Paper Number
ICIS2025-1435
Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
Our everyday lives are shaped and influenced by digital platforms, primarily by those operating within a for-profit logic. Mission-driven digital platforms that also pursue societal goals, thereby adding a second logic, often struggle to scale effectively or achieve comparable reach. Although platform scaling strategies have been widely studied, whether these approaches also apply to platforms governed by hybrid logics remains unclear. Drawing on theory of hybrid organizations, we investigate, through a multiple case study of three initiatives, how mission-driven digital platforms scale differently. Based on interviews and archival data, we describe three scaling strategies: community building, institutional anchoring, and gradual expansion. These strategies manifest in six identified types of organizational activities, broadening the conceptualization of platform scaling beyond market coordination and growth. In contrast to commercial models focused on network effects and growth, impact-oriented scaling emphasizes relationship-building, institutional alignment, and education, a strategic activity previously underrecognized in platform literature.
Recommended Citation
Kuhlmann, Lea and Staudt, Philipp, "Pursuing Growth and Mission: Distinct Scaling Strategies of Mission-Driven Digital Platforms" (2025). ICIS 2025 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2025/ethical_is/ethical_is/8
Pursuing Growth and Mission: Distinct Scaling Strategies of Mission-Driven Digital Platforms
Our everyday lives are shaped and influenced by digital platforms, primarily by those operating within a for-profit logic. Mission-driven digital platforms that also pursue societal goals, thereby adding a second logic, often struggle to scale effectively or achieve comparable reach. Although platform scaling strategies have been widely studied, whether these approaches also apply to platforms governed by hybrid logics remains unclear. Drawing on theory of hybrid organizations, we investigate, through a multiple case study of three initiatives, how mission-driven digital platforms scale differently. Based on interviews and archival data, we describe three scaling strategies: community building, institutional anchoring, and gradual expansion. These strategies manifest in six identified types of organizational activities, broadening the conceptualization of platform scaling beyond market coordination and growth. In contrast to commercial models focused on network effects and growth, impact-oriented scaling emphasizes relationship-building, institutional alignment, and education, a strategic activity previously underrecognized in platform literature.
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