Research

An increasing number of companies have implemented digital platforms to attract complementors who create innovations on the platform. Establishing such digital platforms is a challenge for incumbent companies because they lack related experience and capabilities. In particular, boundary resources that are the interface between the platform and complementors need to be well-designed to attract complementors and keep them engaged. We propose that lead complementor involvement helps incumbent companies to improve the design of the platform boundary resources. In a multi-year action research study, we established lead complementor involvement in the boundary resource design of a digital platform for automotive onboard apps at the BMW Group and evaluated how boundary resources improved. Along three episodes, we illustrate that lead complementor involvement was effective and we summarise our findings in four propositions: (1) lead complementor involvement facilitates platform emergence for incumbent companies by enhancing boundary resource design, (2) lead complementor involvement is more efficient in higher platform layers, (3) lead complementor involvement is facilitated by an increase of intensity and frequency of interactions between complementors and platform owner and (4) establishing a complementor community helps to continuously identify opportunities for lead complementor involvement. We contribute to the information systems literature on platform emergence and design by focusing on the process of designing boundary resources and by considering the heterogeneity of complementors. Furthermore, we contextualise the concept of lead user involvement in the domain of digital platforms and compare and contrast lead complementors and lead users.

Platform owners face multiple challenges such as onboarding and orchestrating app developers as well as providing resources to enable the development of complementary apps. Information systems research considers digital platform governance as key to address these challenges. Thereby, the focus lies on the relationship of a platform owner and app developers. However, while there is evidence how app developers acquire skills through these interactions, there is limited knowledge of how platform owners benefit from interacting with app developers to improve their digital platforms. To address this gap, in this article, we study the emergence of a digital platform for automotive onboard apps within the BMW Group. Our results are grounded in 30 expert interviews that we conducted during a period of two years and are enriched by extensive secondary data. We identify transfer of perspective, transfer of knowledge, and transfer of artifacts as basic mechanisms that enable a platform owner to enhance its digital platform. The inherent improvements of the digital platform facilitate the app development. Our work extends the existing theory on platform emergence and provides insights into the learning process of an inexperienced platform owner. Our findings reveal valuable recommendations for organizations that are struggling to establish digital platforms.

Today, it is natural for digital services to be available anytime, anywhere. Thanks to digital platforms, we can connect with our intelligent assistants, stream movies on our networked televisions, and wirelessly control our homes with smartphone apps. Within the last few years, our cars have also been transformed into computers on wheels. However, the apps with which we are accustomed are often not available in cars. Why are cars different? This teaching case examines how the worldwide automotive manufacturer BMW developed its onboard infotainment system into a digital platform. While the transformation of a manufacturing firm into a technology company reveals multiple challenges, new actors enter the stage. In 2017, Google announced the launch of Android Automotive OS, a complete operating system for cars with access to a vibrant platform ecosystem. Should BMW accept Google’s offer to use Android Automotive OS as a digital platform for their cars, or should they strive to create their own proprietary platform ecosystem? This teaching case introduces the dynamics of digital platform ecosystems and illustrates the “platform conundrum” that many traditional companies must confront: Is it better to build a new proprietary platform ecosystem or join an existing dominant platform ecosystem? We provide rich insights from BMW’s development, sales, and strategic divisions, helping students to understand the risks, chances, and challenges of various choices that occur in the context of digital platform ecosystems and why such decisions might be crucial to the future of traditional companies such as BMW.

Digital transformation requires incumbent companies to accelerate the development of their digital products. The automotive industry is a prominent example of this change. Even though, research frequently considers digital transformation of organizations, there are rare perceptions on the change of the actual technology. This action research study provides deep insights in the endeavors of the global operating car manufacturer BMW towards a generic design of onboard application programming interfaces (APIs) which should enhance accelerated development of digital products. To help the firm embrace generativity, we therefore infused lead user involvement theory and API evaluation criteria into the API design team. As a result, we present 5 majorly refined APIs, which are implemented in the BMW App SDK. Further, we identified critical challenges and benefits for the involvement of lead users in the design of enabling technology within an incumbent company.

Platform governance is a fundamental task for operating a platform ecosystem. A platform owner needs to orchestrate the app developers on its platform. Even though platform governance is frequently considered in information systems (IS) research, there is little knowledge on how platform owners can acquire skills and knowledge on platform governance. This is particular relevant in early phases of platforms. This paper strives to shed light on how an automotive manufacturer who has little experience as platform owner creates a platform and improves its platform governance. Based on four episodes from observed in the development department's practices, we identify transfer of knowledge and integration of artifacts as basic mechanisms that enable the platform owner to benefit from interactions with app developers. Our work contributes to the under-investigated field of platform emergence and provides valuable insights for practitioners.