Digital Platform Leadership: Exploring the Role of National Factors, Platform, and Customer Type

Table of contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Motivation

1.2 Research questions

1.3 Research overview & philosophy

2. Theoretical background – digital platforms

2.1 Background, definitions & types of digital platforms

2.2 Perspectives on digital platforms

2.3 Platform ecosystems & dynamics

2.4 Determinants of platform leadership

2.5 Hypothesized configurational propositions for platform leadership

3. Research design – taxonomy development

3.1 Overview of the taxonomy development

3.2 Taxonomy development methodology

3.3 Grounded-theory literature review

3.4 Case database

3.5 Validation interviews

4. Results – Taxonomy development

4.1 Conceptual-to-empirical iteration

4.2 Empirical-to-conceptual iteration

4.3 Final iteration

5. Research design – fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

5.1 Introduction and overview of fsQCA

5.2 fsQCA analysis steps

6. Results – fsQCA

6.1 Ecosystem-level model

6.2 Firm-level model

6.3 Derived configurational propositions for platform leadership

7. Discussion

7.1 Contribution to theory and practice

7.2 Limitations

7.3 Outlook & further research

Research Objectives and Themes

This thesis aims to provide a fundamental building block for understanding how platform leadership is achieved. The research seeks to classify digital platform business models and analyze the specific configurations of factors—such as platform type, innovation, and transaction environment—that contribute to sustained market leadership using a configurational approach.

• Development of a holistic taxonomy for digital platform business models.
• Analysis of successful platform configurations at both the ecosystem and firm level.
• Application of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to identify leader configurations.
• Investigation of the influence of national factors, such as platform origin (US vs. Europe), on leadership.
• Evaluation of the interplay between platform openness, governance, and innovation strategy.

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Summary of Chapters

1. Introduction: This chapter establishes the motivation for the study of digital platform leadership and defines the central research questions regarding the classification and design of such platforms.

2. Theoretical background – digital platforms: This chapter provides a comprehensive review of existing literature on platforms, categorizes them into different research perspectives, and summarizes key determinants of platform leadership.

3. Research design – taxonomy development: This chapter outlines the methodology used to create the holistic platform taxonomy, including literature review, case database creation, and expert validation.

4. Results – Taxonomy development: This chapter presents the iterative development of the platform taxonomy and provides the finalized framework containing multiple dimensions across five meta-characteristics.

5. Research design – fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis: This chapter introduces the methodological framework of fsQCA, explaining how it is applied to investigate configurational insights into platform leadership.

6. Results – fsQCA: This chapter details the findings from both the ecosystem-level and firm-level models, highlighting various configurations that lead to platform leadership.

7. Discussion: This chapter reflects on the theoretical and practical contributions of the findings, acknowledges study limitations, and suggests avenues for future platform research.

Keywords

taxonomy, digital platform, configurational analysis, platform leadership, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, ecosystem-level model, firm-level model, multi-sided platform, network effects, platform innovation, platform governance, platform design, business model

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary focus of this thesis?

The thesis focuses on uncovering what determines platform leadership in the digital economy by analyzing the complex interplay of firm-level and ecosystem-level factors.

What are the central thematic areas covered in this work?

The work covers platform taxonomies, ecosystem dynamics, technological architecture, governance perspectives, and configurational analysis techniques.

What is the core research question addressed by the author?

The thesis addresses how business models of digital platforms can be classified and what configurational differences distinguish platform leaders in various settings (e.g., B2B vs. B2C).

Which scientific methodology is primarily employed?

The research adopts a multi-method approach, combining an iterative grounded-theory based taxonomy development with a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA).

What does the main body of the work treat?

It treat the development of a comprehensive platform taxonomy, the assessment of platform ecosystems, and an empirical configuration analysis to find path-dependent success factors for platforms.

Which keywords characterize this investigation?

Key terms include taxonomy, platform leadership, configurational analysis, fsQCA, network effects, and platform governance.

How is platform leadership defined in this study?

Platform leadership is defined as the dominant market position that enables a firm to influence the technological and business trajectories of its industry ecosystem.

What are the findings regarding US-based platforms?

The study finds that US-based platforms often outcompete others, largely due to the favorable market conditions that allow them to leverage strong network effects more effectively.

What role does competition with complementors play according to the results?

Contrary to some existing research, the findings suggest that competition with complementors can actually be a core condition associated with platform leadership, particularly when it fosters platform-specific development.