THE INTERPLAY OF POWER AND TRUST IN PLATFORM ECOSYSTEMS OF THE ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

In recent years, the formerly oligopolistic Enterprise Application Software (EAS) industry began to disintegrate into focal inter-firm networks with one huge, powerful, and multi-national plat-form vendor as the center, surrounded by hundreds or even thousands of small, niche players that act as complementors. From a theoretical point of view, these platform ecosystems may be governed by two organizing principles - trust and power. However, it is neither from a practical nor from a theoretical perspective clear, how trust and power relate to each other, i.e. whether they act as complements or substitutes. This study tries to elaborate our understanding of the relationship of trust and power by exploring their interplay using multi-dimensional conceptual-izations of trust and power, and by investigating potential dynamics in this interplay over the course of a partnership. Based on an exploratory multiple-case study of seven dyadic partner-ships between four platform vendors, and seven complementors, we find six different patterns of how trust and power interact over time. These patterns bear important implications for the suc-cessful management of partnerships between platform vendors and complementors, and clarify the theoretical debate surrounding the relationship of trust and power

Coordinating Platform-Based Multi-Sourcing: Introducing the Theory of Conventions

Spurred by the consumer market, companies increasingly deploy smartphones or tablet computers in their operations. However, unlike private users, companies typically struggle to cover their needs with existing applications, and therefore expand mobile software platforms through customized applications from multiple software vendors. Companies thereby combine the concepts of multi-sourcing and software platform ecosystems in a novel platform-based multi-sourcing setting. This implies, however, the clash of two different approaches towards the coordination of the underlying one-to-many inter-organizational relationships. So far, however, little is known about impacts of merging coordination approaches. Relying on convention theory, we addresses this gap by analyzing a platform-based multi-sourcing project between a client and six software vendors, that develop twenty-three custom-made applications on a common platform (Android). In doing so, we aim to understand how unequal coordination approaches merge, and whether and for what reason particular coordination mechanisms, design decisions, or practices disappear, while new ones emerge

Power dynamics in software platform ecosystems

In software platform ecosystems, the technological and structural peculiarities vest the platform owner with an extremely powerful position that puts any complementor at the mercy of the platform owner's actions. Paradoxically, it is the self-determination and proactivity of the complementors that determine the ecosystem's success through their surprising outside innovations. This study addresses this power paradox by unpacking the power dynamics between platform owners and complementors. Based on an exploratory multiple-case study of six platform partnerships, we find that power in platform ecosystems unfolds as a reciprocal process of three interlocking cycles, in which both the platform owner and the complementors take an active role. The modus operandi of power in platform ecosystems is a “central power cycle” in which the complementors repeatedly evaluate whether to accept or reject the platform owner's domination power. Thriving partnerships sustain this central power cycle over time, which requires that the platform owner and the complementors dynamically adapt their wielding of power to the changing needs of the partnership (partnership adaptation cycle) or the ecosystem (ecosystem redefinition cycle). For the platform owner, this entails the occasional use of manipulation to favour a particular partnership or redefining the ecosystem's framework and sporadically wielding coercion in favour of the broader ecosystem. For the complementor, this entails over-subjectification to entice the platform owner to wield its power in favour of their partnership. Our findings have important implications for platform ecosystem and power theory, as well as managerial practice

Complementor dedication in platform ecosystems: rule adequacy and the moderating role of flexible and benevolent practices

Dedicated complementors are devoted, faithful, and willing to invest in their partnership with a platform owner. Since such complementors promise continuous value co-creation, complementor dedication is an essential objective of platform governance. However, as dedicated complementors also increase their vulnerability vis-à-vis the platform owner, platform governance needs to strike a balance between satisfying global ecosystem needs and the local partnership needs. To understand this challenge better, our study develops six hypotheses on how two fundamental governance mechanisms – i.e., rules and the way in which these rules are practised – independently and symbiotically drive complementor dedication. We test these hypotheses using survey data from 181 complementors. Our findings show that complementors become more dedicated to a platform owner, the more adequate they perceive the rules to be. Furthermore, our findings suggest two sensible strategies to actualise the potential of adequate rules. Platform owners should either refrain entirely from practising rules with situational flexibility and benevolence, thereby achieving moderate complementor dedication. Alternatively, they should practice rules with both flexibility and benevolence at the same time, thereby maximising complementor dedication. Our findings contribute to the literature on platform governance and broader governance literature

Swiss Software Industry Survey 2022

In 2022, the unemployment rate in Switzerland fell to a historic low of 2 percent. At the same time, the working population in Switzerland is getting older while net immigration remains constant. These developments are not leaving the Swiss software industry unscathed. Swiss software companies are already fighting fiercely for the few talents on the labor market and know that this war will be fought even more intensively in the near future. The eighth edition of the Swiss Software Industry Survey (SSIS) takes this situation as an opportunity to look more closely at the war for talent in the Swiss software industry. This year's SSIS aimed in particular to discover the extent to which domestic software companies are suffering from the war for talent and what measures they have taken in the past or are planning for the future to meet this challenge. Beyond focusing on labor market challenges, however, the SSIS 2022 remains the most comprehensive study of its kind in Switzerland. As such, it provides a detailed overview of the current state, emerging trends and long-term developments in the Swiss software industry. This year, the SSIS was conducted for the second time under the patronage of Swico, the industry association for digital Switzerland. This patronage ensures the future of the SSIS for the years to come. Besides, it enables us to be as close as possible to the Swiss ICT industry. In this sense, we would like to thank Swico and its Interest Group “Software, Services, and Consulting” for the trust they have placed in us and look forward to working with them in the years to come. As in previous years, we would also like to thank our partners sieber&partners, tranengineering and the Institute for Business Studies Basel (IWSB) as important supporters of the SSIS. We hope you enjoy reading this year’s SSIS Report

Socio-Economic Perspectives on Shifting Cultivation Landscapes in Northern Laos

Despite the rapid agricultural transition that has occurred in the past decade, shifting cultivation remains a widespread agricultural practice in the northern uplands of Lao PDR. Little information is available on the basic socio-economic situation and respective possible patterns in shifting cultivation landscapes on a regional level. On the basis of a recent approximation of the extent of shifting cultivation landscapes for two time periods and disaggregated village level census data, this paper characterizes these landscapes in terms of key socioeconomic parameters for the whole of northern Laos. Results showed that over 550,000 people live in shifting cultivation regions. The poverty rate of this population of 46.5% is considerably higher than the national rural rate. Most shifting cultivation landscapes are located in remote locations and a high share of the population comprises ethnic minorities, pointing to multi-dimensional marginality of these areas. We discuss whether economic growth and increased market accessibility are sufficient to lift these landscapes out of povert

Resolution of severe secondary mitral valve regurgitation following aortic valve replacement in infective endocarditis.

We present the case of a patient with infective endocarditis anesthetized for replacement of severely regurgitant aortic valve. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography revealed a new diagnosis of severe secondary mitral regurgitation. After aortic valve replacement and tricuspid valve repair, severe mitral regurgitation resolved rapidly without any intervention. In multivalvular disease, instant spontaneous resolution of secondary mitral regurgitation is possible after surgical correction of an aortic regurgitation causing left ventricular volume overload

Biofuels for a Greener Economy? Insights from Jatropha Production in Northeastern Ethiopia

Many observers view Jatropha as a miracle plant that grows in harsh environments, halts land degradation and provides seeds for fuel production. This makes it particularly attractive for use in Ethiopia, where poverty levels are high and the degradation of agricultural land is widespread. In this article, we investigate the potentials and limitations of a government-initiated Jatropha project for smallholders in northeastern Ethiopia from a green economy perspective. Data are based on a 2009 household survey and interviews with key informants, as well as on a 2012 follow-up round of interviews with key informants. We conclude that the project has not contributed to a greener economy so far, but has the potential to do so in the future. To maximize Jatropha’s potential, interventions must focus mainly on smallholders and pay more attention to the entire biofuel value chain

High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation

Understanding the effects of cash crop expansion on natural forest is of fundamental importance. However, for most crops there are no remotely sensed global maps1, and global deforestation impacts are estimated using models and extrapolations. Natural rubber is an example of a principal commodity for which deforestation impacts have been highly uncertain, with estimates differing more than fivefold1,2,3,4. Here we harnessed Earth observation satellite data and cloud computing5 to produce high-resolution maps of rubber (10 m pixel size) and associated deforestation (30 m pixel size) for Southeast Asia. Our maps indicate that rubber-related forest loss has been substantially underestimated in policy, by the public and in recent reports6,7,8. Our direct remotely sensed observations show that deforestation for rubber is at least twofold to threefold higher than suggested by figures now widely used for setting policy4. With more than 4 million hectares of forest loss for rubber since 1993 (at least 2 million hectares since 2000) and more than 1 million hectares of rubber plantations established in Key Biodiversity Areas, the effects of rubber on biodiversity and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia could be extensive. Thus, rubber deserves more attention in domestic policy, within trade agreements and in incoming due-diligence legislation