Third-Party Software Development Kit Utilization and Mobile App Market Performance

In the highly competitive mobile market, third-party vendors located outside the purview of hosting mobile platforms are becoming major suppliers of functional tool kits for mobile app development and innovation. However, app developers face challenges in navigating the use of third-party software development kits (SDKs) to enhance app performance. Drawing on the platform ecosystem literature, this study examines the roles of third-party SDKs, platform owners, and mobile app developers from a boundary-spanning perspective, emphasizing their respective contributions to shaping the functional value of third-party SDKs as boundary objects. By analyzing a longitudinal data set of 335,958 apps from the Apple App Store and Google Play, we find that integrating more third-party SDKs can significantly boost daily active users, especially when tool-type SDKs are utilized. However, this positive effect diminishes following platform updates that redefine platform boundaries and as developers gain more platform-specific experience. This study highlights the importance of balanced governance in platform ecosystems to sustain market growth, offering actionable insights for developers, policymakers, and industry leaders in shaping the future of mobile app markets.