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Special issue on platform ecosystems

Platforms have become central to many industries today. They create a new blueprint for competition as they not only facilitate formation of new products and services but also shape business models, impact strategies, and transform entire industries. A platform is a foundation on which third parties can build a complementary product or service. Hence, for meeting the requirements of heterogeneous users and exploit network effects, platform owners encourage complementary innovation from outside resources such as customers, research companies, business partners, and universities. Such an approach of complementary innovation has given rise to the platform ecosystem model. Platform ecosystems are comprised of externally produced complements that augment the platform capabilities. Ecosystem leaders usually do not possess formal authority over application developers, but work with them in a loose manner. Platform-based technologies such as personal computers, video game consoles, and mobile computing systems are vital in the information economy. The crucial challenge for platform providers is to constantly sustain and foster an innovative ecosystem around their platform. Moreover, contemporary literature lacks the case studies providing fruitful insights into the phenomenon of the platform ecosystem. The aim of this special issue is to publish cutting-edge research to enhance the understanding of the challenges, opportunities, strategies, and architecture of the platform ecosystem. Examples of topics of interest for the special issue include, but are not limited to: