Work

Strategic openness: Category variety, boundary resources, and exclusive content as drivers of complementor participation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This paper analyzes strategies for platform owners to increase complementor participation on their platform. Specifically, it draws on open innovation (OI) to theorize the impact of three drivers of complementor participation, namely category variety offered on the platform, the extent of boundary resources provided to facilitate complementary innovation, and exclusivity of content offerings. We hypothesize that higher levels of each of these drivers increase the platform’s attractiveness to future complementors and thereby increase complementor participation. Based on negative binomial fixed-effects regressions in the context of video game consoles, we show that category variety has no effect on future complementor participation, while boundary resources and exclusive content do. The results have implications for the orchestration of platform ecosystems.

Source: Electronic Markets

DOI: 10.1007/s12525-026-00876-1

Authors: Vladimir C. M. Sobota, Mark de Reuver, Amir Pooyan Afghari, Geerten van de Kaa

Institutions: University of Glasgow, Delft University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Digital Platforms and Economics

Subfield: Strategy and Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,590

Funders: Technische Universiteit Delft, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020 Science with and for Society