Industrial business associations improving the internationalisation of SMEs with digital platforms: A design science research approach

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to contribute to the lack of design knowledge on digital platforms (DPs), by studying the new and specific context of DPs managed by industrial business associations (IBAs) to improve the internationalisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A specific objective is to elicit detailed digital platform’s requirements and features for this particular organisational context. A design science research (DSR) approach is adopted to develop design propositions (the artifact), following the context-intervention-mechanism-outcome logic (CIMO-logic). The design propositions are derived for DPs that can support different types of generative mechanisms of social interaction: information sharing, collaboration, and collective action. The design propositions are obtained by balancing empirical knowledge based on interviews performed with IBAs and SMEs in Portugal and in the UK, with theoretical knowledge from the literature of information systems, DPs and collaborative networks (CNs). The utility of the design propositions is further evaluated by experts and IBAs. The findings are proved to be relevant for practice, mainly for IBAs, SMEs, and digital platform designers to develop more effective collaborative DPs and sociotechnical systems, supporting CNs and the internationalisation needs of SMEs. The knowledge generated in this study brings new design knowledge on DPs, contributing with design propositions translated into tangible and concrete requirements and capabilities, situated in a specific context and empirical setting.