massive open online courses (MOOCs) and preparing them to act properly in their roles sounds impractical to MOOC instructors due to work overload. The present study provided three types of role assignment in a MOOC during various course offerings: fall offerings with no role-assignment, spring offerings with partial role-assignment and summer offerings with full role-assignment. Through the examination of the discussion patterns and role-assignment differences among 4,239 students and 5,439 posts in 56 forums, we suggest that partial role-assignment is as effective as full-role assignment. By assigning as few as 10 students with rotating roles, MOOC instructors can leverage this effective strategy while minimising their effort in preparing the discussants and moderating the discussions. These students act behind the scenes and improve the behavioural patterns of asynchronous discussions.
 Implications for practice or policy:
 
 MOOC instructors and teaching assistants can leverage a partial role-assignment strategy to improve asynchronous discussion quality with manageable effort.
 MOOC platform leaders and instructional designers may explore work-smart teaching strategies that are viable in practice without overburdening instructors.

Innovation ecosystems for meeting sustainable development goals: The evolving roles of multinational enterprises

Meeting the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) will require breakthrough innovations in a number of areas. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can contribute to these goals by fomenting innovation considering the coevolution of responsible research and innovation (RRI) with the maturity of innovation ecosystems. Therefore, a conceptual model of the roles of multinational enterprises contingent on the evolutionary phases of a firm and the ecosystem in which it is embedded is derived. These MNE roles and RRI activities in SDG-oriented innovation ecosystems are explored through case examples of specific multinationals. Based on different archetypes of innovation ecosystems and RRI maturity levels, the identified roles include secretive innovators, builders, theater directors, platform leaders, dominators, and amplifiers. More responsible enterprises are found to support the SDGs through platform leadership and by amplifying the sustainable innovations of other ecosystem participants, whereas less responsible firms innovate internally and achieve less sustainable results.

Reducing food waste through digital platforms: A quantification of cross-side network effects

To fight food waste, retail stores have begun selling perishable food close to the expiration date at discounted prices. To render this form of last-minute discounting effective, digital platforms have been developed with the major aim to connect local retail stores and their consumers by sharing information about these discounts. To sustain digital platforms, platform leaders need to ensure both consumers and retail stores remain active on it. To provide platform leaders with advice on how to create a sustainable digital platform, we examine how retail store activity on the digital platform affects consumer activity, and vice versa (also known as cross-side network effects). By combining a PVAR model and an impulse response function, along with data from a digital platform aimed at food waste reduction, we find that the effect of consumer activity on retail store activity is stronger and more long-lasting than the effect of retail store activity on consumer activity. We discuss the implications of our findings for both retail stores and digital platform leaders.

Turning Tables: Understanding When, How, and Why Emerging Platform Complementors Outshine Incumbents

In the platform economy, entrants, despite significant losses, appear to challenge incumbents and alter industry architectures in more profound ways than I might have expected. This paper explores one of these cases, shedding light on when and why power shifts emerge, so that entrants take the driver seat, often with the support of incumbents. This inductive study of the Southeast Asian mobility-as- a-service industry explores how these dynamics unfold. I find that while incumbents often experiment with the new technologies that can lead to platforms, their need to grow consistently with their core offerings and organizational rigidities make them bypass these activities; or sometimes invest in entrants that engage in exploration. Once a platform emerges, incumbents do nothing to challenge it, and often support it, inasmuch as it serves some of their needs. Successful entrants ignore incumbents, while opportunistically pursuing relationships with a host of different actors and focusing on intra-platform competition. With platform leaders emerging, capital market support for entrants makes them oblivious to incumbent response, and incumbents gradually compete between them to support the platforms that ultimately challenge their dominance. This process is amplified by organizational changes, and by the growing role of managers who come from outside of the incumbent industry. Successful platform owners, on the other hand, continue to opportunistically reposition themselves with little regard to the focal sector structure.

From proprietary to collective governance: How do platform participation strategies evolve?

AbstractResearch SummaryWhen platform leaders change the rules guiding who can access and control a platform, the strategies of those who create value from the platform can be upended. Little research examines how platform participants adapt their strategies when a platform leader changes the rules governing access and control. We trace how participation with a development platform evolved under four different governance modes with varied access and control conditions. Participation intensity increased as access opened but decreased when platform leadership became unclear. Distributed platform leadership emerged only once the platform was collectively governed. Rather than assume that all firm participation complements a platform, we show how firms guardedly participate with open and collective platforms in ways that can either extend or subvert a platform's vitality.Managerial SummaryAs firms consider transitioning proprietary products to more open platforms to grow market share and relevance, we suggest that managers consider the concerns of external participants when designing a system to govern a platform. Opening access to a platform alone may be insufficient to stimulate external participants to contribute and make real commitments. Our research shows that open access did not stimulate external participation when platform leadership was not clear. When a structured but collectively determined development and governance process was created, external participants increased their contributions and even took on project leadership roles—distributing leadership of the platform among many firms.

The platform economy: restructuring the space of capitalist accumulation

AbstractThe platform economy and its leading firms, such as Amazon, Facebook and Google, are reorganising the geography of value creation and capture on both a local and global scale. This article argues that economic geographers have underappreciated the implications of the platform on space. First, we demonstrate the concentration of platform giants in terms of location on the US West Coast and in terms of their market share in various services, such as search, maps and online sales. Platforms are simultaneously intermediaries, two-sided markets, data aggregators and leading users of artificial intelligence (AI). Second, we use a labour taxonomy to demonstrate the extensive reach of these platforms in terms of the labour markets that they serve and shape. To illustrate these changes in the geography of value creation, we present case studies of Amazon and Google Maps to show their effects on the location of economic activity. Third, we elaborate on our contention that platforms are at once intermediaries and data hubs. AI is likely to reinforce the power of these platform leaders because they have the largest data sets, the most computational power, enormous teams of the best AI researchers and vast reservoirs of capital that they can use to make acquisitions. We conclude by identifying areas for future research and calling upon economic geographers to consider the implications of the platform economy in reshaping the space of economic activity.

How Can Platform Leader Achieve Sustainable Development in Platform-Based Ecosystem?

Commercial competition paradigm is changing from competitive advantage which based internal resources to the eco-advantage which from ecosystem consisted of internal and external value network under the background of the Internet economy. Enterprises can’t effectively face the complex and fierce market competition environment which relied solely on internal heterogeneous resources or core competencies, so many firms adopt platform strategy and build a business ecosystem to be out of this dilemma. It could get eco-advantage for platform leaders to leverage the external resources and ability from the business ecosystem. How can platform leaders gain sustainable development depending on the superiority niche in the platform ecosystem? This paper will answer this question by taking JD as an example which is a typical B2C Internet platform. The results of the study are as follows: First, the platform firm is the leader and creator in the early establishment of the platform-based ecosystem, it’s the formational basis of eco-advantages comes from enough quantity and high quality of platform user. User install and demand are not only the important orientations for platform enterprises producing and managing but also the power source for forming eco-advantages and sustainable development. Second, the sustainable development of the platform leader is related to the size and strength of the network effect. The more network effects, the more conducive to get eco-advantages and sustainable development for platform leaders. Third, the platform-based ecosystem is a value network consisted of a large number of network nodes which is a symbiosis relationship by competing and cooperating. The cross-border integration and collaborative development of multi-agent in the ecosystem are beneficial to promoting platform leaders to form ecological advantages and achieve sustainable development. Forth, platform leader, which is the leading species and key species determined the fate of species in the ecosystem, provides a place for value co-creation of multi-species. It is the process of multi-agent value co-creation based on the platform for platform leaders to obtain sustainable development, which is also the result of internal innovation and external open innovation. This study is of great significance to enrich the research of platform enterprise theory and guide the sustainable development of platform enterprise.

The Platform Economy and Geography: Restructuring the Space of Capitalist Accumulation

Digital online platform firms are reorganizing the geography of how value is created, who captures it, and where. This essay argues that economic geographers have underestimated the power of platform and the firms that control them. We further demonstrate the remarkable concentration of these firms on the U.S. West Coast even while they organize global ecosystems. We suggest that a new spatial fix for the core of the global capitalist economy is emerging. We build upon a taxonomy of platform economy labor types and the location of the various types of labor and the implications of the ability of platforms to extract value from this labor. To illustrate, the impact on the geography of value creation, we undertake cases studies of two platforms, Amazon and Google Maps to explicate their effects upon the location of economic activity. Platforms are increasingly reorganizing labor and the location of value creation We argue that platforms are a new organizational form that is the result of an asymmetric power relationship between a platform and an ecosystem of complementers and users that interact and transact through platform. These platform leaders have the largest data sets and have created enormous teams of the best AI, machine learning researchers, and, finally, have enormous reservoirs of capital with which to capture new technologies that may threaten them.

Seven mistakes to avoid in launching and scaling digital platforms

Purpose Many startups and incumbents seek to benefit from a platform business model, but the literature on digital platforms has primarily focused on the success of a few blockbuster companies such as Facebook, Uber and Airbnb, offering little insights into how to launch and scale platform business in the current competitive business environment. This paper aims to provide managerial insights to help platform leaders successfully launch and scale their businesses. Design/methodology/approach The study relies on 16 emergent, successful and failed digital platform cases. Findings The paper organizes platform strategy in a coherent framework and identifies seven mistakes frequently made when managing digital platforms. Originality/value Drawing from the authors' experience teaching platform entrepreneurs, advising digital platform startups, and studying and consulting for incumbent organizations seeking to launch or grow platform ventures, the authors extend research on the difficulties of executing a digital platform strategy.

Democratization, globalization, and institutional adaptation: the developmental states of South Korea and Taiwan

This paper concurs with Hamilton-Hart and Yeung that in South Korea and Taiwan, the predominance of global production networks, growth of private enterprises, and democratization have placed developmental state institutions under pressure. However, despite the reorganization of the pilot agency and state bureaucracy, new institutions have emerged to take on the functions of policy consultation and coordination. These institutions continue to control ample financial and regulatory resources, which allow state elites to coordinate industrial transformation and mediate global engagement. South Korea and Taiwan, however, differ in their ability to appease sociopolitical conflict and find common ground to defy neoliberal tendency. Moreover, they differ in their preexisting industrial structures, modes of engaging with the global market, and security considerations with respect to mainland China. Given path dependency, the two cases differ in their success in launching new industries and facilitating defensive globalization. Due to this divergence, the two economies hold disparate positions in the global division of labor: lead firms in South Korea, contract manufacturers in Taiwan, and aspiring platform leaders in both cases. Enterprises from these two economies also weave disparate types of production networks, with those from South Korea exhibiting a higher level of functional diversity and geographical expansion.

Influence of Social Mechanisms on Innovation Behaviour of Actors in Agricultural Innovation Platforms in Uganda

This study employed network governance theory to examine the intermediate social processes that lead to actor innovation behaviour in an agricultural innovation platform. Using a sample of 319 randomly selected farmers and key informant interviews, it was established that the direct effect of social mechanisms such as restricted access, collective sanctions, macro cultures and reputation on innovation behaviour was negative (β =-0.050) and insignificant implying that as networks put in place stringent rules and regulations, actors in an innovation network tend to withdraw from platform activities. However, the effect was positive and significant through adaptation (β =0.697), coordination (β =0.121) and safeguard of exchanges (β =0.418). This therefore means that for social mechanisms to influence actor innovation behaviour, they must be accompanied with adaptation and coordination measures and appropriate strategies that safeguard exchanges in a network. Platform leaders should also implement activities that bring all actors together to share relevant information, mobilize resources and synchronize the timing and sequencing of activities as a means of coordination, adaptation and safeguard of exchanges. The study further recommends that to increase the rate of agricultural innovations, members of the networks should continually seek for new processes, markets, inputs and take advantage of new opportunities in their operating environment so as to be adaptive. Key words : Innovation behaviour, innovation platforms, social mechanisms,

Orchestration and governance in digital platform ecosystems: a literature review and trends

PurposeBecause of the attention increasingly being focused on digital transformation, interest in business models of platform-enabled ecosystems is rising rapidly. Although there are different theoretical views on the role of ecosystems, a synthesis of research, with a focus on governance and orchestration in dynamic, multi-industry eco-systems, is lacking.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted by following a rigorous search protocol in the scholarly databases covering both journal articles and conference papers These papers were subsequently filtered, and finally, 48 relevant papers were selected for analysis.FindingsThe review identifies five key aspects of platform governance design that need close consideration: the meta-organisation or ecosystem design, coordination mechanisms, mechanisms for value co-creation, value appropriation mechanisms and architectural principles. To achieve balance among a set of competing demands, platform leaders need to devote adequate attention to these aspects.Practical implicationsBased on a literature review, the authors provide an overview of underlying theoretical views, research methods and key trends to develop a sound theoretical grounding for research on platform governance design. The paper also suggests research gaps in the existing literature and sets directions for researchers to strengthen the understanding of effective platform governance design. The paper also provides valuable information to managers in developing or leading a successful platform ecosystem.Originality/valueThe paper uses existing literature published in this topic and original in nature.

Dynamic and integrative capabilities for profiting from innovation in digital platform-based ecosystems

For firms at the center of platform-based ecosystems, Teece (2018) argues that dynamic capabilities can enable the firms to create and capture value by building ecosystems and designing appropriate business models. In line with the original Profiting From Innovation (PFI) framework, Teece (2018) also argues that complementary asset providers may be able to capture substantial value. Here we provide a theoretical analysis that explains the ways in which dynamic capabilities underpin not only value creation but also value capture by platform leaders. We propose that three types of dynamic capabilities at a minimum are critical for platform leaders: innovation capabilities, environmental scanning and sensing capabilities, and integrative capabilities for ecosystem orchestration. We further argue that integrative capabilities play a key role in improving the ability of platform leaders to capture value.

Approaching Indirectly to Complementors and Taking Neutral Position in Platform: Exploratory Research on the Progression from a Start-Up to a Platform Leader

How does a small start-up become a platform leader from the viewpoint of inducing complementors? Previous researches on platform management seem to focus on platform design and the relationship between complementors and platform leaders. However, samples used in these researches are large, established leaders, and strategies for start-ups have not been studied in detail. From single case studies about the progression of a Japanese platform leader, we found that collaborations with organisations at the centre of networks are useful because: 1) these collaborations provide start-ups paths to complementors; 2) these collaborations enhance the trustworthiness of start-ups; 3) the higher the number of collaborations, the more neutral the position enjoyed by platform leaders, even as start-ups.