Ecosystem Interconnection: Logical Deconstruction and Paradigm Choice for Platform Enterprises to Build Open Ecosystems

Abstract

In recent years, the rise of platform enterprises relying on Internet technology, big data and algorithms, and other types of digital intelligence technology complexes has become an important force driving China’s economy forward. However, in order to maintain sufficient competitiveness in the highly competitive platform market, the platform ecosystem formed around platform enterprises has gradually become closed, with all kinds of barriers hindering the smooth flow of standards, users, data, etc., resulting in a series of negative impacts on the social level, industry level and user level. Therefore, it is necessary to promote platform enterprises to move from intra-ecosystem interconnection to higher-order cross-ecosystem “ecosystem-interconnection”, so as to realize the development of platform enterprises in the midst of standardization and standardization in the midst of development.

Based on the theoretical foundation of platform enterprise interconnection, this paper proposes platform enterprise ecosystem interconnection (abb: ecosystem-interconnection), i.e., platform ecosystem-interconnection manifests itself in the all-round connection and sharing of standards, data, users, business partners and other resources among various types of platform ecosystems under certain interoperability rules, covering multi-level interconnection of access standards, bilateral users, data elements, digital innovation and platform ecological governance. Under the platform ecosystem of each type, there are all-round connections and sharing of standards, users, data, business partners and other resources, covering access standards, bilateral users, data elements, digital innovation and platform ecological governance. However, platform ecosystem-interconnection faces the “inherent curse”, which is reflected in the conflict of mission, property rights, behavior, institutional logic and other multiple conflict spaces, and it is necessary to crack the above “conflicts”. Toward the platform “ecosystem-interconnection” needs to build a consensual dominant mode, including the head of the platform enterprise-led, government + platform enterprise synergistic, platform enterprise common governance mode. Finally, from the government level to strengthen the maintenance of ecological interoperability system construction, platform enterprise level to comprehensively change the strategic orientation and value orientation, the user level to form the ecosystem-interconnection supportive social ecology and other perspectives to promote the ecosystem-interconnection mode of the orderly landing and implementation, to promote the sustainable development of the digital economy.

Compared with the previous literature, this paper expands on the following three aspects: First, it is the first time that the paper discusses “ecosystem-interconnection” as an academic concept and defines its connotation in detail. Ecosystem-interconnection is not only the traditional meaning of “interconnection”, but also covers the all-round connection and sharing between platform ecosystems in terms of standards, data, users, business partners and other dimensions, which is systematically elaborated in the article. Secondly, the article analyzes the multiple conflicts that may be faced in the process of ecosystem-interconnection, including mission conflict, property rights conflict, behavioral conflict and institutional logic conflict. The analysis of these conflicts provides a theoretical basis for understanding the complexity and implementation difficulty of ecosystem-interconnection, especially the challenges faced by platform enterprises in the process of transitioning from commercial to public organizations. Third, the paper proposes three paradigms for ecological interoperability, including the “head platform enterprise-led”, “government + platform enterprise synergy”, and “diversified platform enterprise co-governance”. These paradigms provide concrete implementation paths for ecological interoperability in different contexts, especially in solving the problem of blockage and fragmentation among platform enterprises, and offer diversified solutions.