Informal appropriation mechanisms and digital product performance in mobile apps: A dual perspective on customer engagement and dynamic capabilities

Digital innovation often faces substantial challenges in value capture, especially in digital environments where imitation is rapid and formal protection is limited. As a result, informal appropriation mechanisms have become an increasingly important means for digital product developers to secure returns from innovation. However, the internal relationships among different informal mechanisms and their roles in the digital value capture process remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on customer engagement and profit from innovation theory, this study examines how lead time, product complexity, and fast action influence digital product performance on digital platforms, and how fast action reshapes the effects of lead time and product complexity from a dynamic perspective. Using mobile application data from a major digital platform, we develop and test a moderated framework to explore these relationships. The findings indicate that lead time, product complexity, and fast action each contribute positively to digital product performance. More importantly, fast action strengthens the performance benefits associated with lead time while weakening those associated with product complexity, revealing a dynamic trade-off between speed-based and depth-based appropriation strategies. In addition, lead time and product complexity exhibit a substitutive relationship, and the effectiveness of informal mechanisms varies across product categories. Compared with utility-oriented applications, entertainment applications benefit more strongly from lead time and fast action. This study deepens understanding of how informal appropriation mechanisms jointly shape digital innovation outcomes and provides theoretical insights and practical implications for digital product developers operating on platform ecosystems.