IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v211y2025ics004016252400711x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Virtual virtuous cycles. Mapping value structure in digital platforms and online communities realms

Author

Listed:
  • Rodrigo, Laura
  • Palacios, Miguel
  • Martínez-Corral, Alberto
  • Tafur, Javier

Abstract

The term 'market' is increasingly synonymous with 'platform.' The combined annual revenues of the top five platforms alone surpass USD 7 trillion. Benefits can lead to further gains, with effects extending beyond just economic value. Recognising and assessing the values of these open infrastructures is essential, as the values perceived by stakeholders connected to an infrastructure are critical to the achievement of their own objectives. This paper represents the first comprehensive attempt to structure the diverse types of value presented by digital platforms and their associated online communities. A bibliometric analysis identifies the five clusters addressing values in these fields: digital platforms, ecosystems, and business models; online communities and co-creation, knowledge sharing, sharing economy; and social networks and social media infrastructures. Second, a review provides insights into how core studies from these disciplines approach values and offers a classification of the types of value identified. Our research indicates that, with very few exceptions, the concept of value is addressed in studies in a way that fails to fully capture the diversity of the term, focusing predominantly on the utilitarian dimension. This reflects a pursuit of rational satisfaction, albeit of a lower dignity order and with pointed psychological detachment.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodrigo, Laura & Palacios, Miguel & Martínez-Corral, Alberto & Tafur, Javier, 2025. "Virtual virtuous cycles. Mapping value structure in digital platforms and online communities realms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:211:y:2025:i:c:s004016252400711x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123913
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004016252400711X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123913?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    2. Constance Elise Porter & Naveen Donthu, 2008. "Cultivating Trust and Harvesting Value in Virtual Communities," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(1), pages 113-128, January.
    3. Hajli, Nick & Shanmugam, Mohana & Papagiannidis, Savvas & Zahay, Debra & Richard, Marie-Odile, 2017. "Branding co-creation with members of online brand communities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 136-144.
    4. Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen & Ann Majchrzak, 2012. "Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(5), pages 1398-1408, October.
    5. Jean-Michel Sahut & Luca Iandoli & Frédéric Teulon, 2021. "The age of digital entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1159-1169, February.
    6. Seraj, Mina, 2012. "We Create, We Connect, We Respect, Therefore We Are: Intellectual, Social, and Cultural Value in Online Communities," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 209-222.
    7. Michelini, Laura & Principato, Ludovica & Iasevoli, Gennaro, 2018. "Understanding Food Sharing Models to Tackle Sustainability Challenges," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 205-217.
    8. Hagiu, Andrei & Wright, Julian, 2015. "Multi-sided platforms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 162-174.
    9. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    10. Steve Evans & Doroteya Vladimirova & Maria Holgado & Kirsten Van Fossen & Miying Yang & Elisabete A. Silva & Claire Y. Barlow, 2017. "Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 597-608, July.
    11. Meng Ma & Ritu Agarwal, 2007. "Through a Glass Darkly: Information Technology Design, Identity Verification, and Knowledge Contribution in Online Communities," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 42-67, March.
    12. Jiatao Li & Liang Chen & Jingtao Yi & Jiye Mao & Jianwen Liao, 2019. "Ecosystem-specific advantages in international digital commerce," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1448-1463, December.
    13. Kawaljeet Kaur Kapoor & Kuttimani Tamilmani & Nripendra P. Rana & Pushp Patil & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Sridhar Nerur, 2018. "Advances in Social Media Research: Past, Present and Future," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 531-558, June.
    14. Jae Yun Moon & Lee S. Sproull, 2008. "The Role of Feedback in Managing the Internet-Based Volunteer Work Force," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 494-515, December.
    15. Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael, 2010. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 59-68, January.
    16. Cristina Alaimo & Jannis Kallinikos, 2017. "Computing the everyday: social media as data platforms," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 81432, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Bagozzi, Richard P. & Yi, Youjae & Nassen, Kent D., 1998. "Representation of measurement error in marketing variables: Review of approaches and extension to three-facet designs," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1-2), pages 393-421, November.
    18. Abel Usoro & Mark W Sharratt & Eric Tsui & Sandhya Shekhar, 2007. "Trust as an antecedent to knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice," Knowledge Management Research & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 199-212, August.
    19. Liang Chen & Noman Shaheer & Jingtao Yi & Sali Li, 2019. "The international penetration of ibusiness firms: Network effects, liabilities of outsidership and country clout," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 172-192, March.
    20. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    21. Jeffrey S. Harrison & Douglas A. Bosse & Robert A. Phillips, 2010. "Managing for stakeholders, stakeholder utility functions, and competitive advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 58-74, January.
    22. Samer Faraj & Georg von Krogh & Eric Monteiro & Karim R. Lakhani, 2016. "Special Section Introduction—Online Community as Space for Knowledge Flows," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 668-684, December.
    23. Kozinets, Robert V., 1999. "E-tribalized marketing?: the strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 252-264, June.
    24. Ed Diener & Robert Biswas-Diener, 2002. "Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 119-169, February.
    25. Kevin W. Boyack & Richard Klavans, 2010. "Co‐citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and direct citation: Which citation approach represents the research front most accurately?," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(12), pages 2389-2404, December.
    26. Laura Rodrigo & Isabel Ortiz-Marcos & Miguel Palacios, 2024. "A typology of social innovation: A comparative study of clustering methodologies," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 3283-3322, December.
    27. Samer Faraj & Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa & Ann Majchrzak, 2011. "Knowledge Collaboration in Online Communities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1224-1239, October.
    28. de Reuver, Mark & Sørensen, Carsten & Basole, Rahul C., 2018. "The digital platform: a research agenda," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 80669, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    29. Christian Fieseler & Matthes Fleck & Miriam Meckel, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Blogosphere," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(4), pages 599-614, February.
    30. Sheen S. Levine & Michael J. Prietula, 2014. "Open Collaboration for Innovation: Principles and Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1414-1433, October.
    31. van der Have, Robert P. & Rubalcaba, Luis, 2016. "Social innovation research: An emerging area of innovation studies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1923-1935.
    32. Rangaswamy, Arvind & Moch, Nicole & Felten, Claudio & van Bruggen, Gerrit & Wieringa, Jaap E. & Wirtz, Jochen, 2020. "The Role of Marketing in Digital Business Platforms," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 72-90.
    33. Daniel F. Spulber, 2019. "The economics of markets and platforms," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 159-172, January.
    34. Xiaoqing Jing & Jinhong Xie, 2011. "Group Buying: A New Mechanism for Selling Through Social Interactions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(8), pages 1354-1372, August.
    35. Panos Constantinides & Ola Henfridsson & Geoffrey G. Parker, 2018. "Introduction—Platforms and Infrastructures in the Digital Age," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 381-400, June.
    36. Marion Fourcade & Kieran Healy, 2013. "Classification situations: Life-chances in the neoliberal era," Post-Print hal-03470535, HAL.
    37. Barry L. Bayus, 2013. "Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas over Time: An Analysis of the Dell IdeaStorm Community," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(1), pages 226-244, June.
    38. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6cbt691h0h8o9q5rf0apko0pda is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Gawer, Annabelle, 2014. "Bridging differing perspectives on technological platforms: Toward an integrative framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1239-1249.
    40. E. Burton Swanson & Neil C. Ramiller, 1993. "Information Systems Research Thematics: Submissions to a New Journal, 1987–1992," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 4(4), pages 299-330, December.
    41. Abraham K. Song, 2019. "The Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem—a critique and reconfiguration," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 569-590, October.
    42. Satish Nambisan & Shaker A. Zahra & Yadong Luo, 2019. "Global platforms and ecosystems: Implications for international business theories," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1464-1486, December.
    43. Geoffrey G. Parker & Marshall W. Van Alstyne, 2005. "Two-Sided Network Effects: A Theory of Information Product Design," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(10), pages 1494-1504, October.
    44. Nees Jan van Eck & Ludo Waltman & Rommert Dekker & Jan van den Berg, 2010. "A comparison of two techniques for bibliometric mapping: Multidimensional scaling and VOS," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(12), pages 2405-2416, December.
    45. Rodolphe Durand & Robert M. Grant & Tammy L. Madsen & David P. McIntyre & Arati Srinivasan, 2017. "Networks, platforms, and strategy: Emerging views and next steps," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 141-160, January.
    46. Laurent Muzellec & Sébastien Ronteau & Mary Lambkin, 2015. "Two-sided Internet platforms: A business model lifecycle perspective," Post-Print hal-03718529, HAL.
    47. Kevin W. Boyack & Richard Klavans, 2010. "Co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and direct citation: Which citation approach represents the research front most accurately?," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(12), pages 2389-2404, December.
    48. Helfat, Constance E. & Raubitschek, Ruth S., 2018. "Dynamic and integrative capabilities for profiting from innovation in digital platform-based ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1391-1399.
    49. Khe Foon Hew & Noriko Hara, 2007. "Knowledge sharing in online environments: A qualitative case study," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 58(14), pages 2310-2324, December.
    50. Liu, He & Li, Xuerong & Wang, Shouyang, 2021. "A bibliometric analysis of 30 years of platform research: Developing the research agenda for platforms, the associated technologies and social impacts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    51. Llodrà-Riera, Isabel & Martínez-Ruiz, María Pilar & Jiménez-Zarco, Ana Isabel & Izquierdo-Yusta, Alicia, 2015. "A multidimensional analysis of the information sources construct and its relevance for destination image formation," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 319-328.
    52. Michael Barrett & Eivor Oborn & Wanda Orlikowski, 2016. "Creating Value in Online Communities: The Sociomaterial Configuring of Strategy, Platform, and Stakeholder Engagement," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 704-723, December.
    53. Gyrd-Jones, Richard I. & Kornum, Niels, 2013. "Managing the co-created brand: Value and cultural complementarity in online and offline multi‐stakeholder ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1484-1493.
    54. Sebastian Hermes & Tobias Riasanow & Eric K. Clemons & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2020. "The digital transformation of the healthcare industry: exploring the rise of emerging platform ecosystems and their influence on the role of patients," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 13(3), pages 1033-1069, November.
    55. Michael G. Jacobides & Carmelo Cennamo & Annabelle Gawer, 2018. "Towards a theory of ecosystems," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(8), pages 2255-2276, August.
    56. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6cbt691h0h8o9q5rf0apko0pda is not listed on IDEAS
    57. Andreas Hein & Maximilian Schreieck & Tobias Riasanow & David Soto Setzke & Manuel Wiesche & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2020. "Digital platform ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(1), pages 87-98, March.
    58. Harrison, Jeffrey S. & Wicks, Andrew C., 2013. "Stakeholder Theory, Value, and Firm Performance," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 97-124, January.
    59. Ramaswamy, Venkat & Ozcan, Kerimcan, 2018. "What is co-creation? An interactional creation framework and its implications for value creation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 196-205.
    60. Ghezzi, Antonio & Cavallo, Angelo, 2020. "Agile Business Model Innovation in Digital Entrepreneurship: Lean Startup Approaches," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 519-537.
    61. Mahr, Dominik & Lievens, Annouk, 2012. "Virtual lead user communities: Drivers of knowledge creation for innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 167-177.
    62. Alberto Onetti & Antonella Zucchella & Marian Jones & Patricia McDougall-Covin, 2012. "Internationalization, innovation and entrepreneurship: business models for new technology-based firms," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(3), pages 337-368, August.
    63. Fourcade, Marion & Healy, Kieran, 2013. "Classification situations: Life-chances in the neoliberal era," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 559-572.
    64. Bin Gu & Prabhudev Konana & Balaji Rajagopalan & Hsuan-Wei Michelle Chen, 2007. "Competition Among Virtual Communities and User Valuation: The Case of Investing-Related Communities," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 68-85, March.
    65. Andreas Hein & Jörg Weking & Maximilian Schreieck & Manuel Wiesche & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2019. "Value co-creation practices in business-to-business platform ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 29(3), pages 503-518, September.
    66. Kazan, Erol & Tan, Chee-Wee & Lim, Eric T.K & Sørensen, Carsten & Damsgaard, Jan, 2018. "Disentangling digital platform competition: the case of UK mobile payment platforms," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86345, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    67. Brodie, Roderick J. & Ilic, Ana & Juric, Biljana & Hollebeek, Linda, 2013. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 105-114.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hou, Hong & Shi, Yongjiang, 2021. "Ecosystem-as-structure and ecosystem-as-coevolution: A constructive examination," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    2. Pundziene, Asta & Gerulaitiene, Neringa & Bez, Sea Matilda & Georgescu, Irène & Mathieu, Christopher & Carrabina-Bordoll, Jordi & Rialp-Criado, Josep & Nieminen, Hannu & Varri, Alpo & Boethius, Susann, 2023. "Value capture and embeddedness in social-purpose-driven ecosystems. A multiple-case study of European digital healthcare platforms," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Bejjani, Melissa & Göcke, Lutz & Menter, Matthias, 2023. "Digital entrepreneurial ecosystems: A systematic literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    4. Peng, Hui & Lu, Yaobin & Gupta, Sumeet, 2023. "Promoting value emergence through digital platform ecosystems: Perspectives on resource integration in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    5. Andreas Hein & Maximilian Schreieck & Tobias Riasanow & David Soto Setzke & Manuel Wiesche & Markus Böhm & Helmut Krcmar, 2020. "Digital platform ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(1), pages 87-98, March.
    6. Fabian Schueler & Dimitri Petrik, 2022. "Objectives of platform research: A co-citation and systematic literature review analysis," Papers 2202.08822, arXiv.org.
    7. Jan Frederic Nerbel & Markus Kreutzer, 2023. "Digital platform ecosystems in flux: From proprietary digital platforms to wide-spanning ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-20, December.
    8. Muninger, Marie-Isabelle & Mahr, Dominik & Hammedi, Wafa, 2022. "Social media use: A review of innovation management practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 140-156.
    9. Jovanovic, Marin & Sjödin, David & Parida, Vinit, 2022. "Co-evolution of platform architecture, platform services, and platform governance: Expanding the platform value of industrial digital platforms," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Zahid Sarwar & Jingmei Gao & Adnan Khan, 2024. "Nexus of digital platforms, innovation capability, and strategic alignment to enhance innovation performance in the Asia Pacific region: a dynamic capability perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 867-901, June.
    11. Tobias Wulfert & Robert Woroch & Gero Strobel & Sarah Seufert & Frederik Möller, 2022. "Developing design principles to standardize e-commerce ecosystems," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 1813-1842, December.
    12. Zeng, Jing & Mahdi Tavalaei, M. & Khan, Zaheer, 2021. "Sharing economy platform firms and their resource orchestration approaches," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 451-465.
    13. Mosch, Philipp & Majocco, Philipp & Obermaier, Robert, 2023. "Contrasting value creation strategies of industrial-IoT-platforms – a multiple case study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    14. Wu, Mian & (David) Liu, Yulong & Jasimuddin, Sajjad M. & (Justin) Zhang, Zuopeng, 2023. "Rethinking cross-border mobile payment ecosystems: A process study of mobile payment platform complementors, network effect holes and ecosystem modules," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(1).
    15. Wu, Aiqi & Song, Di & Liu, Yihui, 2022. "Platform synergy and innovation speed of SMEs: The roles of organizational design and regional environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 38-53.
    16. Cenamor, Javier, 2021. "Complementor competitive advantage: A framework for strategic decisions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 335-343.
    17. Shi, Xianwei & Liang, Xingkun & Luo, Yining, 2023. "Unpacking the intellectual structure of ecosystem research in innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    18. Van Dyck, Marc & Lüttgens, Dirk & Diener, Kathleen & Piller, Frank & Pollok, Patrick, 2024. "From product to platform: How incumbents' assumptions and choices shape their platform strategy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    19. Mosterd, Lars & Sobota, Vladimir C.M. & van de Kaa, Geerten & Ding, Aaron Yi & de Reuver, Mark, 2021. "Context dependent trade-offs around platform-to-platform openness: The case of the Internet of Things," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    20. Christian Bartelheimer & Philipp Heiden & Hedda Lüttenberg & Daniel Beverungen, 2022. "Systematizing the lexicon of platforms in information systems: a data-driven study," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(1), pages 375-396, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:211:y:2025:i:c:s004016252400711x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.