Platform enhancers: Collaborating in the early stages of transactional platform development

Transactional platforms have emerged over the last decades as a dominant business configuration, \nreceiving substantial attention from scholars and practitioners in several fields. Despite their \npivoltal role, several transactional platforms fail in the launching phase, given the difficulties of \nreaching a critical mass and igniting cross-side network externalities. In this study we explore \nhow a platform provider can introduce a collaborative framework from the earliest stages of \nplatform development, aiming to highlight the benefits and challenges of moving towards a wider \necosystem through the involvement of other players. We introduce the role of platform enhancer, \nwho is neither a supply side or a complementor, but a specific role aiming to support the platform \nprovider in the launch and growth of the platform. We rely a single exploratory case study based \non the Italian platform for digital identity, created and managed by the Italian Government \nthrough the support of a set of companies working as identity providers. Platform enhancers \ncollaborate with the platform provider in the launch and development of a transactional platform, \ngenerating opportunities at both the launch and development stages, yet also substantial challenges \nand criticalities linked to increasing complexity, which climbs with the number of enhancers \ninvolved, producing coopetitive dynamics.