Hybrid Monetization in an Open-Source Platform: Freemium, Data, and Value Capture in the PrestaShop Ecosystem

Hybrid monetization is increasingly common in digital platforms, yet we know little about how sponsors of open-source ecosystems combine freeness, community participation and value capture under decentralised data constraints. This paper examines how PrestaShop, a large open-source e-commerce platform, reconfigures its business model to assemble a hybrid monetization architecture on top of a free, self-hosted core. Drawing on an abductive, qualitative single case study, we analyse semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers, internal documents and performance dashboards, and participant observation in strategic and product meetings. Our process analysis traces three dynamics: a shift from community-led freeness and loosely governed marketplace revenues to intentional monetization; the construction of data and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities as monetization infrastructure that makes the ecosystem legible and segmentable; and the layering of transactional, infrastructural and curated subscription revenues around the open-source core. We show how hybrid monetization emerges through sequential, overlapping moves rather than a single pivot, and how each new revenue mechanism entails adjustments in control points, partner relationships and data governance. The study contributes to research on commercial open source, hybrid multi-sided platforms and AI-enabled business models by conceptualising hybrid monetization as a staged reconfiguration under structural constraints.