Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Digital innovation has become a central focus of information technology (IT) entrepreneuship. At the same time, digital platform business models and networked markets are widely recognized as key factor behind many big technology companies. Yet, the literature is dominated by a focus on big and successful platform business, whereas little attention is paid to the platform startups that fail. In this on-going study, we aim to understand how digital innovation and platform orientation improve IT startup performance. We draw from theories in innovation, digital platforms and dynamic capabilities to theorize the independent and joint effect of digital innovation and platform orientation on likelihood of a startup survival. Overall, the potential contribution lies in how our design allows presenting the first evidence that pursuing digital innovations may not be enough for IT startups to survive, and going further to delineate the conditions under which platform startups may survive and remain profitable.
Recommended Citation
Oppong-Tawiah, Divinus and Bassellier, Genevieve, "Digital Innovation, Platform Orientation and the Performance of IT Startups" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 23.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/DigitalPlatforms/Presentations/23
Digital Innovation, Platform Orientation and the Performance of IT Startups
Digital innovation has become a central focus of information technology (IT) entrepreneuship. At the same time, digital platform business models and networked markets are widely recognized as key factor behind many big technology companies. Yet, the literature is dominated by a focus on big and successful platform business, whereas little attention is paid to the platform startups that fail. In this on-going study, we aim to understand how digital innovation and platform orientation improve IT startup performance. We draw from theories in innovation, digital platforms and dynamic capabilities to theorize the independent and joint effect of digital innovation and platform orientation on likelihood of a startup survival. Overall, the potential contribution lies in how our design allows presenting the first evidence that pursuing digital innovations may not be enough for IT startups to survive, and going further to delineate the conditions under which platform startups may survive and remain profitable.