Unpaid crowd complementors: The platform network effect mirage

Boudreau, Kevin; Jeppesen, Lars Bo

doi:10.1002/smj.2324

Cited by 303 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(128 reference statements)

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“…Following Gregoire et al (2009), we assume that a technology can exist independent from commercial outcomes. This means that our theory acknowledges that some complementors produce technologies for platform ecosystems without initially intending to profit from their technology (Boudreau & Jeppesen, 2015). Importantly, our definition of technology does not necessarily imply novelty.…”

Section: Mechanism Of Commercializationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Interestingly, he also found that adding developers within a particular software genre tended to be associated with lower rates of new versions of existing titles being generated, or a "crowding out" of innovation incentives (Boudreau, 2012). In related platform ecosystem work, Boudreau and Jeppesen (2015) studied development rates of full-conversion modifications ("mods") built on online multiplayer first-person shooter game platforms. These development rates existed in the absence of financial incentives because the mod complementors were restricted by license from charging users.…”

Section: Scholars Have Noted That Platform Owners Can Employ Various mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecosystems provide an opportunity for complementors to receive information regarding the commercial viability about technologies they have created. In the case of software, it has been shown that some complementors create and distribute add-ons or standalone programs in the absence of any commercial intent (Boudreau & Jeppesen, 2015;Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006;Liao-Troth & Griffith, 2002 ;Takeyama, 1994). Indeed, offering free software has been taking place for some time within the software industry as part of shareware or freeware modes of distribution (Liao-Troth & Griffith, 2002;Takeyama, 1994).…”

Section: Product Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, we examine how entrepreneurship is fostered in open innovation platform ecosystems. Platforms are products or services that function as foundations upon which others-termed complementorscan build complementary products, services, or technologies (Boudreau & Jeppesen, 2015;Gawer, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Often, platforms turn to open business models to access the innovations generated by these complementors (Vanhaverbeke & Chesbrough, 2014). Complementors contribute to these ecosystems for various reasons, which may or may not relate to financial gain (Boudreau & Jeppesen, 2015;Hilkert, Benlian, & Hess, 2010;Jeppesen & Frederiksen, 2006). However, complementors' inability to create a sustainable business model could undermine the success of the overall ecosystem (West, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Open innovation, information, and entrepreneurship within platform ecosystems

Eckhardt

Ciuchta

Carpenter

2018

Strategic Entrepreneurship

144

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Research Summary Companies sponsor platform ecosystems as an open innovation strategy to encourage complementors to develop complementary products, services, or technologies that can add value to the platform ecosystem. In this study, we develop and test an information‐based theory of entrepreneurial activity within platform ecosystems. We postulate that ecosystems produce different types of information—a subset of which will foster entrepreneurship in the form of the commercialization of complementary products that were previously released for free. Our results indicate that product‐specific information is associated with commercialization, but we fail to detect a relationship between market information and subsequent commercialization activity. Managerial Summary The digital economy has led to a proliferation of platform ecosystems that harness external innovation. These ecosystems rely on complementors who enhance the value of platforms by creating complementary technologies. Hence, complementors' commercial viability is important. One such type of ecosystem is an app store, which enables complementors to introduce software that improves the platform product. App stores exist for a variety of software platforms, ranging from mobile phone operating systems (iOS and Android) to electronic medical record systems (Epic and Cerner). In this research, we find that complementors who introduce a free version of a mobile app are more likely to commercialize their app in response to specific types of information and platform designers should manage information in their platforms to foster platform viability.

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Section: Mechanism Of Commercializationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Scholars Have Noted That Platform Owners Can Employ Various mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Product Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Open innovation, information, and entrepreneurship within platform ecosystems

Eckhardt

Ciuchta

Carpenter

2018

Strategic Entrepreneurship

144

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Platforms without borders? The international strategies of digital platform firms

Stallkamp

Schotter

2019

Global Strategy Journal

241

159

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Research Summary: Digitalization has enabled firms with so‐called platform business models to emerge in many sectors of the economy. By facilitating transactions between different groups of users (e.g., buyers and sellers), platform firms are disrupting industries around the world. However, little is known about the international strategies of platform firms, as research has mostly examined platforms in single‐country contexts. We address this gap by integrating insights from platform research in strategy and economics—specifically the notion of network externalities—with internalization theory. We extend the existing typology of network externalities by distinguishing between within‐country and cross‐country network externalities. We derive testable propositions regarding the foreign entry modes of platform firms, their international strategic posture (multidomestic vs. globally integrated), as well as foreign market selection criteria and market exit. Managerial Summary: Many companies in the digital economy operate platform business models, which create value by connecting different groups of users, such as buyers and sellers. We examine how network externalities—the notion that a platform becomes more valuable to each user as more users join—influence the international expansion of these firms. We show that it is important to consider the geographic scope of network externalities, that is, whether network externalities operate across national borders or whether platform firms have to create separate user networks in each country. The distinction between within‐country and cross‐country network externalities affects key internationalization decisions, such as how to enter foreign markets, whether to pursue multidomestic or global strategies, how to select foreign markets, and when to exit from a foreign market.

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Understanding the intention to buy secondhand clothing on sharing economy platforms: The influence of sustainability, distance from the consumption system, and economic motivations

Styvén

Mariani

2020

Psychology and Marketing

117

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Sharing economy (SE) platforms are increasingly providing an effective means of connecting providers and users of secondhand goods. While media seem to emphasize that the trend of selling/buying secondhand has been growing due to the consolidation and development of peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing platforms, a comprehensive identification of the antecedents of buying secondhand on SE platforms is virtually missing. This study addresses this gap by (a) identifying different sets of motivations and attitudes leading consumers to adopt SE platforms for secondhand buying and (b) testing a model on a sample of UK consumers in the context of P2P sharing platforms for secondhand clothing. This study reveals that there are three major antecedents of consumers' attitude towards buying secondhand clothes on P2P-SE platforms: perceived sustainability, economic motivations, and taking a distance from the consumption system. Perceived sustainability and economic motivations influence positively attitude toward buying secondhand, as well as motivations in the form of distance from the consumption system. Attitude toward buying secondhand is positively influenced also by distance from the system and, in turn, has a strong positive influence on behavioral intention to buy secondhand clothes. Moreover, past experience of buying secondhand online has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between perceived sustainability and distance from the consumption system.

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Unpaid crowd complementors: The platform network effect mirage

Cited by 303 publications

References 83 publications

Open innovation, information, and entrepreneurship within platform ecosystems

Open innovation, information, and entrepreneurship within platform ecosystems

Platforms without borders? The international strategies of digital platform firms

Understanding the intention to buy secondhand clothing on sharing economy platforms: The influence of sustainability, distance from the consumption system, and economic motivations

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