Digital Platforms for the Common Good: Social Innovation for Active Citizenship and ESG

Evangelos Katsamakas, Kostapanos Miliaresis and Oleg V. Pavlov
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Evangelos Katsamakas: Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, USA
Kostapanos Miliaresis: Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, USA
Oleg V. Pavlov: Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: The platform business model has attracted significant attention in business research and practice. However, much of the existing literature studies commercial platforms that seek to maximize profit. In contrast, we focus on a platform for volunteers that aims to maximize social impact. This business model is called a platform for the common good . The article proposes a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) model that explains how a platform for the common good creates value. Our model maps the key strategic feedback loops that constitute the core structure of the platform and explains its growth and performance through time. We show that multiple types of network effects create interlocking, reinforcing feedback loops. Overall, the article contributes towards a dynamic theory of the platforms for the common good. Moreover, the article provides insights for social entrepreneurs who seek to build, understand, and optimize platforms that maximize social value and managers of companies that seek to participate in such platforms. Social entrepreneurs should seek to leverage the critical feedback loops of their platform.

Keywords: platform; social innovation; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Environmental Social and Governance (ESG); active citizenship; systems research; network effect; digital transformation; social impact; feedback loop (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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