Transformation and Sustainability of Digital Platforms and Ecosystems: A Multidisciplinary Exploration

ABSTRACT

This special issue focuses on the dynamics of digital platforms and ecosystems and the critical aspects of transformation and sustainability. Digital ecosystems, characterized as technology-enabled communities, have garnered significant attention across various disciplines, including biology, engineering, management, and organization studies. This editorial provides an overview of the current understanding of digital ecosystems, emphasizing the complex interplay between individual, organizational, and networked entities. Despite abundant research on digital ecosystems, questions regarding the functioning, governance, development, growth, and members’ relationships persist. We believe these underexplored questions have direct implications for electronic commerce (e-commerce). This connection underscores the relevance of the issue’s insights for advancing the field of electronic commerce, addressing relevant questions, and opening new avenues for research and practice in the digital marketplace.

KEY WORDS AND PHRASES:

• Digital platforms
• digital ecosystems
• multidisciplinary
• organizational transformation
• sustainability
• innovation
• ecosystem governance
• digital transformation
• coopetition
• emerging technologies

Introduction

Digital ecosystems have become a focal point of research, marked by a surge in interest from both scientific and business communities [17, 18, 37]. As Jacobides et al. [16] defined, the intricate network of affiliated actors forms the foundation of these ecosystems, highlighting interdependencies and collaborations that transcend organizational connections. While studies acknowledge the nonhierarchical nature of ecosystems, questions remain regarding the rules governing membership and relationships [24].

Perspectives from engineering, management, and organization studies underscore the multidisciplinary nature of digital ecosystems. From an engineering standpoint, digital platforms and ecosystems are considered technical artifacts, with modular architectures facilitating collective actions and collaboration [5]. In the managerial domain, these ecosystems afford business models, strategies, and value co-creation, emphasizing network externalities [13]. Meanwhile, organization studies shed light on environments fostering innovation, influenced by networked externalities and governance practices [8].

Despite substantial progress in understanding digital ecosystems, important questions regarding the functioning, governance, development, growth, and actors’ relationships persist [4]. This special issue seeks to address these gaps in knowledge and explore methods for assessing the functioning and governance of these organizational structures, which are highly relevant for understanding the latest technological and organizational evolution in electronic commerce theory and practice. A range of research topics is proposed, encompassing organizational, social, and environmental implications, value co-creation, coopetition, strategies for effective management, behaviors, and usage patterns, transformational impacts, knowledge, learning, and continuous innovation with a particular emphasis on digital transformation, consumer behaviors, governance and regulation, ethical issues, and emerging technologies, all of which are crucial for advancing the field of electronic commerce.

Challenges and Trends

Recent research identifies multifaceted challenges in digital platform ecosystems, spanning technology, business, and regulation. Key issues include heterogeneous data handling, privacy, and security; sustainability; ecosystem value co-creation; market dominance effects; and ensuring fair competition on digital platforms [11, 19, 34] while being in the era of generative digital technology and examining its role in shaping digital markets [21]. Now, organizations and companies are developing corporate digital responsibility (CDR) strategies (i.e., shared values and norms regarding the creation and operation of digital technology and data [39]. CDR strategies are directly linked with responsible digitization and digital transformation concepts [1, 25, 26] and their role in more sustainable societies in a shared (digital) future.

The future of digital platform ecosystems is poised to be shaped by several key trends and developments, reflecting the ongoing evolution in technology, business models, regulatory landscapes, and user expectations [29, 35]. Here are some of the anticipated directions:

• Increased regulation and oversight: As digital platforms become more integral to economic and social activities, governments worldwide will likely introduce more regulations, raising the need for revised regulatory frameworks and industry standards. These could address issues like data privacy, competition, content moderation, and cybersecurity, aiming to protect consumers and ensure fair competition [30, 32, 43].

• Integration and interoperability: Future digital platforms may emphasize seamless integration and interoperability across different services and ecosystems. This could enable a more cohesive user experience and facilitate the creation of comprehensive digital environments that cater to a wide range of needs [9].

• Collaborative ecosystems: Future ecosystems might emphasize collaboration over competition, with platforms, startups, and traditional businesses working together to create value. This could involve open innovation models, shared infrastructure, and cross-platform integrations [33, 40, 42].

• Sustainability and ethical considerations: As awareness of environmental and social issues grows, digital platforms will likely face increased pressure to operate sustainably and ethically. This could involve reducing carbon footprints, ensuring ethical artificial intelligence (AI) use, and addressing digital divide concerns to make technology accessible to all [28]. Thus, organizations are going beyond their traditional corporate social responsibility strategies and are developing their CDR strategies [39].

• Evolving business models: The monetization strategies of digital platforms will continue to evolve, potentially moving beyond advertising and subscription models to include tokenization, microtransactions, and innovative use of data [7, 15, 36]. Disruptive business models should allow the generation of shared or co-created values, as they can benefit all stakeholders involved in digital transformation.

• Globalization versus localization: While digital platforms will continue to expand globally, there will also be a push for localization to cater to specific regional, cultural, and legal requirements. This balance between global reach and local relevance will be crucial for platforms aiming to expand their user base and comply with local regulations [22, 23].

• Customization and personalization: Platforms will likely leverage data analytics and AI to offer highly customized and personalized experiences. This could improve user engagement and satisfaction but will also require careful navigation of privacy concerns and ethical considerations [14, 20].

• Data management and quality: Managing vast amounts of data and ensuring their quality, accuracy, and timeliness for decision making and operations is a significant challenge involving several key aspects such as data governance, data quality management, data integration, data architecture, and storage, data privacy and security, data analytics, and quality assurance [2, 3, 12, 41].

• Advancements in technology: Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are expected to drive significant changes in digital platform ecosystems. AI and machine learning could offer more personalized and efficient services, blockchain might enhance security and transparency, and IoT could enable more interconnected services [6, 10, 27, 31, 38].

As digital platform ecosystems evolve, they will become more integrated into everyday life, transforming how we work, socialize, and consume services. The trajectory of these ecosystems will depend on how well they navigate the challenges of innovation, regulation, and ethical considerations in the coming years.

The Special Issue

This special issue serves as a forum for scholars to address some of the challenges just described and share recent findings on digital platforms and ecosystems, emphasizing digital transformation and sustainability. As the digital landscape evolves, this multidisciplinary exploration will contribute valuable insights, addressing current challenges and paving the way for future research in this dynamic field. The studies proposed in this special issue offer technological, strategic, and governance solutions to address challenges and trends.

The articles in this special issue titled “Transformation and Sustainability of Digital Platforms and Ecosystems” propose an in-depth analysis of digital platform ecosystems theories and practices, analyzing the phenomenon from a variety of empirical contexts and theoretical lenses.

The article “Challenges to Co-Creating Value on Nascent Platform Ecosystems: Gaps Between Theory and Practice,” authored by Florian Hawlitschek and Daniel Hodapp, provides a research framework and agenda to guide future theoretical work and offers valuable insights for impactful management strategies in emerging platform ecosystems. It explores the challenges and failures in nascent digital platform ecosystems, focusing on the Internet of Things (IoT). While digital platforms have thrived in recent years, platform ventures in IoT are still in their early stages and experiencing high failure rates. The study conducts a comprehensive literature review using the lens of service innovation, identifying gaps between academic research and practical interests through a Delphi study with 21 IoT experts. Five critical gaps are highlighted, including concerns about lock-in, dominant platforms, trust, partner selection, and a common language.

Divya Sharma, Neetu Yadav, Yogesh Dwivedi, and Mihalis Giannakis, in their article “Digital Transformation of Incumbent Pipeline Firms Through Platformization,” emphasize the operationalization of value creation and extraction through e-business strategies, contributing insights to e-business literature and discussing implications on commerce, collaboration, communication, connection, and computing dimensions. The study addresses the transition from linear value chains to network-centric digital platforms due to technological advancements. It explores enablers for traditional firms to embrace platformization, identifying nine factors like changing client behavior and disruptive forces. Through case studies and modified total interpretive structural modeling, a five-level hierarchical model reveals interrelationships among triggers, external and internal enablers, process factors, and outcomes.

The article “Impact of Campaign Bundling on the Success of Donation-Based Crowdfunding,” authored by Bright Frimpong, Emmanuel Ayaburi, Francis Andoh-Baidoo, Xuan Wang, and Nan Xiao, contributes to understanding bundling, credible reputation, and collaborative fundraising on digital platforms, offering valuable insights for practitioners in a dynamic market: donation-based crowdfunding campaigns. This study explores the impact of bundling campaigns based on ideology or product type. It distinguishes between project bundling (collaborating with similar projects) and ideological bundling (collaborating with external entities) and examines their relationships with campaign success. Based on data from Mchanga.com, the analysis reveals that project bundling positively influences campaign success, while ideological bundling has a negative effect.

The last two articles explore concrete case studies, shedding light on the industrial perspective. Stefano Za, Alessandra Lazazzara, and Jessie Pallud wrote a paper titled “Too Much Is Never Enough: An Analysis of Smart Device Purchase Intention,” advancing in both literature and practice on the continuance and purchase intentions of further smart devices due to the influence of personal digital ecosystems. This study explores the willingness to acquire additional smart devices to enrich personal digital ecosystems, focusing on the influence of information systems (IS) continuance intention and media system dependency in shaping the purchase intention of further smart devices. Grounded in assemblage theory, the research considers satisfaction and the number of owned devices as potential moderators. The study analyzes 400 smart device users and reveals a positive relationship between continuance intention, dependency, and purchase intention. Notably, when users own numerous devices, the link between continuance intention and purchase intention is notably stronger, with low satisfaction levels highlighting the risk of technology addiction.

The article “Building a Blockchain-Based Platform for Interbank Collaboration,” authored by Esli Spahiu, Augusto Sposito, and Paolo Spagnoletti, explains a paradigmatic example of the adoption of blockchain in the financial sector. The research contributes a process model outlining actions in each deployment stage for multisided digital platforms. The article focuses on how blockchain technology can foster collaboration in the banking sector, focusing on the collaborative value creation through digital technologies. Despite its benefits, building a blockchain-based platform in the banking sector requires addressing diverse needs and adapting to decentralized governance. This article investigates the successful development of such a platform, focusing on the Spunta Banca DLT project that automated data exchanges and transactions for interbank reconciliation among all Italian banks. Through qualitative analysis of interview data, the study details deployment activities and practices, framing blockchain-based interbank collaboration as a legitimacy-building problem.

In conclusion, this special issue on “Transformation and Sustainability of Digital Platforms and Ecosystems” constitutes a forum that addresses the challenges faced by digital ecosystems and explores the role of digital transformation and sustainability from various empirical settings and theoretical lenses. Combining scholarly insights and empirical research offers a comprehensive view of the mechanisms, strategies, and innovations necessary to foster resilient and sustainable digital ecosystems. This collaborative effort enhances our understanding and shapes the digital platform’s future, setting a foundation for ongoing exploration and innovation in this dynamic and ever-evolving field.

We believe that this special issue is particularly relevant for readers of the International Journal of Electronic Commerce since it contains cutting-edge research and developments in digital transformation and sustainability that are crucial for the future of e-commerce. It encourages interdisciplinary dialogue and research, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing e-commerce today and in the future. This issue enriches the academic discourse and provides practical insights for industry professionals aiming to innovate and sustain in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Roberta Cuel

Roberta cuel, Ph.D. ([email protected]; corresponding author), is an associate professor of business organization and human resource management at the Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Italy. She teaches organizational behavior and human resource management, knowledge management, information systems, and service science courses. Dr. Cuel is President of the Committee for Equal Opportunities, Well-being at Work, and Against Discriminations (CUG) of the University of Trento, and coordinates the European Master in Business Studies (EMBS), a joint initiative among four European universities. She has been a visiting professor at the Karlsruhe Service Research Institute of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, and Kassel University, Germany. Dr. Cuel’s research explores the interplay between technology and organizational structures, focusing on human behaviors and knowledge, digital transformation, and the evolving nature of work in the digital era. She is the author of numerous publications on corporate knowledge management, sociotechnical systems, ecosystems, and the impact of technology on work, routines and practices, teams, and communities.

Federica Ceci

Federica ceci, Ph.D. ([email protected]), is a full professor at the University G.d’Annunzio, an adjunct professor at LUISS Guido Carli University, both in Italy, and a visiting professor at the University of Sussex (UK). She coordinates the Ph.D. program in accounting, business, and business economics at the University G.d’Annunzio. Dr. Ceci teaches digital innovation and organization in the undergraduate program, corporate and university master courses, and in Ph.D. programs. Her research interests focus on the theory of the firm, management of innovation, the role of personal relationships and cultural values in enabling and diffusing innovation, the analysis of managerial implications of digitalization of organizational process, the dynamics and organizational characteristics of the deep web, and innovation in data ecosystems. She is the author of numerous publications in such journals as Research Policy, European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Frontiers, Industrial and Corporate Change, Journal of International Management, and Industry & Innovation.

Ilias Pappas

Ilias o. pappas ([email protected]) is a professor of information systems in the Department of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the Department of Information Systems, University of Agder, Norway. His current research activities are within the area of human-centered AI. Dr. Pappas has been actively working in the areas of data science and digital transformation, social innovation and social change, user experience in different contexts, digital marketing, e-services, and information technology adoption. He has a key interest in fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) applications. He has published more than 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, including the European Journal of Information Systems, Human Relations, British Journal of Management, European Journal of Marketing, Information & Management, Journal of Business Research, Psychology & Marketing, International Journal of Information Management, and Journal of Systems and Software. Dr. Pappas has been a guest editor for multiple journals, an associate editor for several information systems journals, and is an ERCIM “Alain Bensoussan” and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow.

P. K. Senyo

P. K. Senyo ([email protected]) is an associate professor in fintech and information systems at the Department of Decision Analytics and Risk, Southampton Business School. Dr. Senyo’s main research interests include fintech, artificial intelligence, platform ecosystems, and digital transformation. His research has been published in such journals as European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, and British Journal of Management. He is an associate editor for European Journal of Information Systems and a senior editor for Information Technology and People.