The impact of cross-boundary knowledge management and platform control on sellers’ innovativeness and competitiveness

Abstract

Enabled by digital commerce platforms, e-marketplaces play an increasingly dominant role in the global economy. These two-sided marketplaces are shaped by network effects and digitized interactions, which continuously redefine identities, power dynamics, and relationships while intensifying challenges arising from knowledge boundaries. The success of digital commerce platforms depends heavily on effective knowledge exchange between platform owners and complementors (e.g., sellers), as complementors leverage new knowledge to develop competencies, attract buyers, and drive platform growth. This study examines how platform owners can utilize boundary resources to effectively manage knowledge boundaries and boost seller performance. Analyzing data collected from 980 sellers on Chinese digital commerce platforms, this research finds that the Capacity of Managing Knowledge across Platform Boundaries (CMKAPB) is a critical construct that influences sellers' innovativeness more than competitiveness. Innovativeness, in turn, positively affects competitiveness. In addition, formal control positively moderates the effect of CMKAPB on sellers' competitiveness but does not affect the relationship between CMKAPB and innovativeness. On the other hand, informal control moderates the effect of CMKAPB on both sellers’ innovativeness and competitiveness. This research contributes to the digital platform literature by highlighting the interplay between cross-boundary knowledge management and platform control.