Resellers – Key to the long tail conquest : A case study of How to create value for resellers participating in electric vehicle charging platform ecosystems

The recent rapid increase of electric vehicles on the roads poses a challenge: how to expand the charging infrastructure at the same pace? While governmental bodies incentivize EV purchases and impose restrictions on internal combustion engine vehicles, the demand for public and privately owned charging infrastructure is surging. A colorful set of EV charging companies are all facing the same challenges with their expansion plans, and reseller models just might provide relief to this burning problem. The aim of this study is to: 1) build understanding of electric vehicle (EV) charging platform eco- system roles; 2) define the role of a reseller; 3) apply the implications of EV charging platform context to the value creation for the resellers participating in the platform; 4) to explain the value creation mechanisms of the case company for their resellers. The study combines two major research streams, platform ecosystems and value creation, with the specific context of an EV charging platform. The empirical data was collected with 14 semi-structured interviews with the case company representatives and the reseller partners of the focal firm. The data was analyzed using Gioia methodology, and the abductive process included transcribing the interviews, coding, and thematically categorizing the data. Finally, the results were compared to previous body of knowledge on platform ecosystems, EV charging networks, and value creation in an iterative manner to allow emerging theory to form. The key findings expose the role of the reseller within the EV charging platform and explains the contextual implications to the value creation mechanisms of the case platform in relation to the classic value creation notions in the literature. The findings raise intriguing questions regarding the nature and extent of the reseller’s role within an EV charging platform ecosystem and provide interesting basis for further research. The theoretical contribution of this thesis is clarifying the actor roles in the specific architecture of EV charging platform ecosystem, and their implications to the value creation theory. The managerial contributions of the study are useful for assessing an EV charging platform’s value creation mechanisms, and possibly applicable to other platform businesses

Essays on Business Value Creation in Digital Platform Ecosystems

Digital platforms and the surrounding ecosystems have garnered great interest from researchers and practitioners. Notwithstanding this attention, it remains unclear how and when digital platforms create business value for platform owners and complementors. This three-essay dissertation focuses on understanding business value creation in digital platform ecosystems. The first essay reviews and synthesizes literature across disciplines and offers an integrative framework of digital platform business value. Advised by the findings from the review, the second and third essays focus on the value creation for platform complementors. The second essay examines how IT startups entering a platform ecosystem at different times can strategically design their products (i.e., product diversification across platform architectural layers and product differentiation) to gain competitive advantages. Longitudinal evidence from the Hadoop ecosystem demonstrates that product diversification has an inverted U-shaped relationship with complementors success, and such an effect is more salient for earlier entrants than later entrants. Earlier entrants should develop products that are similar to other ecosystem competitors to reduce uncertainty whereas later entrants are advised to explore market niche and differentiate their products.The third essay investigates how platform complementors strategies and products co-evolve over time in the co-created ecosystem network environment. Our longitudinal analysis of the Hadoop ecosystem indicates that complementors technological architecture coverage and alliance exploration strategies increase their product evolution rate. In turn, complementors with faster product evolution are more likely to explore new partners but less likely to cover a wider range of the focal platforms technological layers in subsequent periods. Network density, co-created by all platform complementors, weakens the effects of complementors strategies on their product evolution but amplifies the effects of past product evolutions on strategies.This three-essay dissertation uncovers various understudied competitive strategies in the digital platform context and enriches our understanding of business value creation in digital platform ecosystems

Principles of ecosystem strategy

Strategy scholars and business practitioners alike are increasingly using the ecosystem concept to describe networks of interdependent firms that collaborate and align to offer complementary products and services and collectively contribute to an overarching value proposition. Companies that operate in ecosystems are playing by a different set of strategy rules to navigate these complex, interconnected and dynamic business environments. Accordingly, a whole new stream of literature is emerging, specifically looking at strategic management in the context of ecosystems. Early research in that field has generally taken a static view and examined firm strategy form the perspective of ecosystem leaders, who often exert a disproportionate influence over the ecosystem structure and capture the lion’s share of profits. Less is known about firm strategy from the perspective of ecosystem complementors, who are responsible for a significant share of the co-created value but are often dismissed as passive actors, subject to the whims of the more powerful ecosystem leader. This dissertation addresses this gap through three tightly linked studies. The first study reviews over 250 academic articles from the ecosystem literature and discusses the status quo of research on ecosystem strategy, identifying several blind spots and avenues for future research, among which the almost exclusive attention given to the ecosystem leader perspective at the cost of better understanding complementors’ strategic options. The second study builds upon the first one by taking aim at the burgeoning research on complementor strategy. It analyses this subset of the literature in depth, synthesises our current understanding of complementor strategy, and identifies several theoretical gaps and avenues for further research in that stream. This includes, for example, the question of how complementors can navigate ecosystem change. Finally, the third study specifically addresses this gap by empirically studying how complementors respond to and navigate ecosystem change. To do so, over 40 mobile app developers were interviewed in the context of Apple’s introduction of a new mobile operating system (iOS 14.5) for its iPhone. Together, these studies offer several theoretical and managerial contributions. The central theoretical contribution of this dissertation is to examine the multiple facets of strategic management in ecosystems, both from an ecosystem leader and from a complementor perspective. Specifically, the dissertation highlights how ecosystem members can gain a competitive edge and capture value in hypercompetitive and interconnected value creation systems, thus contributing both to the ecosystem and strategic management literature. Furthermore, my dissertation also uncovers how changes initiated by the ecosystem leader can ripple through an ecosystem and affect complementor performance, thus expanding our current understanding of platform dynamics and highlighting the importance of the dynamic capabilities concept for ecosystem research. Also, by elucidating how complementors adapt to ecosystem change, my dissertation contributes to the literature on business models and business model innovation in the context of ecosystems and platforms. Finally, by comparing and discussing the differences between ecosystem strategy and more established views in the strategic management literature, my dissertation also draws a bridge between seminal strategy work and the new field of ecosystem strategy. The central managerial contribution of this dissertation is to offer strategic insights into how firms (both ecosystem leaders and complementors) can successfully navigate ecosystem change, based on the case study of Apple’s introduction of the ATT framework. Concretely, my study suggests several ways in which ecosystem leaders could minimize disruption and successfully execute platform change, while also highlighting a wide range of strategies complementors have at their disposal to avoid the negative effects of ecosystem dynamics and seize potential opportunities arising in the context of ecosystem disruption

Creation and Control in Business Ecosystems

La plataforma i els ecosistemes representen models cada vegada més ubics per organitzar l’activitat econòmica en sectors empresarial i tecnològic. Aquesta tesi representa un avanç en l’explicació dels fenòmens observats en ecosistemes diferents: programes de màrqueting d’afiliació programari empresarial. L'objectiu empresarial pràctic i global per a cadascun dels ecosistemes és entendre com les empreses centrals de cada àmbit gestionen els esforços de centenars o fins i tot milers de col•laboradors la feina deis quals gira al voltant de la plataforma de l’empresa principal. Aquesta tesi pretén omplir diversos buits de la literatura existent. En primer lloc, les recerques prèvies sobre els límits organitzatius s’han basat principalment en teories aïllades, com l’economia de costos de transacció. En la tesi, complementem aquestes teories amb les teories més recents sobre plataformes i ecosistemes, i oferim més coneixements teòrics i l’ampliació del tema a partir de les nostres observacions empíriques. Suggerim que hi ha una compensació fonamental entre la creativitat i el control central en plataformes o ecosistemes tecnològics. La creativitat sense control pot conduir a una excessiva fragmentació i a una qualitat variable, cosa que podria crear una percepció general de l’ecosistema negativa, i podria afectar la capacitat dels contribuïdors per desenvolupar les seves activitats de manera rendible. A més, hi ha el risc que l’activitat no regulada de tercers parts pugui portar el desenvolupament de l’ecosistema en direccions incompatibles amb la visió del patrocinador central. D’altra banda, uns mecanismes de control excessius o mal dissenyats poden perjudicar la creativitat i la innovació, i també la salut i el creixement de l’ecosistema. En segon lloc, argumentem que la recerca sobre els mecanismes de govern i control està menys desenvolupada o madura que el discurs sobre les fases de creativitat, i cal parar-hi més atenció per entendre aquesta interdependència fonamental entre la creativitat i el control. En tercer lloc, sostenim que les recerques anteriors han tendit a considerar els ecosistemes tecnològics homogenis, i han assumit que la governança és uniforme per a totes les parts. Proposem que cal fer una recerca empírica que adopti un punt de vista més subtil de la governança d’ecosistemes tecnològics, que reconegui que els rols dels participants varien i, encara més important, que la governança ha d’abastar l’heterogeneïtat en tot l’ecosistema, fins i tot en aquells rols semblants. Finalment, una gran part de la literatura existent vinculada a les relacions entre empreses ha tendit a centrar-se o en la creació o en el control, però calen estudis empírics més detallats que tractin sobre la tensió entre aquestes dues forces. Aquesta tesi fa diverses contribucions a la teoria existent, incloses unes importants observacions empíriques en dos ecosistemes empresarials grans i complexos, i el desenvolupament teòric referent als esforços de les empreses principals en aquests ecosistemes per encoratjar la generativitat de terceres parts mantenint un grau de control sobre les seves contribucions a la plataforma central.Las plataformas y los ecosistemas representan modelos cada vez más ubicuos para organizar la actividad económica en sectores empresarial y tecnológico. Esta tesis representa un avance en la explicación de los fenómenos observados en dos ecosistemas distintos: programas de marketing de afiliación y software empresarial. El objetivo empresarial práctico y global para cada uno de los ecosistemas es entender cómo empresas centrales en cada ámbito gestionan los esfuerzos cientos o incluso miles de colaboradores cuyo trabajo gira en torno a la plataforma de la compañía principal. Esta tesis pretende llenar varios vacíos de la literatura existente. En primer lugar, las investigaciones previas sobre los límites organizativos se han basado principalmente en teorías aisladas, como la economía de costes de transacción. En la tesis, complementamos estas teorías con las teorías más recientes sobre plataformas y ecosistemas, y ofrecemos más nociones teóricas y la ampliación del tema basándonos en nuestras observaciones empíricas. Sugerimos que existe una compensación fundamental entre la creatividad y el control central en plataformas o ecosistemas tecnológicos. La creatividad sin control puede llevar a una fragmentación excesiva y a una calidad variable, lo que podría crear una percepción general del ecosistema negativa, y podría afectar la capacidad de los contribuidores para desarrollar sus actividades de manera rentable. Además, existe el riesgo de que la actividad no regulada de terceras partes pueda llevar el desarrollo del ecosistema en direcciones incompatibles con la visión del patrocinador central. Por otro lado, unos mecanismos de control excesivos o mal diseñados pueden dañar la creatividad y la innovación, así como la salud y el crecimiento del ecosistema. En segundo lugar, argumentamos que la investigación sobre los mecanismos de gobierno y control está menos desarrollada o madura que el discurso sobre las fases de creatividad, y es necesario prestarle atención para entender esta interdependencia fundamental entre la creatividad y el control. En tercer lugar, sostenemos que las investigaciones anteriores han tendido a considerar los ecosistemas tecnológicos como homogéneos, asumiendo que la gobernanza es uniforme para todas las partes. Proponemos que existe la necesidad de realizar una investigación empírica que adopte un punto de vista más sutil de la gobernanza de ecosistemas tecnológicos, que reconozca que los roles de los participantes varían y, lo más importante, que la gobernanza debe abarcar la heterogeneidad en todo el ecosistema, incluso aquellos roles parecidos. Por último, gran parte de la literatura existente vinculada a las relaciones entre empresas ha tendido a centrarse o en la creación o en el control, pero son necesarios estudios empíricos más detallados que traten sobre la tensión entre estas dos fuerzas. Esta tesis realiza varias contribuciones a la teoría existente, incluidas unas importantes observaciones empíricas en dos ecosistemas empresariales grandes y complejos, y el desarrollo teórico referente a los esfuerzos de las empresas principales en dichos ecosistemas para alentar la generatividad de terceras partes manteniendo un grado de control sobre sus contribuciones a la plataforma central.Platforms and ecosystems represent increasingly ubiquitous models for organizing economic activity in business and technology. This thesis represents an effort to explain observed phenomena in two distinct ecosystems: affiliate marketing programs and business software. The overall practical business objective for each is to understand how the core firm(s) in each domain manage the efforts of hundreds or even thousands of contributors whose work centers around the core company's platform. This thesis addresses several gaps in the literature. First, prior research on organizational boundaries has relied primarily on single theories such as transaction cost economics. We complement TCE with the more recent theories of platforms and ecosystems, offering further theoretical grounding and extension based on our empirical observations. We suggest that there is a fundamental tradeoff between creativity and control salient in technology platforms or ecosystems. Creativity without control can lead to excessive fragmentation and variable quality, which could create a negative overall perception of the ecosystem, and could affect the ability of niche contributors to profitably develop their activities. In addition, there is the risk that unregulated third-party activity may take ecosystem development in directions inconsistent with the vision of the core sponsor. On the contrary, excessive control or poorly designed control mechanisms can hurt creativity and innovation, also damaging the health and growth of the ecosystem. Second, we argue that research on governance and control mechanisms is less developed or mature than discourse on creativity phases, and therefore warrants attention in order to understand this critical interdependence between creativity and control. Finally, we contend that prior research has tended to view technology ecosystems as homogeneous, assuming that governance is uniform for all parties. We propose that there is a need for empirical research which adopts a more subtle view of technology ecosystem governance, acknowledging that participant roles vary, but more importantly, governance across the ecosystems must embrace heterogeneity, even for similar participant roles. Finally, much of the extant literature related to relationships between firms has tended to focus on either creation or on control, but there is a need for more detailed empirical studies which address the tension between these two forces. This thesis makes several contributions to extant theory, including substantial empirical observations in two large and complex business ecosystems, and theoretical development pertaining to efforts of core firms in such ecosystems to encourage third-party generativity while maintaining a degree of control over the third-party contributions to the core platform

From Product Platform Ecosystem to Innovation Platform Ecosystem: An Institutional Perspective on the Governance of Ecosystem Transformations

Incumbent companies across industries such as banking, insurance, and enterprise software have begun transforming their existing product platform ecosystems into innovation platforms ecosystems to increase generativity in their ecosystems. Such ecosystem transformations not only entail technological challenges as the underlying platform technology changes but also organizational challenges in that ecosystem actors such as partners and customers need to become part of the transformed ecosystem. To study how incumbent companies can govern ecosystem transformations successfully, we interpret ecosystems as organizational fields and ecosystem transformations as changes to the fields’ institutional infrastructure. Based on a multiyear, grounded theory study of the transformation of SAP’s on-premises ERP system, we first identify institutionalization challenges that arise when institutional infrastructure is changed during an ecosystem transformation. We then show how field-level governance mechanisms address these challenges and how the new institutional infrastructure gains legitimacy among ecosystem actors, ultimately leading to the institutionalization of the transformed ecosystem. These findings contribute to the literature on ecosystem transformations and platform governance by highlighting the role that institutional forces play in ecosystem transformations. Furthermore, we add to the literature on institutional theory by providing insights into the dynamics of institutional infrastructure as it becomes infused with digital technologies

Ecosystem synergies, change and orchestration

This thesis investigates ecosystem synergies, change, and orchestration. The research topics are motivated by my curiosity, a fragmented research landscape, theoretical gaps, and new phenomena that challenge extant theories. To address these motivators, I conduct literature reviews to organise existing studies and identify their limited assumptions in light of new phenomena. Empirically, I adopt a case study method with abductive reasoning for a longitudinal analysis of the Alibaba ecosystem from 1999 to 2020. My findings provide an integrated and updated conceptualisation of ecosystem synergies that comprises three distinctive but interrelated components: 1) stack and integrate generic resources for efficiency and optimisation, 2) empower generative changes for variety and evolvability, and 3) govern tensions for sustainable growth. Theoretically grounded and empirically refined, this new conceptualisation helps us better understand the unique synergies of ecosystems that differ from those of alternative collective organisations and explain the forces that drive voluntary participation for value co-creation. Regarding ecosystem change, I find a duality relationship between intentionality and emergence and develop a phasic model of ecosystem sustainable growth with internal and external drivers. This new understanding challenges and extends prior discussions on their dominant dualism view, focus on partial drivers, and taken-for-granted lifecycle model. I propose that ecosystem orchestration involves systematic coordination of technological, adoption, internal, and institutional activities and is driven by long-term visions and adjusted by re-visioning. My analysis reveals internal orchestration's important role (re-envisioning, piloting, and organisation architectural reconfiguring), the synergy and system principles in designing adoption activities, and the expanding arena of institutional activities. Finally, building on the above findings, I reconceptualise ecosystems and ecosystem sustainable growth to highlight multi-stakeholder value creation, inclusivity, long-term orientation and interpretative approach. The thesis ends with discussing the implications for practice, policy, and future research.Open Acces

An Investigation of Multisided Digital Platform Boundaries

Multisided digital platforms (MSDPs) are software systems that attract at least two distinct groups of users and generate network effects. They have attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners in recent years, as they have disrupted how firms create and capture value and have blurred their boundaries. Firms implementing MSDPs may make different boundary decisions when configuring the complements of their MSDPs. In some cases, they build complements in-house, while in others, they rely on third-party complementors. Despite efforts to understand the complex phenomenon of MSDPs, there is still confusion about what they are, and little is known about the determinant of their boundaries. This study aimed to provide a clear definition of MSDPs and investigated the factors influencing their boundaries as well as how firms respond to these factors. To answer these questions, first, this thesis synthesised a definition of MSDPs by integrating various streams of literature. Based on this, MSDPs have been defined as an organising logic characterised by a layered modular architecture and satisfying three conditions: (1) multisidedness, (2) modularity and (3) codebase extension. Second, this thesis implemented a qualitative case study of Uber, a ridesharing MSDP that disrupted the taxi industry worldwide, to understand the factors influencing MSDP’s boundaries. An in-depth analysis of Uber’s boundary decisions regarding its payment and maps complements was conducted. This showed that supply side factors identified in the literature, such as the need to reduce transactional hazards and build core competencies, influenced MSDP boundary decisions. In addition, demand side factors that have not been considered by previous research influenced firm boundaries. These demand side factors were complement localisation (adapting to local market conditions), customer heterogeneity realisation (addressing customers’ heterogenous needs and preferences) and supermodular complementarity ignition (increasing user numbers and investment in the MSDP). The findings suggested that an MSDP firm is more likely to rely on third-party complementors to respond to demand side factors, even though this may increase transactions costs. An exception to this is when a third-party complementary asset cannot be customised to meet the requirements of the MSDP. In these cases, an MSDP is more likely to build a complement in-house. These findings have offered new insights into MSDP boundaries by shifting the focus of existing theories of firm boundaries from the supply side to the demand side and from value capture to value creation. These new theoretical findings have complemented existing theories of firm boundaries and enhanced our understanding of MSDP boundaries. Moreover, these findings have important theoretical and practical implications, such as the need for future research to better understand demand side factors and for managers to evaluate the tension between supply side and demand side factors strategically.Qatar Research Leadership Program, Qatar Foundatio