Abstract
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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | R&D Management |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 18-30 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISSN | 0033-6807 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |