Abstract
Digital platforms are becoming an important catalyst for social transformation and development amongst a wide range of communities. However, prior studies have focused on the general structure of mature platform-based ecosystems and its impact on communities, with little research looking at the challenges facing digital platforms in their early stages of evolution to bring about change in a community. Using an interpretive case study approach, this study investigates how these platform-based ecosystems evolve and overcome institutional constraints to bring about social change. We build our theory development on the case of iGrow, which is a resource integration platform for the agricultural sector in Indonesia. The case indicates that an ecosystem needs to overcome different institutional constraints at various stages of its growth, and that the underlying digital platform helps the ecosystem in overcoming these constraints by offering an organizing vision that helps the ecosystem members construct meaning, provide legitimacy, and mobilize support for new practices and production activities. This analysis provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the mechanisms through which platform-based ecosystems evolve to enable or constrain community-driven change.
Recommended Citation
Faik, Isam and Gwee, Michelle, "Digital Platforms and Community Development: An Institutional Perspective on the Evolution of Platform-Based Ecosystems" (2022). GlobDev 2022. 16.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/globdev2022/16