Journal Article

Governing the emergence of network-driven platform ecosystems

Kari, Arthur, Matzner, Martin, Bellin, Pepe, Gersch, Martin

2025

Overview

Literature on platform governance is focused on keystone organizations that exclusively own a platform and control its complementors and users. However, emerging network-driven platform ecosystems—such as European data spaces—represent a shift in focus by allowing stakeholders to share platform ownership and decision rights. To investigate this emerging phenomenon, we conduct a qualitative-explorative case study, interviewing 32 representatives of Catena-X, a European data space in the automotive industry. To conceptually grasp the co-development and management of network-driven platform ecosystems, we employ a network governance perspective as the theoretical lens. We contribute to platform governance literature with (1) a conceptualization of shared platform ownership recognizing the dichotomy of inner and outer governance, and (2) a process model and a conceptual model of an interorganizational network governing the emergence of a platform ecosystem.

• Publisher: Springer,Springer Berlin Heidelberg,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Automobile industry / Business and Management / Case studies / Competition / Concept formation / Conceptual models / Data ecosystem / Data spaces / Decision making / e-Commerce/e-business / Governance / Industrial development / Interorganizational network / Interorganizational networks / Interviews / IT in Business / Literature / Motor car industry / Network governance / Ownership / Platform governance / Qualitative analysis / Research design / Research Paper / Shared ownership / Stakeholders