Despite their transformative potential, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platforms often fail to evolve into scalable ecosystems. Research on IIoT platforms attributes failure to discrete factors such as governance misalignment or technological complexity and rarely considers how failure unfolds. This article adopts a structuration theory perspective to examine IIoT platform failure as a path‐dependent process. Through a seven‐year longitudinal case study of Alpha, a global industrial manufacturer, we identify four structuration mechanisms—structural embeddedness, misalignment, reproduction, and reversion—that progressively constrain platform scalability. Our findings reveal that failure is not a singular event but an emergent outcome shaped by recursive interactions between architecture, governance, and market structures, as well as strategic actions. We contribute to platform governance research by showing that IIoT platforms inherit, rather than impose, governance structures, making it crucial for firms to actively reshape contracting dependencies rather than replicating existing structures. Based on these insights, we provide recommendations for firms to design governance frameworks that foster openness, modularity, and ecosystem scalability from the outset. These insights offer a more dynamic understanding of IIoT platform evolution, informing theory and practice on overcoming the barriers to the scalability of IIoT platforms.

Kernstock, P., Hein, A., Schreieck, M., & Krcmar, H. (2026). Why Industrial Internet of Things Platforms Fail: A Structuration Theory Perspective on Platform Evolution. Journal of Product Innovation Management. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.70039

This study examines the dynamics of organizational boundaries in B2B industry platform creation through an in-depth single-case study. Specifically, we address the question: How do B2B firms redefine their organizational boundaries when shifting from a pipeline model to an industry platform? This research question addresses two critical gaps in the platform literature. First, platform creation is a relatively underexplored topic, with limited attention given to organizational boundary choices in the pre-launch phase. Second, most insights stem from B2C settings, leaving the B2B context relatively overlooked. We examine the dynamics of organizational boundaries, drawing on the lenses of identity, power, competence, and efficiency, in a Finnish firm that began as a consulting firm, shifted to selling stand-alone software, and is now creating an industry platform, ultimately comprising three phases with two transitions in between. This article contributes to strategy discussions on industry platforms, specifically to boundary choices in B2B platform creation, by developing propositions that outline the dynamics of organizational boundaries in creating an industry platform through the intermediary step of offering a stand-alone product. Our study provides three key managerial takeaways for incumbents seeking to create industry platforms: phased challenge management, milestone-driven flexibility, and proactive harnessing of network externalities.

Reference: Abed Alghani, K., Rabetino, R., & Kohtamäki, M. (2026). Incumbent‐Born B2B Platforms: Organizational Boundary Dynamics in Platform Creation. Journal of Product Innovation Management. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.70025

The digitization of industrial ecosystems positions B2B industrial digital platforms as central to value co-creation and co-capture. While B2C platform governance is well-researched, few studies examine how manufacturing firms and platform providers collaboratively govern digital business models (DBMs) in B2B platform settings. Our study addresses this gap through a multiple case study of five platform providers and five B2B manufacturers, drawing on 33 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. We introduce the concept of dual orchestration—a governance approach in which platform providers and manufacturers jointly assume and adapt orchestration roles across DBM phases. We develop the Platform DBM Process Model (Figure 1), which illustrates how governance dynamics and relational mechanisms – transparency, reciprocity, commitment, proximity, and coopetition - enable dual orchestration through joint role adaptation. We present the Dual Orchestration Governance Framework for Industrial Platform DBMs (Figure 2), integrating DBM phases, relational issues, and governance mechanisms to theorize dual orchestration as a dynamic co-governance process. The study contributes to platform governance theory by specifying the structural and relational features of dual orchestration and by providing an empirically grounded account of its evolution.

Aagaard, A., Vanhaverbeke, W., & Gassmann, O. (2026). Dancing titans: Dual orchestration and governance in industrial digital platforms for B2B value co-creation. Technovation, 151, 103419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2025.103419

Scalability refers to the organizational capabilities required to facilitate a smoother and faster scaling process. Although it is usually associated with new ventures, this study explores how established firms can also create conditions conducive to scalability. We address this question by applying an inductive, narrative-based approach to a longitudinal, single-case study of Nvidia Corporation, a company founded in 1993 that since 2006 has undergone a profound transformation driven by the AI revolution. This case study draws on digital archives, including objective accounting information on Nvidia and its direct competitors, extensive company reports, pedagogical case studies, corporate biographies, and 464 min of recorded documentaries and interviews featuring the company’s CEO. We use these sources to develop a multi-phase theoretical model outlining how established organizations can foster scalability. The model encompasses value recognition driven by systemic industry transitions, organizational adaptability, strategic renewal, and scalability, thus offering a structured framework for understanding how incumbent firms can cultivate the necessary conditions for successful scaling.

Vendrell-Herrero, F., Vaillant, Y., & Bustinza, O. F. (2025). Scalability in incumbent firms: The case of Nvidia. Long Range Planning, 102540. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2025.102540

Business-to-business (B2B) platform ecosystems—connecting orchestrators, complementors, and end users—are central to digital transformation in industrial sectors. However, many B2B platforms fail to scale or sustain adoption due to challenges integrating legacy systems with digital technologies, navigating fragmented markets, and aligning diverse stakeholder expectations. While prior research emphasizes material dimensions like technical architecture and network effects, primarily in B2C contexts, the role of sociocognitive dimensions remains underexplored. We address this gap by examining platform identity and ecosystem identity as key sociocognitive dimensions that shape how platforms are perceived, trusted, and adopted. Using a multiple-case study of three failed B2B platforms (General Electric’s Predix, Vestas’ Covento, and ADAMOS), we trace how misalignments across identity, architecture, and network effects disrupt coherence, stall adoption, and erode stakeholder commitment. We develop a framework capturing the dynamic interdependencies among sociocognitive (identity), technical (architecture), and market (network effects) dimensions. We demonstrate that platform and ecosystem identities are distinct yet interdependent constructs that mediate alignment between technical and market dimensions. Misalignment in any one dimension can cascade into others, creating negative feedback loops that compromise ecosystem scalability and resilience. These insights challenge dominant assumptions in engineering management that prioritize technical system optimization in isolation. By foregrounding identity as a strategic lever, we contribute a more holistic understanding of B2B platform performance and offer actionable guidance for platform orchestrators and engineering managers. To build scalable and coherent platform ecosystems, firms must align material and sociocognitive elements to foster trust, commitment, and sustained adoption in complex B2B environments.

Randhawa, K., & Springer, V. (2025). Why Do B2B Platforms Fail? The Missing Links in Identity, Architecture, and Network Effects in Industrial Ecosystems. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2025.3608116

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Kyrdoda, Y., Marzi, G., & Vianelli, D. (2025). Digital transformation in the B2B context: A review, theorisation and future perspectives. Industrial Marketing Management, 129, 182-196. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.008

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Don’t miss the AOM Symposium “Where Will the Next Wave of Multi‑Sided Platform Companies Emerge?” on Tuesday, July 29 from 12:00–13:30 CEST at the Bella Center (Hall B – B3‑m7). Moderator Ted Ladd will lead an expert panel—Cristina Alaimo, Tommaso Buganza, Annabelle Gawer, Marin Jovanovic, and Daniel Trabucchi—as they explore emerging geographies, industries, and strategies shaping tomorrow’s platform champions.

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Industrial business-to-business (B2B) platforms are meta-organizations (i.e., organizations of organizations) that typically integrate digital assets with physical products such as machinery or equipment, often operating in specialized contexts with a limited network of complementors and end users. These characteristics distinguish B2B platforms from their business-to-consumer (B2C) counterparts, as they are defined by distinctive design features and governance drivers. Yet, the current platform literature predominantly focuses on B2C markets, leaving a critical gap in understanding the design and governance of B2B platforms in industrial contexts. We address this gap by adopting a meta-organizational perspective on B2B platforms in industrial markets to examine how the distinct design features of B2B platforms shape their meta-organizational governance. First, we uncover distinctive design features of B2B platforms across three dimensions: platform market, platform architecture, and cyber-physical integration. Building on these features and evidence from the emerging literature, we classify B2B platforms into five dominant archetypes: matchmaker, application marketplace, solution enabler, consortium, and decentralized autonomous platforms. Second, we theorize that the governance of these archetypes is shaped by their design features and revolves around two main dimensions: control rights (i.e., enforcement authority) and decision rights (i.e., autonomy over platform assets). These dimensions underpin distinct governance models, which we label unified, collaborative, regulated, and algorithmic governance. We consolidate these insights into an organizing framework of B2B platform governance and contribute to the literature in four ways: (1) providing a nuanced understanding of B2B platform design and governance, (2) identifying distinct archetypes and developing a framework for B2B platform governance, (3) explaining how B2B platform design features influence governance models, and (4) setting a research agenda to strengthen the design and governance of B2B platforms. By broadening our understanding of platforms as meta-organizations, we advance knowledge of how B2B platforms create and capture value in industrial markets.

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Springer, V., Randhawa, K., Jovanović, M., Ritala, P., & Piller, F. T. (2025). Platform design and governance in industrial markets: Charting the meta-organizational logic. Research Policy, 54(6), 105236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105236

See more at: Forthcoming in Academy of Management Perspectives (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387658468_Platform_Ecosystems_Bottlenecks_and_MA_Activity_Implications_for_Platform_Regulation)

We are seeking a curious and motivated individual interested in business-to-business (B2B) digital platform business models. Digital platforms in the B2B context are often built on industrial products and portfolios of related offerings, integrating various digital services and value-added features. We invite candidates with a strong desire to learn to join our sales research team as a junior researcher, focusing on B2B digital platforms from the business growth and sales management perspectives.

Junior researchers are required to have a master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., international business, industrial engineering, management, and marketing), the ability to complete the doctoral degree within the standard duration of the studies for the degree, and a right to complete doctoral studies at LUT University.

Junior researchers must submit an application for the right to complete doctoral studies with all required appendices to the LUT Doctoral School within the first two months of the employment relationship.

Written and spoken proficiency in English is required in this position. You should have basic knowledge of sales and marketing management or another relevant field.

The job entails writing a dissertation on a research area such as

• Development of value propositions, product-service offerings, and business models in the context of B2B digital platforms

• Selling digital platform products and services in B2B markets

• B2B sales management and sales models in platform markets

• Business models for driving growth through digital platforms

Key responsibilities

• Completion of the doctoral degree within four years

• Participation in research projects

• Assisting in teaching

What we offer

• An opportunity to launch a successful academic career and become an expert in B2B sales and platform research

• A four-year (1+3 years) employment contract for completing the doctoral degree

  • The contract will be made initially for one year and can be extended by three years provided that the studies and research have progressed successfully

• Encouraging and supportive supervision by and research collaboration with Assistant Professor (LUT Business School), Professor (LUT Business School) and Associate Professor (Copenhagen Business School), who are all experts in the subject area

Employment relationship and pay

The work will start in March–April 2025 (negotiable) with a six-month trial period. The job is based in Lahti, Finland.

The salary is based on the current collective agreement for Finnish universities. The typical gross annual starting salary for a junior researcher is approximately 32 500 euros a year. The salary includes a personal performance-based element. Junior researchers who meet certain publishing criteria are also eligible for publication bonuses.

In addition, the wide range of benefits that come with the job include a holiday bonus, generous annual leave, a research incentive scheme with personal rewards for high-quality publications, flexible working hours, occupational health care, a collegial working environment, and continued commitment to your support, learning, training, and development.

How to apply

The deadline for applications is 9 February 2025 at midnight, Finnish local time (UTC +2h). Please submit your application together with the required attachments in English through the university’s online application system:

• A curriculum vitae (CV)

• A copy of your degree certificate; if the original documents are not in English, Finnish, or Swedish, each document must be accompanied by an official certified translation into English or Finnish

• A motivation letter: an account of your merits and activities of significance to the vacancy (max. 2 pages)

• A research plan (3–5 pages) presenting an outline for your dissertation research, a review of relevant literature, and possible research methods

We prefer application documents in PDF format. Only applications including the required documents will be considered.

For more information, please contact Assistant Professor Pia Hautamäki, pia.hautamaki@lut.fi.

Read more about LUT as an employer and the LUT Doctoral School.

Explore information for international staff.

LUT University | Clean energy, water and air are life-giving resources for which we at LUT University seek new solutions with our expertise in technology, business and social sciences. We help society and businesses in their sustainable renewal. Our international community consists of over 9 000 members. Our campuses are in Lappeenranta and Lahti, Finland. We are one of the world's top universities for climate action. lut.fi/en

Technical support for using the recruitment system: recruitment@lut.fi.

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The landscape of digital servitization in the manufacturing sector is evolving, marked by a strategic shift from traditional product-centric to platform business models (BMs). Manufacturing firms often employ a blend of approaches to develop business-to-business (B2B) platforms, leading to significant reconfigurations in their BMs. However, they frequently encounter failures in their B2B platform development initiatives, leading them to abandon initial efforts and pivot to alternative platform strategies. Therefore, this study, through an in-depth case study of a manufacturer in the energy sector, articulates a three-phase pivoting framework for B2B platform BMs, including platform development and platform strategy. Initially, the manufacturer focused on asset-based product sales supplemented by asset maintenance services and followed an emergent platformization strategy characterized by the rise of multiple, independent B2B platforms catering to diverse functions. Next, focusing on the imposed customer journey strategy, the firm shifted towards a strategic multi-platform integration into an all-encompassing platform supported by artificial intelligence (AI), signaling a maturation of the platform BM to combine a wide range of services into an energy-performance-based contract. Finally, the last step of the firm's platform BM evolution consisted of a deliberate platform strategy open to external stakeholders and enveloping its data-driven offerings within a broader platform ecosystem. This article advances B2B platform BMs and digital servitization literature, highlighting the efficacy of a progressive approach and strategic pivoting.

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Full reference: Filosa, C., Jovanovic, M., Agostini, L., & Nosella, A. (2024). Pivoting B2B Platform Business Models: From Platform Experimentation to Multi-Platform Integration to Ecosystem Envelopment. International Journal of Production Economics, 109466. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2024.109466

• Thomas Huber (ESSEC Business School, France)

• Maximilian Schreieck (University of Innsbruck, Austria)

• Andreas Hein (University of St. Gallen, Switzerland)

• Ilan Oshri (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

• Julia Kotlarsky (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Why This Special Issue?

Platform partnerships between platform owners and third-party complementors are reshaping how digital ecosystems operate. The rapid adoption of technologies like AI, IoT, low-code/no-code platforms, and blockchain is revolutionizing collaboration, innovation, and governance. Yet, these advancements raise critical questions:

• How are value co-creation and appropriation changing with AI and distributed technologies?

• Are platform owners reinforcing control, or are complementors being empowered?

• How do regulatory frameworks like the EU's Digital Markets Act impact platform dynamics?

This special issue seeks to explore these shifts, offering a platform for groundbreaking research that blends theory and practice.

Potential Topics of Interest

We invite papers that address, but are not limited to:

• Platform Partnerships and Emerging Technologies: AI, IoT, and blockchain's role in shaping partnerships.

• Platform Power and Regulation: Strategies for navigating power asymmetries and adapting to regulatory changes.

• Governance in Platform Ecosystems: Managing tensions between control and autonomy in partnerships.

• Evolving Sourcing Arrangements: The interplay of platforms in dynamic sourcing relationships.

Submission Timeline

• December 5, 2024: Online information session

• December 15, 2024: Meet the SI Editors at the Pre-ICIS workshop

• September 15, 2025: Full paper submission deadline

• December 15, 2025: First-round decisions

• March 15, 2026: Revised paper submission

• October 2026: Final decisions (tentative)

How to Participate

Authors are encouraged to submit high-quality empirical, conceptual, design, and simulation research. Unsure if your work fits? Reach out to the guest editors for guidance.

Link: Call for Papers – Special Issue on Platform Partnerships in JSIS

Artificial intelligence (AI) platforms face distinct orchestration challenges in industry-specific settings, such as the need for specialised resources, data-sharing concerns, heterogeneous users and context-sensitive applications. This study investigates how these platforms can effectively orchestrate autonomous actors in developing and consuming AI applications despite these challenges. Through an analysis of five AI platforms for medical imaging, we identify four orchestration logics: platform resourcing, data-centric collaboration, distributed refinement and application brokering. These logics illustrate how platform owners can verticalize the AI development process by orchestrating actors who co-create, share and refine data and AI models, ultimately producing industry-specific applications capable of generalisation. Our findings extend research on platform orchestration logics and change our perspective from boundary resources to a process of boundary processing. These insights provide a theoretical foundation and practical strategies to build effective industry-specific AI platforms.

Framework:

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Reference: Weber, M., Hein, A., Weking, J., & Krcmar, H. (2024). Orchestration logics for artificial intelligence platforms: From raw data to industry‐specific applications. Information Systems Journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12567

Unpaid individuals are an important source of contributions to many ecosystems. An understudied phenomenon is how such contributions are shaped by competition. In this paper, we study how the rate and type of new product creation are shaped by competition. We contrast its impact on “paid” developers that profit by selling their products to that on “unpaid” developers that release their software for free. Using a hand-collected dataset on the jailbreak ecosystem, we find that increasing competition has a stronger negative effect on the rate of innovation by paid developers than that of unpaid developers. We also find that increasing competition is associated with a reduction in the reuse of existing technological components by unpaid developers, relative to paid developers, suggesting that the types of products developed also shift as competition increases. The results suggest that competition has an important role in shaping innovation in platform-based ecosystems, but that it differs for paid and unpaid contributors.

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Miric, M., & Jeppesen, L. B. (2023). How does competition influence innovative effort within a platform-based ecosystem? Contrasting paid and unpaid contributors. Research Policy, 52(7), 104790. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2023.104790

Ecosystems represent a key challenge for established firms, shifting their focus from products to system-level collaboration around integrated value propositions. This longitudinal case study of a machine manufacturer reports how an established firm created an ecosystem to enhance its focal product. Drawing on an activity system lens, we develop a model how firms can achieve fit around an integrated value proposition through mutual adaptation of product and ecosystem activities. This strategic transformation is supported by a shift towards collaborative organizational design. We elaborate on how firms can create non-generic complementarities between products and the emerging ecosystem through product adaptations, demonstrate the role of internal and external collaboration in developing ecosystem orchestration capabilities, and highlight data generation and processing as critical factors in realizing complementarities.

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Stonig, Joachim, Torsten Schmid, and Günter Müller‐Stewens. "From product system to ecosystem: How firms adapt to provide an integrated value proposition." Strategic Management Journal 43.9 (2022): 1927-1957. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3390

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Full reference: Ritala, P., Jovanovic, M. (2024). Platformizers, Orchestrators, and Guardians: Three Types of B2B Platform Business Models. In: Aagaard, A. (eds) Business Model Innovation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57511-2_4

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Full reference: Van Dyck, M., Lüttgens, D., Diener, K., Piller, F., & Pollok, P. (2024). From product to platform: How incumbents' assumptions and choices shape their platform strategy. Research Policy, 53(1), 104904. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2023.104904

Although the foundational works of ecosystem research recognized the central role of innovation, the current scholarship lacks a more systemic, systemized understanding of how innovation processes take place in ecosystem settings. This lack of a dominant framework that bridges innovation processes and ecosystem fields risks leading to a situation in which crucial problems at the intersection of these two fields remain poorly investigated. Through a systematic literature review, we made a case for rediscovering how these two branches of knowledge can be bridged. As an initial step, we consolidate the literature on these intersections, profile the studies that initially began to establish a bridge between ecosystem and innovation processes, propose a tentative framework for integrating both literatures, and set an agenda for further studies.

Silva, L. E. N., Gomes, L. A. d. V., Faria, A. M. d., & Borini, F. M. (2024). Innovation processes in ecosystem settings: An integrative framework and future directions. Technovation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2024.102984

The digital transformation of industrial-age sectors changes product architectures and industry architectures, influencing how value is created and captured in emerging digital business ecosystems. In the industrial era, products were designed around modular architectures and complementary assets, and bottlenecks determined who profits from innovation. In the digital era, products emerge on a layered modular architecture, and profiting from innovation is shifting to those who own control points. Despite the centrality of the interplay between the product architecture and industry architecture for value creation and value capture in the digital age, the effects on competitiveness and industry dynamics remain unclear. To fill this void, we draw on the concept of control points, a novel lens to reflect bargaining positions on a layered modular architecture in digital business ecosystems. Based on a case study of 19 companies, industry associations, and consulting firms in the digital business ecosystem of smart farming, we identify strategic control points, technical control points, generic control points, and institutional boundaries as instrumental in determining value creation and value capture positions. We find that actors (i.e., incumbents, diversifying entrants, and new entrants) in emerging digital business ecosystems follow a seesaw pattern in setting control points and acquiring bargaining positions, and propose a framework that allows to analyze the dynamics within digital business ecosystems. Our study offers managerial implications for firms seeking to optimize their ecosystem strategy and policy makers to support the effective development of the institutional context.

Link: Bohnsack, R., Rennings, M., Block, C., & Bröring, S. (2024). Profiting from innovation when digital business ecosystems emerge: A control point perspective. Research Policy, 53(3), 104961. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2024.104961