In the evolving landscape of digitally connected business ecosystems, traditional hierarchical structures are increasingly supplanted by platform-mediated markets where coordination emerges through decentralized mechanisms. This conceptual paper introduces the Platform Ecosystem Coordination Model (PECM), a novel framework that elucidates how strategic coordination is achieved without formal hierarchy. Drawing on organizational theory, strategic management, and information systems literature, the PECM delineates five core components: ecosystem orchestration hubs, relational governance protocols, algorithmic control interfaces, power diffusion channels, and dynamic adaptation loops. These elements collectively explain the redistribution of governance responsibilities, the deployment of non-hierarchical control mechanisms, and the balancing of power asymmetries among platform owners, complementors, and market participants. By integrating insights from platform governance and ecosystem interdependence, the framework highlights how digital technologies facilitate emergent coordination, mitigate opportunism, and foster value co-creation. Theoretical contributions include advancing understandings of non-hierarchical strategy in digital markets, while managerial implications offer guidance for platform leaders to optimize ecosystem health without centralized authority. The PECM provides a structured lens for analyzing power distribution in interconnected digital environments, addressing gaps in how coordination persists amid fluidity and interdependence. Future research directions are proposed to extend the model to emerging technologies like blockchain and AI-driven platforms.
Digital platforms have become central orchestrators of value creation in contemporary markets, yet their governance remains a fragmented but critical domain of inquiry. This narrative literature review synthesizes peer-reviewed studies published to examine how institutional structures, strategic coordination mechanisms, and ecosystem owner dynamics shape platform-based competition. Drawing from leading journals in management, information systems, and innovation, the analysis identifies five core research streams: governance architectures, coordination mechanisms, platform leadership and orchestration, power asymmetries, and regulatory-institutional challenges. Key findings reveal persistent tensions between openness for innovation and control for value capture, evolving governance practices that balance cocreation with cost management, and growing power imbalances between platform owners and complementors. The analysis culminates in a conceptual synthesis model that illustrates the interconnected flows of coordination, control, and value within ecosystems. This review demonstrates that effective governance is not merely technical but fundamentally institutional, influencing complementor participation, ecosystem stability, and market outcomes. By integrating disparate perspectives, this work highlights unresolved tensions in multi-sided markets and proposes directions for future scholarship on global platform regulation and adaptive governance in volatile digital environments. The synthesis offers practical guidance for managers and policymakers navigating the complexities of platform-dominated economies.
Digital business ecosystems powered by platform networks are defined by profound interdependence among participating firms, where success depends on coordinated actions across autonomous actors rather than hierarchical control. Traditional management approaches fall short in these settings, as firms must simultaneously manage complementarities, network effects, and coopetition while enabling value co-creation. This manuscript introduces the Strategic Coordination of Interdependence in Platform Ecosystems (SCIPE) framework. This novel multi-layer conceptual model integrates actor roles, interdependence structures, coordination mechanisms, non-hierarchical governance, and adaptive feedback loops. Synthesized from peer-reviewed publications spanning strategic management, information systems, and innovation journals, the framework addresses critical gaps in the literature on ecosystem orchestration and governance. By delineating how platform owners and complementors can strategically align without formal authority, the SCIPE Framework advances theory on interdependence management and offers practical guidance for sustaining ecosystem vitality. The model emphasizes dynamic adaptation through feedback, balancing cooperation and competition to enhance resilience and competitiveness in digital markets. Theoretical contributions bridge fragmented streams on platform dynamics, while managerial implications equip leaders with actionable layers for coordination. Future extensions include cross-industry validation and longitudinal studies of adaptation processes.
Digital economies are increasingly characterized by firms that create and capture value without owning the core assets on which their operations depend. This theory-development article advances a coordination-centric perspective to explain how focal firms achieve competitive advantage in decentralized digital ecosystems. Integrating research on asset-light business models, platform governance, and distributed coordination, the article identifies a fundamental shift from ownership-based control to orchestration-based advantage. It argues that firms no longer rely on asset possession but on their capacity to structure and align interactions among legally independent actors through platforms, standardized interfaces, data-exchange protocols, and relational governance mechanisms. The proposed framework conceptualizes the firm as a coordination hub embedded within a network of externally owned assets, where strategic influence is exercised through architectural design and adaptive governance rather than hierarchical authority. It elucidates key mechanisms—including dependence management, dynamic repositioning, and feedback-driven governance—that enable firms to sustain performance under conditions of distributed control and heightened interdependence. Six theoretical propositions specify the causal relationships linking orchestration intensity, ecosystem participation, and resilience to sustained competitive advantage. By reconceptualizing firm boundaries as permeable and relational, the article extends digital business and strategic management theory into fully decentralized contexts. It contributes by clarifying the micro-foundations of non-ownership strategy and by demonstrating how coordination capabilities substitute for ownership as the primary locus of control. The framework further offers managerial guidance for designing and governing ecosystems in which influence must be achieved without asset ownership, positioning orchestration capability as the defining source of advantage in the digital age.
The emergence of an artificial intelligence (AI)-mediated economy is fundamentally altering the nature of corporate strategy. Traditional models of strategic management, rooted in resource-based and dynamic capabilities views, are being challenged by the pervasive integration of AI into organizational processes. This theory-development article synthesizes recent scholarship to propose a new theoretical lens on how AI reshapes corporate strategy and firm competitiveness. We argue that AI acts not merely as a tool but as a strategic mediator that reconfigures firm boundaries, decision architectures, and capability development pathways. By examining the transition from conventional strategic planning to AI-mediated strategic coordination, the paper highlights the organizational implications for competitiveness, including enhanced decision speed, adaptive capability reconfiguration, and renewed competitive positioning. We develop six theoretical propositions that articulate the causal relationships between AI adoption, strategic control mechanisms, and competitive outcomes. The framework underscores the conditions under which AI strengthens or undermines firm competitiveness, offering implications for managers and theorists alike. This work contributes to strategic management and digital business literature by providing an integrated theory of AI-mediated strategy that addresses the gap in understanding corporate-level adaptations in intelligent economies.
Institute for Management, Business, and Accounting Studies