Managing the Dark Side of Software Ecosystems

Abstract

The emergence of platforms is significantly changing the organizing logic of software development. Platform owners are increasingly engaging vibrant ecosystems around their platform to foster third-party innovation. Despite all the potential benefits for complementors, however, innovation in platform ecosystems also introduced essential new risks that remain under investigated. To discover the complementors ́ risk in software ecosystems we utilize 21 interviews and 42 survey respondents to examine risk and governance mechanisms such as control structures and architectural choices to handle such.

Keywords: Risk, Software Ecosystems, Platforms, Governance, Control

JEL Classification: 032