Designing for mod development: user creativity as product development strategy on the firm-hosted 3D software platform

The thesis is designed to improve our understanding of user participation in Web-based development practices in the commercial setting of the 3D software industry. It aims to investigate whether the creative capacities of users and their contributions to the online firm-hosted 3D platform are indicative of a novel configuration of production that influences the processes of product development across firm boundaries. The thesis mobilizes the user participation literature developing in media research as its main theoretical framework. It builds on insights derived from work on user participation in media sites as seen through a cultural lens, in particular, as developed in Henry Jenkins' notions of 'participatory' and 'convergence culture'. The user participation literature is supported by a combination of insights drawn from work on communities of practice and user-centred innovation so as to offer a more robust approach to examine and appreciate the firm-hosted 3D platform as a site of user participation. More specifically, the conceptual framework for the study provides a basis for an examination of the ways a software developer finn encourages user participation in a market and of how this enables and facilitâtes particular modes of user creativity. These are shown to shape and maintain a firm-hosted platform that aids product development efforts that are expected to benefit the developer fimi. An empirical study of the platform, Second Life, provides the basis for the analysis of finn-user interactions which are shown to underpin a distinctive finn leaming process in the context of product development that occurs across permeable fimi boundaries. The thesis yields insight into the way a developer firm invites its user base to partner with it in product development, indicating how aspects of user participation associated with non-market dynamics are embedded in commercial activity and professionalism. The pivotal role of users is revealed in the design, development and sustainability of a firm-hosted 3D product. The findings point to interesting relationships between the distinctive creative capacities of users and the range of capabilities afforded by the firm-provided design space. Variations in user participation and contributions to product development suggest that particular patterns of learning opportunities occur. The analysis yields several new concepts including a 'modification effect market' which are used to extend existing conceptualizations of user participation in digitai development practices in the commercial setting of the 3D software industry

Open Business Models’ Actionability in Europe; EU Competition Policy Analysis

This paper is about contextual policy limitations, outside firms’ boundaries, which are said to restrict the applicability of open business models. In this view, the goal is to analyse the actionability of open business models in the context of European competition policy (EUCOMP). Domains of EUCOMP are systematically reviewed to investigate such limitations ‘perspective’ in the application of open business models in Europe. Furthermore, the appropriateness of EUCOMP is reflected on in dealing with novel contribution models. In doing so, the paper can yield insights into policy improvement requirements

In Waze We Trust: Algorithmic Governance of the Public Sphere

This article explores the current ‘place’ of e-government in realizing public value in the context of what seems to be an emerging platform urbanism. It highlights a complex platform-based urban ecosystem encompassing private and public organisations and citizens. This ‘mainstreaming’ of e-government practices puts demands on cities and governments to reconsider their own role in ‘city making’ so as to achieve meaningful public oversight. The point of departure is the operationalization of this ‘place’ by conceptualizing participation and (multi-sided) platformisation as a framework to draw attention to the dynamic domain of e-governance where shifts can be seen in market structures, infrastructures, and changing forms of governance, and which may challenge the public interest. This is illustrated by an exploration of the social traffic and navigation application Waze

From participatory culture to prosumer capitalism: imaginaries of transparency in the age of corporate surveillance

In the complex ecosystem where community and technology intersect, social media data is playing a key role in the transition of social media platforms from a logic of sociability to one of commerce. Implicit in this transition are the issues of surveillance and transparency, as what started out as collective, user-centred social media platforms have become profit-driven organisations required to create commercial returns for investors. This contribution investigates the political economy of social media data, looking at how social media platforms are making this shift with new methods of surveillance to monetise user-generated-content and the personal information of users. With platforms such as Google (since 2004), Facebook (since 2012) and Twitter (since 2013) listed on the stock market, they are confronted with the continuous challenge of expanding their user base while also proving they can offer value for advertisers and other third parties. In trying to appeal to both users and investors, what is at stake is transparency, as users and other stakeholders are not made aware of what information exactly is being monetised and how surveillance techniques function in. This potentially undermines a transparent, effective, and trust-inducing interdependent relationship that underlies social media practices. This contribution seeks to document and compare how the popular social media platforms Google, Facebook and Twitter present themselves to the world in the light of ‘corporate surveillance’. By systematically analysing their S-1 forms we will uncover what information is disclosed about user surveillance, and how this is presented to users as well as to potential investors. Employing critical document analysis we investigate how and to what extent these platforms are transparent about their strategies of monitoring, mining and aggregating user data. Theoretically, this contribution seeks to unpack how we have moved from participatory culture to a form of ‘prosumer capitalism’. The first concept celebrates user expression and civic engagement in which prosumers are actively engaging in the production and distribution of content, thus feeling (socially) connected to others. The latter notion points at how the active role of users has resulted in a new form of capitalism, i.e. prosumer capitalism. In the social media era this means that the driving force behind the content shared on these platforms is not corporations such as Google, Facebook or Twitter, but is instead the users themselves. The relevant question then is whether corporate information informs users about their role in value creation, not only the prosumption of content but also the social monitoring techniques that are built into these platforms

Editorial: Interrogating the design of smart, sustainable, and socially just urban spaces: A look at institutions, places, and values

The article is the Editorial on the Research Topic Interrogating the design of smart, sustainable, and socially just urban spaces: A look at institutions, places, and values, which explore the dynamics between the socio-technological processes – value-based design being foremost among them – through which urban space emerges and takes on meaning. Furthermore, they engage with the question of how institutional design principles shape citizen participation in these processes

Multi-stakeholder innovation in smart city discourse : quadruple helix-thinking in the age of ‘platforms’

The predominant rhetoric in smart city debates puts the emphasis on collaboration. Conceptualizing, designing, implementing, validating, and evaluating solutions to urban challenges with all relevant stakeholders around the table are perceived as the optimal modus operandi in these perspectives. But how does this vision relate to current practices in cities? This paper deals with the observed trend toward more multi-stakeholder collaboration and the resulting complex value networks these stakeholders need to navigate. This is exemplified in what has been called the “platformization” of the urban space by “urban service platforms” (e.g., Uber, AirBnB) as well as in so-called “quadruple helix” approaches to urban innovation. Particularly for (local) government, finding a role in these complex networks has proven challenging. This paper explores the main challenges concerning multi-stakeholder innovation and opportunities related to this topic

The mod industries? The industrial logic of non-market game production

This article seeks to make the relationship between non-market game developers (modders) and the game developer company explicit through game technology. It investigates a particular type of modding, i.e. total conversion mod teams, whose organization can be said to conform to the high-risk, technologically-advanced, capital-intensive, proprietary practice of the developer company. The notion 'proprietary experience' is applied to indicate an industrial logic underlying many mod projects. In addition to a particular user-driven mode of cultural production, mods as proprietary extensions build upon proprietary technology and are not simple redesigned games, because modders tend to follow a particular marketing and industrial discourse with corresponding industrial-like practices