A socio-technical view of platform ecosystems: Systematic review and research agenda

Abstract

Business models are becoming more inclined towards platforms, which allow inclusion of diverse participants to promote leveraged growth and modularity of offerings. Despite being closely linked, several aspects of platforms are often studied exclusively from their ecosystems, lacking integrative insights on the topic of platform ecosystems. Most studies are tunnel focussed on the technical aspects, failing to account for the social factors that play a critical role within platform firms. In addressing this gap, the study aims to review research on both social and technical aspects of platform ecosystems to account for the complex interdependencies stemming from platform-oriented actor interactions. The study extends beyond a typical literature review approach to also include a theoretically grounded, yet practically relevant framework of socio-technical systems to offer a holistic review of literature on how platform ecosystems function and sustain in competitive environments.