Evolution of Smartphone Platform Ecosystems – A Historical Research

Digital platforms have become a cornerstone of many segments of the economy. However, little is known about the evolutionary process in these platform ecosystems. Smartphone platforms, which are digital platforms, emerged from cellular telephony and matured over the last two decades. Only two survived from more than ten platforms that competed over time. Smartphone platforms utilize software and hardware integral to their value proposition, making them an appropriate area to understand the evolutionary process in digital platforms. This study explicitly examines the platform’s openness in both software and hardware, and outlines the strategies employed by platform sponsors. This study uses historical research of technology blogs, a novel data source that contemporaneously tracked the platforms’ developments. Though organizations relied on similar strategies to control the platform's openness, the outcomes varied. With the emergence of new platforms in various areas, the study findings will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners.