Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
In recent years, many firms have published public Application Programing Interfaces (APIs). However, firms struggle with how to successfully implement API-enabled service innovation. APIs are either boundary resources through which platform strategies are enacted or they represent distribution channels for software, data, or infrastructure. We use a service innovation framework to integrate ten elements that determine business-oriented API design and that were discussed by prior API research. We report the preliminary results of a cluster analysis of 96 randomly sampled and qualitatively coded APIs. We identify three archetypes of API-enabled service innovation that are characterized by distinct configurations of API elements. We use a measure of API popularity to find structural differences of the archetypes’ market impact. With our planned research addressing the interplay of API design, ecosystem-based value creation strategies and API performance, we intend to contribute to theory that explains the impact of API design on digital innovation.
Recommended Citation
Wulf, Jochen and Blohm, Ivo, "Service Innovation through Application Programming Interfaces - Towards a Typology of Service Designs" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/DigitalPlatforms/Presentations/8
Service Innovation through Application Programming Interfaces - Towards a Typology of Service Designs
In recent years, many firms have published public Application Programing Interfaces (APIs). However, firms struggle with how to successfully implement API-enabled service innovation. APIs are either boundary resources through which platform strategies are enacted or they represent distribution channels for software, data, or infrastructure. We use a service innovation framework to integrate ten elements that determine business-oriented API design and that were discussed by prior API research. We report the preliminary results of a cluster analysis of 96 randomly sampled and qualitatively coded APIs. We identify three archetypes of API-enabled service innovation that are characterized by distinct configurations of API elements. We use a measure of API popularity to find structural differences of the archetypes’ market impact. With our planned research addressing the interplay of API design, ecosystem-based value creation strategies and API performance, we intend to contribute to theory that explains the impact of API design on digital innovation.