Platform Synergy: Architectural Origins and Competitive Consequences
Abstract
The internal architecture of apps has yet to receive attention in platform studies, which predominantly study apps’ platform-facing, external architecture. We develop a theory of how the interplay between an app’s internal and external architecture shape its ability to leverage the platform to outcompete rival apps. Primary and archival data spanning four years from 618 BlackberryOS apps show how internal architecture’s complementarity with external architecture influences an app’s competitive lead.
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The digital platform represents a technology-based business system, on which a focal platform actor enforces control via a digital architecture represented by an extensible codebase that can incorporate third-party modules complementing to its core offering.
“The digital platform represents a technology-based business system, on which a focal platform actor enforces control via a digital architecture represented by an extensible codebase that can incorporate third-party modules complementing to its core offering (Boudreau, 2012;Tiwana, 2018).”
From Digital platform ecosystems in flux: From proprietary digital platforms to wide-spanning ecosystems (2023) · cites this paper as Tiwana, 2018
Complementors have often been treated as black boxes, with only a few studies investigating their internal dynamics.
“Complementors have often been treated as black boxes, with only a few studies investigating the internal dynamics of complementors (Tiwana, 2018).”
From Digital platform ecosystems in flux: From proprietary digital platforms to wide-spanning ecosystems (2023) · cites this paper as Tiwana, 2018
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- Authors
- Tiwana, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tiwana, Amrit
- ORCID
- Tiwana, Amrit
- Venue
- Information Systems Research
- Published
- 2018-12
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 829-848
- ISSN
- 1047-7047 (ISSN-L)
- 1526-5536
- OpenAlex
- W2899587901
- Cited by
- 99
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 12.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Information Systems Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Digital Platforms and Economics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Mobile and Web Applications
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies
- Keywords
- competitive advantage, mobile app ecosystem
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