Following the tradition of previous editions1, the 6th Innovation in Information Infrastructures (III) workshop will focus on the relationship between Platform Ecosystems and Information Infrastructures. The term ecosystem generally refers to a group of interacting organizations that depend on each other’s activities (Jacobides et al. 2018). Platform ecosystems are the structures of complementary roles, resources and activities between a group of organizations that are not reducible to the sum of their bilateral connections (Adner 2017; Jacobides et al 2018; Kapoor 2018). Yet, in the digital economy, platform ecosystems largely depend on and are enabled by existing information infrastructures. Although digital infrastructures have a key role in developing ecosystem complementarities the conceptual and empirical evidence around the phenomenon is scarce.

How do existing infrastructures facilitate the emergence of platform ecosystems? We know that properties and characteristics of digital infrastructures enable the reconfigurability and reprogrammability of products and platforms after the point of production (Henfridsson et al. 2018; Kallinikos et al. 2013; Yoo et al. 2010). What role does this play in enabling interorganization complementarities and spurring digital innovation? (Holmström 2018; Monteiro 2018).

We encourage conceptualizations of the relation between Platform Ecosystems and Information Infrastructures. We are also interested in empirical contributions that trace the dynamic relationship between infrastructures, ecosystems and platforms in different empirical settings and theoretical contributions that conceptualize the transformation of digital infrastructures into platforms or into platform ecosystems and vice versa (de Reuver et al. 2016; Gawer 2014; Hanseth and Bygstad 2018; Helmond 2015; Kornberger et al. 2017; Plantin et al. 2018; Rolland et al. 2018; Zittrain 2008). The ubiquitous presence of mega platform ecosystems working as infrastructures across industries, such as Facebook, Google and Amazon, calls for innovative conceptual toolkits and imaginative approaches to research. It also asks to account for the importance of data exchange and the infrastructural work sustaining it (Alaimo and Kallinikos 2017; Gerlitz and Helmond 2013; Nieborg and Helmond 2018).

We call for contributions that focus on either the special theme of Platform Ecosystems and Information Infrastructures or the general theme of Innovation in Information Infrastructures based on empirical research in relevant settings. We anticipate contributions which draw from different empirical settings. We also encourage cross-disciplinary contributions and different disciplinary approaches. We call for contributions related to, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Platform Ecosystems and Information Infrastructures

• The platformization of existing infrastructures

• The infrastructuring of platforms

• Transformation in digital infrastructures

• Emergence of mega platform ecosystems and the role of information infrastructures

• The design, development and implementation of information infrastructures in different empirical settings (e.g. e-health, e-justice, digital advertising, video gaming, e-finance)

• The governance and control of information infrastructures

• Information infrastructure standards

• Market infrastructures

• Methodological challenges in studying information infrastructures and large platform ecosystems

References

• Adner, R. (2017). Ecosystem as structure: an actionable construct for strategy. Journal of Management, 43(1), 39-58.

• Alaimo, C., and Kallinikos, J. (2017). Computing the Everyday: Social Media as Data Platforms, The Information Society, 33(4): 175-191.

• de Reuver, M., Sørensen, C. and Basole, R.C., (2016). The digital platform: a research agenda. Journal of Information Technology, pp.1-12.

• Gawer, A., (2014). Bridging differing perspectives on technological platforms: Toward an integrative framework. Research Policy, 43(7), pp.1239-1249.

• Hanseth, O. and Bygstad, B. (2018) Platformization, infrastructuring and platformoriented infrastructures. A Norwegian e-health case. Working Papers in Information Systems, Infromation Systems Group, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, WP 3/2018

• Helmond, A. (2015). The platformization of the web: Making web data platform ready. Social Media+ Society, 1(2).

• Henfridsson, O., Nandhakumar, J., Scarbrough, H., and Panourgias, N. (2018). Recombination in the open-ended value landscape of digital innovation. Information and Organization, 28(2), 89-100.

• Holmström, J. (2018). Recombination in digital innovation: Challenges, opportunities, and the importance of a theoretical framework. Information and Organization, 28(2), 107-110.

• Jacobides, M. G., Cennamo, C. and Gawer, A. (2018) Towards a Theory of Ecosystems. Strategic Management Journal 39.8: 2255-276.

• Kallinikos, J., Aaltonen, A., and Marton, A. (2013). The Ambivalent Ontology of Digital Artifacts, MIS Quarterly, (37:2) pp. 1-33.

• Kapoor, R. (2018). Ecosystems: broadening the locus of value creation. Journal of Organization Design, 7(1), 12.

• Kornberger, M., Pflueger, D., & Mouritsen, J. (2017). Evaluative infrastructures: Accounting for platform organization. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 60, 79-95.

• Monteiro, E. (2018). Reflections on digital innovation. Information and Organization, 28(2), 101-103.

• Nieborg, D. B., and Helmond, A. (2018). The political economy of Facebook’s platformization in the mobile ecosystem: Facebook Messenger as a platform instance. Media, Culture & Society,

• Plantin, J. C., Lagoze, C., Edwards, P. N., & Sandvig, C. (2018). Infrastructure studies meet platform studies in the age of Google and Facebook. New Media & Society, 20(1), 293-310.

• Rolland, K. H., Mathiassen, L., and Rai, A. (2018). Managing Digital Platforms in User Organizations: The Interactions Between Digital Options and Digital Debt. Information Systems Research, 29(2), 419-443.

• Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O., & Lyytinen, K. (2010). The new organizing logic of digital innovation: An agenda for information systems research. Information Systems Research, 21(4), 724–735.

• Zittrain, J. L. 2008. The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It. Yale University Press.
Submission
We accept short papers (3 to 4 pages) within the deadline. They must be submitted online via EasyChair at the following link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iii2019

Important dates:
Deadline for submission of short papers: 11th of June 2019 Decision of acceptance: 10th of July 2019 Final programme available: 10th of August 2019 Workshop: 18th-20th of September 2019
https://www.surrey.ac.uk/department-digital-economy-entrepreneurship-innovation

INFO: iii2019@easychair.org  c.alaimo@surrey.ac.uk

1 http://impresaemanagement.luiss.it/news/2017/05/24/5th-innovation-information-infrastructures-iii-workshop https://www.mn.uio.no/ifi/english/research/groups/is/events/innovations-in-information-infrastructures/index.html