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The platform economy has fundamentally altered how firms define their organizational boundaries, shifting from traditional internalization logic toward permeable, digitally mediated structures. This theory-development article synthesizes recent scholarship on digital intermediation to propose a novel framework that explains how platform-based coordination reconfigures firm scope, market participation, and competitive strategy. Drawing on peer-reviewed studies, we argue that digital intermediation enables boundary permeability by reducing transaction costs, facilitating complementor integration, and enabling indirect governance without full ownership. We contrast platform participation with classical internalization, highlighting ecosystem governance mechanisms that expand organizational scope while preserving strategic autonomy. Five formal propositions articulate the causal pathways: digital interfaces increase boundary permeability; complementor orchestration substitutes for vertical integration; ecosystem participation redefines market entry modes; platform-mediated coordination lowers coordination costs across firm boundaries; and strategic repositioning in multi-sided markets enhances competitive advantage through selective boundary management. The resulting theory advances boundary theory by integrating digital intermediation as a core mechanism of scope transformation. Contributions include a dynamic model of ecosystem boundary dynamics and implications for managerial decision-making in platform environments. This conceptual work lays the foundation for future empirical validation in digitally mediated markets.

The digital economy has fundamentally altered the foundations of competitive strategy, shifting firms from reliance on scarce physical and intangible resources toward data-rich environments where advantage stems from continuous data accumulation, analytics, and platform-mediated interactions. This theory-development article synthesizes recent literature on digital platforms, big data analytics, and ecosystem dynamics to propose new logics of competitive advantage characterized by speed, scale, learning, and connectivity. Traditional resource-based and positioning views are transformed as firms leverage data as a generative resource, platforms as coordination mechanisms, and algorithms for real-time adaptation. The article identifies key mechanisms driving this shift: data-driven resource reconfiguration, network effects amplifying scale advantages, algorithmic competition enabling dynamic strategic adjustment, and ecosystem positioning fostering connectivity. Five theoretical propositions articulate these relationships, culminating in a conceptual model illustrating the evolutionary trajectory from traditional to data-driven strategies. By highlighting feedback loops of continuous learning and adaptation, the framework explains how firms sustain advantage in volatile, data-intensive markets. Contributions include a reconceptualization of competitive logics in the digital era and implications for strategic management in platform-dominated ecosystems.

Digital ecosystems represent a fundamental shift in competitive dynamics, moving the unit of analysis from individual firms to interdependent networks organized around platform orchestrators. This review synthesizes contemporary research on how competitive strategy evolves in platform-centered markets, examining the transition from firm-centric to ecosystem-centric competition. We analyze how platform structures create new forms of interdependence, governance mechanisms, and power asymmetries that fundamentally reshape strategic positioning. The review identifies three core themes: ecosystem structure and platform-centered competition, governance and strategic asymmetry, and value dynamics between creation and capture. Our analysis reveals that competitive advantage in digital ecosystems increasingly derives from relational positioning, complementor management, and the ability to navigate tensions between openness and control. We identify critical gaps in the literature, particularly regarding complementor agency, dynamic governance evolution, and the strategic implications of generative AI platforms. The review concludes by proposing an integrated framework for understanding ecosystem competition and outlining priorities for future strategic management research.