The effects of platform as a technology standard on platform-based repurchases
| Published date | 13 March 2017 |
| Pages | 153-167 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-11-2016-0054 |
| Date | 13 March 2017 |
| Author | Hongbum Kim,Dong-Hee Shin |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information policy |
The effects of platform as a technology
standard on platform-based repurchases
Hongbum Kim and Dong-Hee Shin
Hongbum Kim is Senior
Researcher at Korea
National Industrial
Convergence Center,
Korea Institute of
Industrial Technology,
Ansan-si, Korea.
Dong-Hee Shin is a Full
Professor at the School of
Media and
Communication, Chung-
Ang University,
Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
Purpose –Using the critical incident technique, this study aims to identify the attributes of a platform as
a technology standard and to investigate their effects on platform-based repurchases.
Design/methodology/approach –Smartphone users’ personal experiences and levels of satisfaction
or dissatisfaction were collected and categorized into technology standard attributes to estimate those
factors affecting consumers’ intention to purchase platform-based products and services.
Findings –The study findings show the importance of understanding which attributes are important to
promoting future platform-based purchases and maximizing positive experiences when using
platform-based products and services.
Research limitations/implications –Given the effect of the platform vendor on repurchases, and that
various lock-in strategies are being implemented, firms attempting to be leaders in the information and
communications technology (ICT) ecosystem should seek appropriate strategies to lock-in their
installed base.
Originality/value –Including discussions on the competition in the ICT ecosystem, this study also
provides some policy suggestions and contributions for applicability to an integrated approach.
Keywords Critical incident technique, Platform, ICT ecosystem, Lock-in, Repurchase,
Technology standard
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Efforts to lead the information and communications technology (ICT) ecosystem have caused
competition among firms to intensify. Among many technologies, the advent of the smartphone
(i.e. smart technology) has induced many innovations in terms of technology, organization,
culture and society. While each layer of the value chain within the ICT industry – content,
platform, network and device – is emphasized independently and interdependently (Fransman,
2010), the smartphone, as a representative product, has been at the center of the fierce
competition for the leadership of the ICT ecosystem (Cecere et al., 2015). Smartphones can be
a direct point of contact and an interface between ICT firms and customers. As a result, many
studies have been conducted on the factors influencing smartphone adoption, diffusion and
customer satisfaction (Chen et al., 2011;Lee, 2014;Shin, 2014).
However, the smartphone is not the only or absolute product enabling leadership of the ICT
ecosystem. Rather, the platform providing the core smartphone software now matters
(Campbell-Kelly et al., 2015;Lee et al., 2015). Once platform generally meant an operating
system software managing other applications to be run in a computing environment, its
concept now extends to support complementary economic activities for additional values
and services, and therefore it becomes more important to business and society (Fransman,
2010). For example, although Samsung has core competencies in hardware and shows
great market performance, Apple and Google, which have their own platforms and provide
platform-related services for smartphones, are leading the ICT ecosystem (Campbell-Kelly
et al., 2015;Gerpott et al., 2013). Their platforms, iOS and Android, respectively, are now
Received 17 November 2016
Accepted 5 January 2017
Both authors contributed
equally to this study and thus
the two authors are co-first
authors. This work was
supported by the National
Research Foundation of Korea
Grant funded by the Korean
Government
(NRF-2014S1A5B1014964).
DOI 10.1108/DPRG-11-2016-0054 VOL. 19 NO. 2 2017, pp. 153-167, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2398-5038 DIGITAL POLICY, REGULATION AND GOVERNANCE PAGE 153
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