Digital entrepreneurial enterprises: the evolution of organizational structure

Purpose On the premise of verifying whether the platformization organization of DEEs is born, this work aims to explore the evolutionary process of the organizational structure of digital entrepreneurial enterprises (DEEs) and to further reveal the drivers of organizational structure evolution from the perspective of data resources. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a longitudinal two-case approach to analyze rich archival and interview data from two DEEs in China. Findings The findings reveal that the organizational structure of DEEs evolves from hierarchy, network and flatlization to platformization, that the drivers of evolution include building data flow channels, removing barriers of data flow and forming data rules. Meanwhile, the coordination devices in this process have gradually evolved from hierarchy to standard operating procedures, shared culture, norms, etc. to achieve a balance between commercial and creative success. Originality/value This work develops a framework for the evolution of organizational structure of DEEs from organization design theory lens and provide some management insights into the development of DEEs.