Digital platform based markets are starting to dominate many sectors of the economy and society. Apple Healthkit and Google Fit are examples of fitness data platforms and focal points of connected preventive healthcare markets. Application developers are increasingly complementing platforms instead of bringing stand-alone services to the market. However, studies on these complementors’ strategies are still rare. This paper examines complementors’ strategies in joining digital platforms in preventive healthcare sector through an exploratory case study. The strategies are created by identifying themes and subthemes from interviews with complementors, and evaluating them through effectual reasoning lens. Effectual reasoning is selected as the assessment approach due to increased ecosystem complexity and strategic choices caused by accumulating end-user data, processes, user experience and emerging communities. This paper states that complementors can attach their application not only to the stable technological core maintained by the platform owner, but also dynamic elements being co-created among other platform participants. The paper contributes to the ongoing discussion and platform literature on complementor strategies.
Jansen, S. and Cusumano, M.A. (2013) Defining Software Ecosystems: A Survey of Software Platforms and Business Network Governance. In: Jansen, S., Brinkkemper, S. and Cusumano, M.A., Eds., Software Ecosystems, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, Mass, 13-28. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781955635.00008
Choi, J.P. (2010) Tying in Two-Sided Markets with Multi-Homing. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 58, 607-627. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6451.2010.00426.x
Tiwana, A. (2014) Platform Ecosystems: Aligning Architecture, Governance, and Strategy. Morgan Kaufmann, Waltham, MA.
Breidbach, C.F., Brodie, R., Hollebeek, L. and Breidbach, C.F. (2014) Beyond Virtuality: From Engagement Platforms to Engagement Ecosystems. Managing Service Quality, 24, 592-611. https://doi.org/10.1108/MSQ-08-2013-0158
Gawer, A. (2014) Bridging Differing Perspectives on Technological Platforms: Toward an Integrative Framework. Research Policy, 43, 1239-1249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2014.03.006
Baldwin, C.Y. and Woodard, J.C. (2009) The Architecture of Platforms: A Unified View. In: Gawer, A., Ed., Platforms, Markets and Innovation, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, Mass, 19-44. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849803311.00008
Sarasvathy, S. (2001) Toward Causation and Effectuation: A Theoritical Shift from Inevitability to Economic Entrepreneurial Contingency. The Academy of Management Review, 26, 243-263. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4378020
Rautsi, E. (2014) Co-Creating Value: Digital Health and Fitness Platforms. Master’s thesis, Aalto University, Aalto.
Gawer, A. and Cusumano, M.A. (2002) Platform Leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Drive Industry Innovation. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Tiwana, A., Konsynski, B. and Bush, A.A. (2010) Platform Evolution: Coevolution of Platform Architecture, Governance, and Environmental Dynamics. Information Systems Research, 21, 675-687. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1100.0323
Chesbrough, H. (2011) Open Services Innovation. Jossey-Brass, San Francisco.
Paul, S. (2015) Platform Scale (Forthcoming). Publishizer.
Maglio, P.P. and Spohrer, J. (2008) Fundamentals of Service Science. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36, 18-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-007-0058-9
Powell, W.W. (1990) Neither Market Nor Hierarchy: Network Forms of Organization. Research in Organizational Behavior, 12, 295-336.
Gawer, A. and Cusumano, M.A. (2008) How Companies Become Platform Leaders. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49, 28-35.
Dew, N., Read, S., Sarasvathy, S.D. and Wiltbank, R. (2008) Outlines of a Behavioral Theory of the Entrepreneurial Firm. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 66, 37-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2006.10.008
Wiltbank, R., Dew, N., Read, S. and Sarasvathy, S.D. (2006) What to Do Next? The Case for Non-Predictive Strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 27, 981-998. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.555
Perry, J.T., Chandler, G.N. and Markova, G. (2012) Entrepreneurial Effectuation: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 36, 837-861. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00435.x
Dew, N. and Sarasvathy, S.D. (2007) Innovations, Stakeholders & Entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Ethics, 74, 267-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9234-y
Read, S., Dew, N., Sarasvathy, S.D., Song, M. and Wiltbank, R. (2009) Marketing under Uncertainty: The Logic of an Effectual Approach. Journal of Marketing, 73, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.3.1
Read, S. and Sarasvathy, S.D. (2005) Knowing What to Do and Doing What You Know. The Journal of Private Equity, 9, 45-62. https://doi.org/10.3905/jpe.2005.605370
Ramaswamy, V. and Gouillart, F. (2010) Building the Co-Creative Enterprise. Harvard Business Review, 88, 100-109.
Wiltbank, R., Read, S., Dew, N. and Sarasvathy, S.D. (2009) Prediction and Control under Uncertainty: Outcomes in Angel Investing. Journal of Business Venturing, 24, 116-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2007.11.004
Maine, E., Soh, P.H. and Dos Santos, N. (2015) The Role of Entrepreneurial Decision-Making in Opportunity Creation and Recognition. Technovation, 39-40, 53-72.
Bryman, A. (2012) Social Research Methods.
Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, F.R. (2004) Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68, 1-17.
Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, F.R. (2008) From Goods to Service(s): Divergences and Convergences of Logics. Industrial Marketing Management, 37, 254-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2007.07.004
Ramirez, R. (1999) Value Co-Production: Intellectual Origins and Implications for Practice and Research. Strategic Management Journal, 20, 49-65. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199901)20:1 3.0.CO;2-2
Gronroos, C. (2008) Service Logic Revisited: Who Creates Value? And Who Co-Creates? European Business Review, 20, 298-314. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555340810886585
Chesbrough, H. (2003) Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Enkel, E., Gassmann, O. and Chesbrough, H. (2009) Open R & D and Open Innovation: Exploring the Phenomenon. R and D Management, 39, 311-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2009.00570.x