The Future of Digital Platform Design - The Case of the EU Platform Regulation Discourse

2023 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 1

Authors: Heimburg, Vincent; Schmitt, Julian; Wiesche, Manuel

Abstract: Digital platform research focuses on the mechanisms in digital platform ecosyst ... Expand

Abstract: Digital platform research focuses on the mechanisms in digital platform ecosystems and the dynamics between platform owners, complementors, and end-users. Recent studies are beginning to look beyond the boundaries of narrow platform ecosystems. The development of the European Union's DigitalMarkets Act (DMA) is a revelatory case to study this wider perspective. Hundreds of actors participated in discourses on the regulation, which aims to regulate so-called gatekeeper platforms that are allegedly powerful, unfair to platform users, and incontestable for competitors. By means of a critical discourse analysis, we coded 1720 contributions on the proposed and adopted DMA between June 2020 and July 2022. We identify 72 positions and 14 narratives along five discourses. Our study creates a better understanding of a wider perspective of platform ecosystem structure that goes beyond the triangle of platform owner, complementors, and end users. Collapse

Topics: digital ecosystem closed platform value creation participatory design electronic market

Methods: qualitative coding design methodology qualitative content analysis memoing grounded theory

Jailbreaking in closed two-sided platforms

2023 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Liu, Yunhao; Feng, Gengzhong; Sun, Yangyang; Kong, Xiangyin

Abstract: Jailbreaking, which refers to security-cracking behavior targeted at systems, th ... Expand

Abstract: Jailbreaking, which refers to security-cracking behavior targeted at systems, threatens closed two-sided plat­ forms. By allowing customers to access unauthorised content freely, jailbreaking may hurt developers’ enthu­ siasm and have complicated influences on the platform’s profit. We develop an analytical model to investigate jailbreaking’s influence on closed platforms. The findings reveal that platforms will tolerate jailbreaking only when the customers’ utility suffers a slight decline after jailbreaking. We also prove that jailbreaking hurts the closed platform’s profit. However, when bringing adequate additional benefits for customers beyond free con­ tent, jailbreaking can raise the platform’s profit. Our results are qualitatively tested in several scenarios. Collapse

Topics: network effect price management closed platform decision making price discrimination

Methods: experiment mathematical model optimization model reinforcement learning theoretical contribution

Digital Product Architecture and Customer Agility: Evidence from New Digital Ventures

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Sadreddin, Arman; Boroomand, Farzam; Chan, Yolande

Abstract: New digital ventures are transforming the world around us. Born-digital compani ... Expand

Abstract: New digital ventures are transforming the world around us. Born-digital companies (such as Uber) that were initially established to serve a specific market can quickly detect new opportunities in other markets and respond to these opportunities by reassembling their resources with speed and ease. Limited research has investigated how product architecture enables or hinders the ability of the firm to sense customer-related opportunities and respond to them effectively. By examining two new digital ventures, this study sheds light on new digital ventures' customer agility. Specifically, we address how the characteristics of new digital ventures' product architectures facilitate or hinder the development of the customer-sensing and customer-responding capability dimensions of customer agility. We present theoretical and managerial implications regarding how to leverage digital technologies to foster customer agility. Collapse

Topics: digital product Facebook YouTube innovation management digital ecosystem

Methods: case study qualitative interview personal interview experiment theory development

Theories: dynamic capabilities theory

New-Media Advertising and Retail Platform Openness

2022 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Chen, Jianqing; GUO, Zhiling

Abstract: We have recently witnessed two important trends in online retailing: The advent ... Expand

Abstract: We have recently witnessed two important trends in online retailing: The advent of new media (e.g., social media and search engines) has made advertising affordable for small sellers, and large online retailers (e.g., Amazon and JD.com) have opened their platforms to allow even direct competitors to sell on their platforms. We examine how new-media advertising affects retail platform openness. We develop a game-theoretic model in which a leading retailer, who has both valuation and awareness advantages, and a third-party seller, who sells an identical product, engage in price competition. We find that the availability of relatively low-cost advertising through new media plays a critical role in influencing the leading retailer to open its platform and to form a partnership with the third-party seller, which is impossible when the cost of advertising is relatively high. Low-cost advertising can increase consumer surplus either directly via the third-party seller’s advertising or indirectly via the partnership on the leading retailer’s platform. We also find that the leading retailer has a greater incentive to open its platform and that the partnership is more likely to be formed when there are network effects, when the leading retailer can control the third-party seller’s exposure on its platform, or when the leading retailer can offer a direct advertising service to the third-party seller. Meanwhile, the constraint on the third-party seller’s advertising budget can reduce the leading retailer’s incentive to open its platform, making a partnership less likely. Our analysis offers important insights into the underlying economic incentives that help explain the emerging open retail platform trend in the era of new-media advertising. Collapse

Topics: advertising management consumer surplus network effect IS economics product differentiation

Theories: game theory

Digital Product Architecture and Customer Agility: Evidence from New Digital Ventures

2022 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 1

Authors: Sadreddin, Arman; Boroomand, Farzam; Chan, Yolande

Abstract: New digital ventures are transforming the world around us. Born-digital compani ... Expand

Abstract: New digital ventures are transforming the world around us. Born-digital companies (such as Uber) that were initially established to serve a specific market can quickly detect new opportunities in other markets and respond to these opportunities by reassembling their resources with speed and ease. Limited research has investigated how product architecture enables or hinders the ability of the firm to sense customer-related opportunities and respond to them effectively. By examining two new digital ventures, this study sheds light on new digital ventures' customer agility. Specifically, we address how the characteristics of new digital ventures' product architectures facilitate or hinder the development of the customer-sensing and customer-responding capability dimensions of customer agility. We present theoretical and managerial implications regarding how to leverage digital technologies to foster customer agility. Collapse

Topics: digital product Facebook YouTube innovation management digital ecosystem

Methods: case study qualitative interview personal interview experiment theory development

Theories: theory of affordance dynamic capabilities theory

Multi-sided platforms in competitive B2B networks with varying governmental influence – a taxonomy of Port and Cargo Community System business models

2022 | Electronic Markets | Citations: 0

Authors: Tessmann, Ruben; Elbert, Ralf

Abstract: Our knowledge on differences in business model characteristics of thriving and f ... Expand

Abstract: Our knowledge on differences in business model characteristics of thriving and failing Multi-Sided Platforms in competitive B2B networks (B2B-MSP) and potential influences of increasing governmental involvement remains fragmented. This study develops a taxonomy to classify special B2B-MSP with varying governmental influence in the supply chain and transportation context, viz. Port and Cargo Community Systems (CS). Based on the classification of 44 international CS, we identify four archetypes using cluster analysis. The taxonomy provides practitioners with a differentiated view on the configuration options of CS business models including the involvement of governmental institutions, while the presented archetypes contribute an aggregated view of CS business models. The statistical analysis of our results provides initial explanatory approaches on CS business model dimension interdependencies, thereby laying the basis for a deeper understanding of sectoral and geographic differences of B2B-MSP and their diffusion dynamics as well as facilitating a higher contextualization of future research. Collapse

Topics: business model business-to-business data governance analytical information system digital business model

Methods: cluster analysis data imputation literature study hierarchical clustering decision tree classification

Spillover Effect of Consumer Awareness on Third Parties’ Selling Strategies and Retailers’ Platform Openness

2021 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Song, Wen; Chen, Jianqing; Li, Wenli

Abstract: In this study, we explore why an online retailer would open its platform and why ... Expand

Abstract: In this study, we explore why an online retailer would open its platform and why a third-party seller would join the platform when the third party carries products identical to those the retailer sells as well as products the retailer does not carry. When the third party joins the retailer’s platform, more consumers become aware of the third party’s existence and, thus, might become aware of the products it does not list on the retailer’s platform (e.g., by searching the seller brand online), which is called the spillover effect. We develop a game-theoretic model to first examine the spillover effect on the third-party seller’s product offering on the retailer’s platform under an exogenous commission rate and then examine the effect on the retailer’s platform-openness decision. We find that the third party’s optimal selling strategies vary with its initial awareness level, the extent of the spillover effect, and the commission rate. Furthermore, we characterize how the initial awareness level and the extent of the spillover effect together determine the retailer’s openness decision and equilibrium selling partnership. When the spillover effect is mild, the retailer opens its platform and the third-party seller sells its exclusive product on the platform. When the spillover effect is salient, if the retailer has a large awareness advantage over the third party, the retailer has no incentive to open; otherwise, the retailer opens its platform and the third party sells the identical product on the platform. Finally, we find that, compared with the case without a spillover effect, the spillover effect makes the retailer less likely to open its platform, but it makes the third party more likely to sell identical products on an open retailer platform; the spillover effect always (weakly) benefits the third party, but it does not necessarily hurt the retailer. Collapse

Topics: electronic commerce anonymity closed platform digital platform price management

Theories: game theory

Video Killed the Radio Star? Online Music Videos and Recorded Music Sales

2020 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 12

Authors: Kretschmer, Tobias; Peukert, Christian

Abstract: We study the heterogeneous effects of online video platforms on the sales volume ... Expand

Abstract: We study the heterogeneous effects of online video platforms on the sales volume and sales distribution of recorded music. Identification comes from two natural experiments in Germany. In 2009, virtually all music videos were blocked from YouTube as a result of a legal dispute. In 2013, the dedicated platform Vevo entered the market, making videos of a large number of artists available overnight. Our estimates suggest that restricting (enabling) access to online videos decreases (increases) recorded music sales on average by about 5%–10%. We show that the effect operates independently of the nature of video content, suggesting that user-generated content is as effective as official content. Moreover, we highlight heterogeneity in this effect: online music videos disproportionally benefit sales of new artists and sales of mainstream music. Collapse

Topics: YouTube digital service video streaming service digital platform closed platform

Methods: experiment experimental group natural experiment descriptive statistic longitudinal research

Open Versus Closed? Mobile Phone Platform Openness in B2B Secondary Market Auctions

2019 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Alhauli, Abdullah; Gopal, Anandasivam; Elmaghraby, Wedad

Abstract: Mobile phones are popular products in secondary markets, but tend to carry resid ... Expand

Abstract: Mobile phones are popular products in secondary markets, but tend to carry residual quality uncertainty from their first life. This uncertainty reduces their prices in secondary market auctions, where bidders face an adverse selection problem. We, thus, examine how the open versus closed status of mobile phones affects their final prices, with a view to estimating the costs of jailbreaking in this market. We also study how final prices are affected when no information on the status of the devices is provided. We find that bidders bid lower for open phones when there is a risk of jailbreaking. However, when this uncertainty is removed, prices reflect those seen in the primary market. Our work has significant implications for secondary market auctioneers and mobile device makers, in terms of enhancing the efficiency of secondary markets. We also contribute to the literature on platforms by studying the tradeoffs inherent in platforms openness. Collapse

Topics: Apple iPhone business-to-business willingness to pay mobile system mobile phone

Methods: econometric modeling quasi experiment difference in differences longitudinal research instrumental variables estimation

An Analysis of the Cause of Privacy Paradox among SNS Users: take Chinese College Students as an Example

2019 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Menghong, Han; Siqi, Shen; Yuexin, Zhou; Zebing, Xu; Tianyue, Miao; Jiayin, Qi

Abstract: It has been proved that the privacy paradox does exist, yet the cause of the phe ... Expand

Abstract: It has been proved that the privacy paradox does exist, yet the cause of the phenomenon remains vague. This article tries to analyze the cause of privacy paradox phenomenon on SNS (WeChat) among Chinese college students based on Privacy Calculus Theory and the TPB model and introduces two new factors: the credibility of SNS and the cost of protecting privacy. Through a questionnaire and interview survey, our result shows that there is no significant correlation between users’ privacy concerns and the intention of privacy disclosure. While the more users trust the SNS platform, the more possibility they tend to disclose their private information, and the cost of privacy protection can somehow weaken the relationship between the intention and the actual behavior. Therefore, by increasing SNS's credibility, users tend to disclose more personal information to SNS providers, which may improve the competitiveness of SNSs and contribute to their sustainable development. Collapse

Topics: privacy information privacy concern WeChat Facebook Twitter

Methods: survey data transformation statistical hypothesis test descriptive statistic factor analysis

Theories: theory of planned behavior privacy calculus theory