Short answer
When designing a platform or ecosystem, actively plan how to support and promote complementary products to maximize overall value and user engagement.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Organization Science (2019)
- Method
- Empirical analysis
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Platform owners can strategically promote complementary products to manage the perceived value and depth of their ecosystem, influencing consumer perception and producer loyalty. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2019 study published in Organization Science. Using Empirical analysis, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: When designing a platform or ecosystem, actively plan how to support and promote complementary products to maximize overall value and user engagement.
Strategic Promotion of Complementary Products Enhances Platform Ecosystem Value
Platform owners can strategically promote complementary products to manage the perceived value and depth of their ecosystem, influencing consumer perception and producer loyalty.
Organization Science · 2019
Key Findings
- 01Platform sponsors do not exclusively promote the 'best in class' complementary products.
- 02Platform sponsors strategically invest in complements to address complex trade-offs in ecosystem value.
Application
Design takeaway
When designing a platform or ecosystem, actively plan how to support and promote complementary products to maximize overall value and user engagement.
How to apply
For a new app store, identify key complementary apps and develop a tiered promotion strategy that rewards innovation, user adoption, and strategic fit with the platform's core offering.
Project actions
- 01Consider how your design project could involve or interact with other products or services.
- 02Think about how you might 'promote' or highlight certain aspects of your design to make it more appealing.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Empirical testing on real-world industry data.
- +Develops new theoretical insights into platform strategy.
Limitations
The specific promotional tactics used in the video game industry might not directly translate to all other industries.
Reliability & validity
The study's reliance on industry data provides external validity, while the theoretical framework aims to ensure internal consistency. Replication with data from other industries would further enhance reliability.
Think critically
How might a platform sponsor's promotional strategy differ if the goal is to foster innovation versus maximizing immediate sales?
Design Principles
"Ecosystem value is actively managed through strategic promotion of complementary offerings."
This research highlights that platform success isn't just about the core product, but also about actively curating and promoting the surrounding ecosystem of complementary offerings. Designers and product managers can leverage this insight to build more robust and attractive platforms by understanding how to strategically support and highlight third-party or related products.
What This Means for Your Design
Companies that offer a main product (like a game console) can make their whole system more attractive by choosing to highlight and support certain add-on products (like specific games) in smart ways, not just the most popular ones.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify a strategy for promoting or integrating complementary features within your design project.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The strategic management of platform ecosystems, as evidenced by research in the video game industry, suggests that the selective promotion of complementary products is a key driver of perceived value and user loyalty. This principle can be applied to design projects by considering how to actively curate and highlight supporting elements that enhance the core offering's attractiveness and utility.
Source
Organization Science
Platform Strategy: Managing Ecosystem Value Through Selective Promotion of Complements
journal · 2019
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about strategic promotion of complementary products enhances platform ecosystem value?
- When designing a platform or ecosystem, actively plan how to support and promote complementary products to maximize overall value and user engagement. Evidence: Organization Science (2019).
- Why does "Strategic Promotion of Complementary Products Enhances Platform Ecosystem Value" matter for design?
- This research highlights that platform success isn't just about the core product, but also about actively curating and promoting the surrounding ecosystem of complementary offerings. Designers and product managers can leverage this insight to build more robust and attractive platforms by understanding how to strategically support and highlight third-party or related products.
- How can designers apply this research?
- When designing a platform or ecosystem, actively plan how to support and promote complementary products to maximize overall value and user engagement.
- What were the main findings?
- Platform sponsors do not exclusively promote the 'best in class' complementary products.. Platform sponsors strategically invest in complements to address complex trade-offs in ecosystem value.
- What research method was used?
- Empirical analysis.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2019 journal from Organization Science.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- For a new app store, identify key complementary apps and develop a tiered promotion strategy that rewards innovation, user adoption, and strategic fit with the platform's core offering.
- What are the limitations?
- The study is focused on the console video game industry, which may have unique market dynamics.