Search results

1 – 10 of 122
Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Lijuan Pei

The purpose of this study is to explore the coopetition relationships between platform owners and complementors in complementary product markets. Drawing on the coopetition…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the coopetition relationships between platform owners and complementors in complementary product markets. Drawing on the coopetition theory, the authors examined the evolutionary trends of the coopetition relationships between platform owners and complementors and explore the main influence factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used Lotka–Volterra model to analyze the coopetition relationship between platform owners and complementors, including the evolutionary trends as well as the results. Considering the feasibility of sample data collection, simulation is used to verify the effects of different factors on the evolution of coopetition relationships.

Findings

The results show that there are four possible results of the competition in the complementary products market. That comprises “winner-take-all for platform owners,” “winner-take-all for complementors,” “stable competitive coexistence” and “unstable competitive coexistence,” where “stable competitive coexistence” is the optimal evolutionary state. Moreover, the results of competitive evolution are determined by innovation subjects’ interaction parameters. However, the natural growth rate, the initial market benefits of the two innovators and the overall benefits of the complementary product markets influence the time to reach a steady state.

Originality/value

The study provides new insights into the entry of platform owners into complementary markets, and the findings highlight the fact that in complementary product markets, platform owners and complementors should seek “competitive coexistence” rather than “winner-takes-all.” Moreover, the authors also enrich the coopetition theory by revealing the core factors that influence the evolution of coopetition relationships, which further enhance the analysis of the evolutionary process of coopetition relationships.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 September 2021

Yan Zuo and Di Song

The primary aim of this article is to develop an understanding that resolves and integrates the conflicting findings with regard to the effects of platform-owner entry on the…

Abstract

Purpose

The primary aim of this article is to develop an understanding that resolves and integrates the conflicting findings with regard to the effects of platform-owner entry on the innovation of individual complementors.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the platform ecosystem literature and the profiting from innovation (PFI) framework, this study presents a conceptual model that articulates how developers' marketing capabilities and the size of platform's installed base are two key moderators that explain the conflicting results between platform-owner entry and complementor innovations.

Findings

This article theorizes that platform owners' entry stimulates developers' innovations when the size of platform's installed base is large or when developers' marketing capabilities are strong while the entry can discourage innovations otherwise.

Originality/value

By proposing the conceptual model, this article makes important theoretical contributions to the rising literature on platform governance and complementor innovations. It lays a foundation for future research exploring the implications of platform-owner entry.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 122 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2017

Kevin J. Boudreau

Rather than organize as traditional firms, many of today’s companies organize as platforms that sit at the nexus of multiple exchange and production relationships. This chapter…

Abstract

Rather than organize as traditional firms, many of today’s companies organize as platforms that sit at the nexus of multiple exchange and production relationships. This chapter considers a most basic question of organization in platform contexts: the choice of boundaries. Herein, I investigate how classical economic theories of firm boundaries apply to platform-based organization and empirically study how executives made boundary choices in response to changing market and technical challenges in the early mobile computing industry (the predecessor to today’s smartphones). Rather than a strict or unavoidable tradeoff between “openness-versus-control,” most successful platform owners chose their boundaries in a way to simultaneously open-up to outside developers while maintaining coordination across the entire system.

Details

Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Platforms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-080-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 July 2018

Wenhui Fu, Qiang Wang and Xiande Zhao

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the platform literature and synthesize the various topics of research into a common framework to reveal the relations between…

1928

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the platform literature and synthesize the various topics of research into a common framework to reveal the relations between platform-based service innovation, system design and other platform-related factors.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative descriptive analysis led to an overview of the distribution of research focuses of the 187 sample articles identified by a well-established search strategy. A qualitative in-depth review was then used to clarify the detailed research topics and generate an overall conceptual model to link them, with a focus on platform-based service innovation and system design.

Findings

In total, 11 research topics of three research perspectives were identified and linked by a framework that accounts for the relationships between platform-based service innovation and system design and their influences on platform evolution. A small panel of industry experts validated the accuracy and utility of the proposed framework.

Originality/value

This paper provides an integrated framework for separately developed research perspectives and the topics investigated in the platform literature. Through the proposed framework, this paper helps to improve the knowledge on platform study and management, and lays a foundation for exploring the research opportunities in platform-based service innovation and system design.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 118 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 March 2020

Robert van Kalsbeek, Manda Broekhuis and Kees Jan Roodbergen

The purpose of this paper is to understand which controlling and enabling practices are used, how the numerous supplying partners are managed and how positive network effects are…

2587

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand which controlling and enabling practices are used, how the numerous supplying partners are managed and how positive network effects are generated in online service triads (multi-sided platform – supplying partners – consumers).

Design/methodology/approach

A single representative in-depth case study was conducted to refine theory on managing service triads. The main data source consists of field notes collected by one author, who held a temporary position within the organization. Additional data were collected from observations, internal documents, informal talks and 20 interviews.

Findings

The authors found controlling and enabling organizational practices in four main categories on two levels as follows: managing network composition (system level), managing order fulfillment and returns (operations level), category management (both levels) and capability enhancement (both levels).

Research limitations/implications

The authors show that both controlling and enabling practices are present in online service triads. This enables platform owners and supplying partners to share responsibilities for creating positive network effects, i.e. to increase scale, which increases value, which again attracts more suppliers and consumers, which creates more value, etc.

Practical implications

The authors present a range of and controlling and enabling practices that describe how multi-sided platforms can manage numerous supplying partners in an online context.

Originality/value

This study is the first to show that contractual and relational governance is insufficient in service triads in online settings with numerous supplying partners. Further, the authors provide empirical evidence that supply networks continuously adapt over time.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 April 2023

Vincent Heimburg and Manuel Wiesche

Information Systems (IS) research has built up a considerable understanding of digital platform ecosystems, while policymakers worldwide are aiming to introduce platform…

2546

Abstract

Purpose

Information 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/approach

A 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.

Findings

Government 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/value

Landmark 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.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 February 2021

Alexey Bereznoy, Dirk Meissner and Veronica Scuotto

Generally, there is a common sense to consider knowledge sharing and creation as two separate processes but a new matter emerges when those processes are intertwining. In this…

2847

Abstract

Purpose

Generally, there is a common sense to consider knowledge sharing and creation as two separate processes but a new matter emerges when those processes are intertwining. In this vein, this research aims to discuss on the lens of the open innovation (OI) model how such intertwining generates digital platform-based ecosystem.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical approach is used to largely discuss the intertwining of knowledge sharing and creation in the current digital era. It debates such scenario considering past and present studies and suggests future research streamlines.

Findings

It offers a new theoretical model that can be implemented in a micro, meso and macro level where the concept of “ba” (or ba-sho) assumes the form of a digital platform where knowledge sharing is in motion and dynamically interacts with the knowledge creation.

Originality/value

By discussing the intertwining of knowledge creation and sharing in OI context along with digital trends (e.g. platform innovation ecosystems and platform innovation management), the study offers a new conceptual framework that relies on such intertwining accompanied by the concept of “ba – sho.” In this vein, research limits and new research are suggested to demonstrate and support this conceptual study.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2020

Xing Wan, Nianxin Wang and Ben Shaw-Ching Liu

This study takes the cinema industry as the research context and investigates the impact of online to offline (O2O) platforms on cinemas' performance. Specifically, the purposes…

Abstract

Purpose

This study takes the cinema industry as the research context and investigates the impact of online to offline (O2O) platforms on cinemas' performance. Specifically, the purposes of this paper are threefold: first, to study the influence of platform multihoming on cinemas' performance; second, to examine the interaction impact of platform multihoming and vertical integration; third, to investigate how the influence of platform multihoming varies with cinemas' performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collects data from 1918 cinemas in China, employs quantile regressions to estimate the model and test the proposed hypotheses and adopts an instrumental variable method to examine the robustness of our results.

Findings

The findings confirm the positive role of platform multihoming for cinemas' performance. However, when a cinema has low-degree platform multihoming, the cinema's vertical integration is positively associated with its performance; when a cinema has high-degree platform multihoming, the cinema's vertical integration is negatively associated with its performance. Furthermore, results from quantile regressions indicate that low-performance cinemas benefit more than high-performance cinemas from employing platform multihoming strategy.

Research limitations/implications

This paper extends previous research by investigating the impact of platform multihoming on heterogeneous firms and the impact of interaction between platform multihoming and vertical integration. The findings imply that the impact of platform multihoming on firms' performance depends on firms' performance attributes and their vertical relationships.

Practical implications

Platform multihoming can be a double-edged sword for local service firms. When multihoming platforms, a local service firm should think about the fit between platforms and its own attributes, and identify the potential conflict between platform relationships and traditional relationships of industrial organization.

Originality/value

There is a growing interest in understanding platforms' role in the digital economy. The impact of platform participation on local service firms' performance is not sufficiently investigated. Previous research rarely addressed the impact by incorporating local service firms' performance attributes and the existing relationships of industrial organization.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 October 2023

Ling Zhang, Nan Feng, Haiyang Feng and Minqiang Li

For an entrant platform in the on-demand service market, choosing an appropriate employment model is critical. This study explores how the entrant optimally chooses the employment…

Abstract

Purpose

For an entrant platform in the on-demand service market, choosing an appropriate employment model is critical. This study explores how the entrant optimally chooses the employment model to achieve better performance and investigates the optimal pricing strategies and wage schemes for both incumbent and entrant platforms.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the Hotelling model, the authors develop a game-theoretic framework to study the incumbent's and entrant's optimal service prices and wage schemes. Moreover, the authors determine the entrant's optimal employment model by comparing the entrant's optimal profits under different market configurations and analytically analyze the impacts of some critical factors on the platforms' decision-making.

Findings

This study reveals that the impacts of the unit misfit cost of suppliers or consumers on the pricing strategies and wage schemes vary with different operational efficiencies of platforms. Only when both the service efficiency of contractors and the basic employee benefits are low, entrants should adopt the employee model. Moreover, a lower unit misfit cost of suppliers or consumers makes entrants more likely to choose the contractor model. However, the service efficiency of contractors has nonmonotonic effects on the entrant's decision.

Originality/value

This study focuses on an entrant's decision on the optimal employment model in an on-demand service market, considering the competition between entrants and incumbents on both the supplier and consumer sides, which has not been investigated in the prior literature.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 124 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Feng Yang, Jingyi Peng and Zihao Zhang

This paper aims to explore the promotion decisions of heterogeneous sellers on a decentralized platform under competitive conditions and analyze how seller behaviors impact…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the promotion decisions of heterogeneous sellers on a decentralized platform under competitive conditions and analyze how seller behaviors impact platform profit, seller revenue, buyer surplus and social welfare.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper considers a Cournot model consisting of a platform charging a commission rate and two sellers with different conversion rates and browsing costs. Promotion efforts by sellers can increase traffic, but they also incur promotion costs for sellers. The sellers decide on promotion effort by weighing these two effects. The authors also explore the equilibrium when the platform charges a fixed usage fee.

Findings

The seller’s profit improves as its conversion rate increases and worsens as browsing costs increase. Also, increasing the commission rate charged by the platform makes the seller invest less in promotional efforts. Therefore, the platform must consider this trade-off to determine an optimal rate. The analysis shows that the seller with a high conversion rate and high browsing cost plays a greater role in generating more overall revenue. When the market favors such a seller, the platform tends to charge less in order not to impair its profitability.

Originality/value

This paper incorporates conversion rate, buyer’s browsing cost, unit promotion cost and the fee charged by the platform into the model to study sellers’ promotion decisions on decentralized platforms.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

Keywords

1 – 10 of 122