Plug-and-play, mix-and-match: a capital systems theory of digital technology platforms

Lynne Kiesling ()
Additional contact information
Lynne Kiesling: Faculty Affiliate, Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University

The Review of Austrian Economics, 2021, vol. 34, issue 1, No 2, 13-32

Abstract: Abstract Digital technology platforms have transformed the modern economy, disrupting existing industries and creating new ones. In this paper I synthesize Austrian capital theory with general systems theory to analyze why these digital platforms have had such a large and relatively rapid impact. In large part this impact arises from certain architectural features of digital technologies and networks, particularly modularity, which enables digital platforms to change their scale of operations and be adaptable to unknown and changing conditions. Modularity reduces the costs of combining and reconfiguring combinations of individual elements in networks. Austrian capital theory’s focus on the combination of specific capital elements in production thus provides a valuable lens through which to analyze digital technology platforms and the economic reasons for their large and rapid development.

Keywords: D49; L22; O39; Technology; Digital platforms; Modularity; Systems theory; Austrian capital theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11138-020-00513-w Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:revaec:v:34:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s11138-020-00513-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ce/journal/11138/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s11138-020-00513-w

Access Statistics for this article

The Review of Austrian Economics is currently edited by Peter Boettke and Christopher Coyne

More articles in The Review of Austrian Economics from Springer, Society for the Development of Austrian Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().