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Complementors as connectors: managing open innovation around digital product platforms
Author(s) -
Hilbolling Susan,
Berends Hans,
Deken Fleur,
Tuertscher Philipp
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
randd management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.253
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1467-9310
pISSN - 0033-6807
DOI - 10.1111/radm.12371
Subject(s) - open innovation , complementary good , product (mathematics) , business , variety (cybernetics) , open platform , new product development , knowledge management , marketing , computer science , process management , industrial organization , artificial intelligence , geometry , mathematics , software , programming language
In the digital age, open innovation is increasingly organized around platform ecosystems. This paper investigates how firms can coordinate open innovation as a platform strategy for the development of complementary products by independent third parties. We draw on a qualitative case study of Philips Hue – a connected lighting platform for consumers with its variety of complementary products. We identify three increasingly complex ways in which independent complements connect to a focal platform. Our findings show that managing these connections requires a hybrid open innovation approach that combines arm’s length coordination, with a large number of complementors through open interfaces, and intensive bilateral collaboration, with a selected number of partners. Our findings demonstrate that complex interconnections across digital platforms and products lead to the management challenge of navigating an ‘ecology of platforms’, which warrants future research.