How Focal Firms Build Platform Ecosystems: Patterns of Governance and Complementor Orientation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Platform ecosystems have become a dominant way for firms to create and capture value by coordinating networks of independent but interdependent actors. Despite their potential, many platform ecosystems fail in their early years because of poor ecosystem design decisions that limit growth and value creation. This study examines how firms deliberately build and manage platform ecosystems by combining governance choices with different approaches to working with complementors. Using a comparative multiple-case study, we identify four recurring ecosystem-building patterns: Open Horizon, Core Balance, Complement Anchor, and Inner Fortress. These patterns represent different ways of balancing openness, control, complementor autonomy, and growth. Open configurations rely heavily on external complementors to generate innovation and network effects, while more integrated configurations internalize critical complements to improve reliability, coordination, and value capture. The findings show that ecosystem building is not simply a matter of becoming more open or more controlled. Instead, successful ecosystems emerge from coherent combinations of governance arrangements and complementor roles. Complementors occupying peripheral, vertical, or bottleneck positions influence ecosystem power structures, innovation dynamics, and long-term evolution in different ways. By viewing ecosystems as strategic configurations rather than isolated design choices, this study provides a clearer understanding of how managerial decisions shape ecosystem performance and resilience. The findings offer practical guidance for managers seeking to align governance and complementor strategies to achieve scalable, adaptable, and sustainable platform growth.
Authors: Ali Panahi, Soroush Ghazinoori
Institution: Allameh Tabataba'i University
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,645
OpenAlex ID: W7204470952