The Dynamics of Digital Platform Innovation: Apple's Strategy to Control Modular and Architectural Innovation in iOS

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    Curated platforms provide an architectural basis for third parties to develop platform complements and for platform owners to control their implementation as a form of open innovation. The refusal to implement complements as innovations can cause tension between platform owners and developers. The dynamic concerning this control of innovation is not well understood in platform literature. This research attempts to address that gap by using qualitative methods to build narrative networks which analyze 45 examples of contested platform innovation. This approach, informed by empirical data sourced from 4664 blogs, identifies patterned sequences of actions describing tussles across the examples. Mechanisms are then identified, which explain how control is asserted and resisted. The principle contribution of this research is to describe and explain the dynamics of contested innovation on curated digital platforms. In doing so, it uses IS notions of digitalization to challenge traditional understandings of innovation in platform architectures.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationProceedings of the 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2016)
    EditorsRalph H. Sprague, Tung X. Bui
    Number of pages10
    Place of PublicationLoa Alamitos, CA
    PublisherIEEE
    Publication date2016
    Pages1287-1296
    Article number7427342
    ISBN (Print)9781479983896
    ISBN (Electronic)9780769556703
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016
    Event49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016 - Kauai, Hawaii, United States
    Duration: 5 Jan 20168 Jan 2016
    Conference number: 49
    http://www.hicss.org/

    Conference

    Conference49th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS 2016
    Number49
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityKauai, Hawaii
    Period05/01/201608/01/2016
    Internet address
    SeriesProceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
    ISSN1060-3425

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