Keep the ball rolling: Harnessing generativity in online retail platforms

IF 7 3区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Business Horizons Pub Date : 2024-07-19 DOI:10.1016/j.bushor.2024.07.002

Yi Lin , Birgit Apenes Solem , David Sjödin , Vinit Parida

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Online retail platforms face significant challenges, including intense competition, the chicken-or-egg dilemma in acquiring consumers and sellers for network effects and establishing sustainable growth models. This article addresses these challenges by focusing on the concept of generativity: a platform’s ability to expand product and ecosystem boundaries, thereby unlocking the potential economies of scale and scope. Drawing on experiences from both small and large online retail platforms, we outline an extended set of strategic actions to foster generativity by engaging consumers (e.g., facilitating consumer creativity), complementors (e.g., creating open marketplaces), and their cross-sided interactions (e.g., extending interaction along consumer journeys). For each strategy, we provide practical, actionable recommendations that platform owners can implement to expand their product offerings and add new functions and services to improve interactions between participants. By emphasizing the importance of integrating the contributions of both consumers and complementors, these strategies foster a dynamic and innovative platform ecosystem, which is crucial for the sustained growth and competitiveness of online retailers.

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保持滚动：利用在线零售平台的生成性

在线零售平台面临着重大挑战，包括激烈的竞争，在获取消费者和卖家以获得网络效应以及建立可持续增长模式方面的鸡生蛋还是蛋生鸡的困境。本文通过关注生成概念来解决这些挑战：平台扩展产品和生态系统边界的能力，从而释放规模和范围的潜在经济。根据小型和大型在线零售平台的经验，我们概述了一套扩展的战略行动，通过吸引消费者（例如，促进消费者的创造力），互补（例如，创建开放的市场）以及他们的横向互动（例如，延长消费者旅程中的互动）来促进创造性。对于每个策略，我们都提供了实用的、可操作的建议，平台所有者可以实施这些建议来扩展他们的产品，增加新的功能和服务，以改善参与者之间的互动。通过强调整合消费者和互补者的贡献的重要性，这些战略培育了一个充满活力和创新的平台生态系统，这对在线零售商的持续增长和竞争力至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Business Horizons BUSINESS-

CiteScore

17.70

自引率

5.40%

发文量

105

期刊介绍： Business Horizons, the bimonthly journal of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, is dedicated to publishing original articles that appeal to both business academics and practitioners. Our editorial focus is on covering a diverse array of topics within the broader field of business, with a particular emphasis on identifying critical business issues and proposing practical solutions. Our goal is to inspire readers to approach business practices from new and innovative perspectives. Business Horizons occupies a distinctive position among business publications by offering articles that strike a balance between academic rigor and practical relevance. As such, our articles are grounded in scholarly research yet presented in a clear and accessible format, making them relevant to a broad audience within the business community.