Original title: Digital platform ecosystems
A traditional company usually creates products within its own walls or through a supply chain. A digital platform relies on independent partners, called complementors, to help create value. This article brings together research to define digital platforms and their wider ecosystems. It explains how ecosystems differ by who owns the platform, how they create value, and how freely partners can act.
Imagine a neighborhood potluck where everyone brings a dish. It is hard to decide who sets the rules, how the meal comes together, and how much freedom each cook has. In this paper, the potluck host stands for platform ownership, the shared meal for value creation, and each cook’s freedom for complementor autonomy.
Platforms shape how people access and provide digital products and services, while challenging traditional firms. Understanding who owns a platform, how value is created, and how much freedom partners have helps explain why platforms work differently from ordinary companies.
The abstract describes a synthesis and framework, not an empirical test of how specific platforms perform. It does not provide examples, measures, or evidence that one ownership model or level of partner autonomy produces better outcomes.
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Digital platform ecosystems — Andreas Hein, Maximilian Schreieck, Tobias Riasanow et al. — Electronic Markets — doi:10.1007/s12525-019-00377-4
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.