Pioneering Multi-Sided Digital Platforms: The Effect of Firm Characteristics and Platform Strategies on Pioneer Outcomes

With the emergence of digital multi-sided platform (DMSP) ecosystems, scholars are revisiting core strategic frameworks created in traditional settings. We examine how variation in pioneer firm characteristics may impact two critical platform governance strategies — single vs. multi-firm provision of platforms, and open vs. closed user access — with implications for performance. Within the context of the nascent mobile money industry (1997-2017), we triangulate across rich quantitative and qualitative data to examine the census of 31 pioneering firms who launched 30 platforms across 20 countries. Some wisdoms, such as internal integration and diversifying entrant advantage for pioneers are not supported in our DMSP context. Other wisdoms, such as the importance of external integrative capabilities and ecosystem orchestration, seem to gain even more prominence.