Modelling Perceived Risks Associated to the Entry of Complementors’ in Platform Enterprises: A Case Study

Elena-Teodora Miron, Anca Alexandra Purcarea and Olivia Doina Negoita
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Elena-Teodora Miron: Research Group Knowledge Engineering, Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna, Währinger Str. 29, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Anca Alexandra Purcarea: Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, University Politehnica Bucharest, Splaiul Inpendentei 313, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Olivia Doina Negoita: Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, University Politehnica Bucharest, Splaiul Inpendentei 313, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Third-party innovators, i.e., complementors, in platform enterprises develop and commercialize add-on products which are one of the main attraction points for customers. To ensure a sustainable evolution of the enterprise, the platform owner needs to attract and retain high-quality third-party innovators. We posit that the transaction costs incurred upon joining the enterprise as well as the controls imposed by the platform owner throughout the development and commercialization process shape the innovator’s perceived risk and influence his decision on whether to join or not. Based on a literature review, the paper at hand proposes a conceptual model for complementors to assess their perceived risk and subsequently evaluates the model in a case study of a platform enterprise for IT-based modelling tools. While some of the propositions are validated, i.e., that informational controls decrease the perceived environmental uncertainty and implicitly the perceived risks, other propositions, such as the fact that asset specificity is a deterrent to entering the platform enterprise could not be validated. Further case studies are necessary to provide a conclusive proof of the proposed model.

Keywords: platform enterprise sustainability; third-party innovators; platform controls; transaction cost theory; risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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