【学术讲座】Platform Categorization and Complement Performance

Platform Categorization and Complement Performance:

Evidence from A Quasi-Natural Experiment on Mobile Apps

Speakers:     Tony Tong, University of Colorado;

                     Shihao Zhou, Nanjing University

Date/Time: 10 am June 2^nd, 2022

Zoom ID:     827 3596 2623 / Password: 401473

ABSTRACT

Managing complement heterogeneity has a salient impact on value creation in platform markets, but remains underexamined in the platform governance literature. Local homogenization (i.e., increasing complement homogeneity within a product category) can improve customer-complement matching efficiency, without weakening the network effect of the platform market. However, although local homogenization enables customers to better identify potentially fitted complements, the presence of more fitted complements makes customers more selective in making payments. By exploiting the removing of shopping apps from the lifestyle category on Apple’s App store as an exogenous shock which increases local homogeneity of the lifestyle category, we find that local homogenization increases complements’ new installs, but reduces revenue generation from each install. Since new installs and revenue are both important for digital complementors, this research illustrates a nuanced relationship between platform categorization and complement performance.

Guest Bio

Tony Tong is Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship in the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado. Currently he serves as the Interim Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research. His research on strategy, innovation, and globalization examines digital platforms, open source innovation, interfirm relationships, intellectual property rights, and multinational enterprises. His interdisciplinary research has been published in many top journals and has received many awards. He has been the Principal Investigator of two National Science Foundation Awards. He is a cofounder of the Chinese Patent Data Project and a high-tech startup.

周诗豪博士是南京大学商学院电子商务系助理教授。他于2016年取得美国弗吉尼亚理工大学（Virginia Tech）管理学博士学位。在加入南京大学之前，他是西交利物浦大学管理学助理教授，并任国际商务学士项目主任。周博士在中国和美国均有丰富的教学经验，教授本科和硕士层面的数字经济学、计量经济学、战略管理、创业管理等课程。周博士的主要研究方向是数字经济和企业创新，其研究成果发表在Journal of Management Information Systems等学术期刊上，以及清华管理评论等管理实践类期刊上。他的研究获得了国家自然科学基金等基金项目的支持。现担任Management and Organization Review编委会成员，以及Journal of International Business Studies、Journal of MIS等多本学术期刊的审稿人。