Strategic Drivers of Core Expansion on Software Platforms: Evidence from Apple iOS
References
- (2023) Impressionable or immune? Examining the influence of marquee sellers in B2B secondary market platforms for IT products. Inform. Systems Res. 34(2):570–589.Link, Google Scholar
- (2009) Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ).Crossref, Google Scholar
- Apple (2023) App Store developers generated $1.1 trillion in total billings and sales in the App Store ecosystem in 2022. Accessed March 22, 2024, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/05/developers-generated-one-point-one-trillion-in-the-app-store-ecosystem-in-2022.Google Scholar
- Apple (2024) Choosing a category. Accessed March 25, 2024, https://developer.apple.com/app-store/categories/.Google Scholar
- (2009) The architecture of platforms: A unified view. Gawer A, ed. Platforms, Markets and Innovation (Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK), 19–44.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2017) Operational IT failures, IT value destruction, and board-level IT governance changes. MIS Quart. 41(3):729–762.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2022) Fending off critics of platform power with differential revenue sharing: Doing well by doing good? Management Sci. 68(11):8249–8260.Link, Google Scholar
- (2004) Endogeneity in semiparametric binary response models. Rev. Econom. Stud. 71:655–679. Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2012) Let a thousand flowers bloom? An earlier look at large numbers of software app developers and patterns of innovation. Organ. Sci. 23(5):1409–1427.Link, Google Scholar
- (2018) Amateurs crowds & professional entrepreneurs as platform complementors. NBER Working Paper No. 24512, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
- (1996) Co-opetition: A Revolutionary Mindset that Redefines Competition and Cooperation (Currency Doubleday, New York).Google Scholar
- (1995) Product development: Past research, present findings, and future directions. Acad. Management Rev. 20(2):343–378.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2019) Optimizing and satisficing: The interplay between platform architecture and producers’ design strategies for platform performance. MIS Quart. 43(4):1249–1277.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2022) Omitted variable bias: Examining management research with the impact threshold of a confounding variable (ITCV). J. Management 48(1):17–48.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2021) The EU Digital Markets Act: A report from a panel of economic experts. Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.Google Scholar
- (2010) Microeconometrics Using Stata, 2nd ed. (Stata Press, College Station, TX).Google Scholar
- (2022) The success of third-party apps on the App Store. Accessed January 8, 2025, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/the-success-of-third-party-apps-on-the-app-store.pdf.Google Scholar
- (2012) Cocreation of value in a platform ecosystem! The case of enterprise software. MIS Quart. 36(1):263–290.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2019) Generativity tension and value creation in platform ecosystems. Organ. Sci. 30(3):617–641.Link, Google Scholar
- (1989) Empirical studies of innovation and market structure. Schmalensee R, Willig R, eds. Handbook of Industrial Organization, vol. 2 (Elsevier, Amsterdam), 1059–1107.Google Scholar
- (2003) Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 3rd ed. (Routledge, New York).Google Scholar
- (2018) Introduction—Platforms and infrastructures in the Digital Age. Inform. Systems Res. 29(2):381–400.Link, Google Scholar
- (2004) The golden age of home video games: From the reign of Atari to the rise of Nintendo. Harvard Business School Case Study No. 9-704-487, Harvard Business School, Boston.Google Scholar
- (2023) Fairness and contestability in the Digital Markets Act. Yale J. Regulation 40(3):973–999.Google Scholar
- (2023) Spillover effects and freemium strategy in the mobile app market. Management Sci. 69(9):5018–5041.Link, Google Scholar
- (2008) The red queen effect: Competitive actions and firm performance. Acad. Management J. 51(1):61–80.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2012) What’s app? A wide-scale measurement study of smart phone markets. Mobile Comput. Comm. Rev. 16(2):16–27.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2015) Distributed tuning of boundary resources: The case of Apple’s iOS service system. MIS Quart. 39(1):217–243.Crossref, Google Scholar
- Economist (2012) You’ve been sherlocked. (July 13), https://www.economist.com/babbage/2012/07/13/youve-been-sherlocked.Google Scholar
- (2000) Innovation, rent extraction, and integration in systems markets. J. Indust. Econom. 48(4):413–432.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2020) Interfirm exchange and innovation in platform ecosystems: Evidence from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Management Sci. 66(10):4772–4787.Link, Google Scholar
- (2018) Does platform owner’s entry crowd out innovation? Evidence from Google Photos. Inform. Systems Res. 29(2):444–460.Link, Google Scholar
- (2019) Knowledge boundaries in enterprise software platform development: Antecedents and consequences for platform governance. Inform. Systems J. 29(1):119–144.Crossref, Google Scholar
- Forbes (2012) Why Apple had to release its terrible maps app now. (September 29), https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelisrael/2012/09/29/apples-maps-strategy-china-today-tomorrow-the-world/.Google Scholar
- Forbes (2022) Software development time estimation: How long should it take to develop a product? (December 2), https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/12/02/software-development-time-estimation-how-long-should-it-take-to-develop-a-product/?sh=f62784a76cee.Google Scholar
- (2013) What would it take to change an inference? Using Rubin’s causal model to interpret the robustness of causal inferences. Ed. Evaluation Policy Anal. 35(4):437–460.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2023) Extended generativity theory on digital platforms. Inform. Systems Res. 34(4):1686–1710. Link, Google Scholar
- (2014) Industry platforms and ecosystem innovation. J. Product Innovation Management 31(3):417–433.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2007) Platform owner entry and innovation in complementary markets: Evidence from Intel. J. Econom. Management Strategy 16(1):1–34.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2013) Balancing platform control and external contribution in third-party development: The boundary resources model. Inform. Systems J. 23(2):173–192.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2014) Estimating demand for mobile applications in the new economy. Management Sci. 60(6):1470–1488.Link, Google Scholar
- (2024) Contrasting the response to past and future oriented appeals for help on donation-based crowdfunding platforms. Eur. J. Inform. Systems 33(6):953–974.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2018) Econometric Analysis, 8th ed. (Pearson, Munich, Germany).Google Scholar
- (2006) Multivariate Data Analysis, 7th ed. (Pearson, Munich, Germany).Google Scholar
- (2012) App Store mining and analysis: MSR for app stores. Proc. 9th IEEE Working Conf. Mining Software Repositories (MSR ’12) (Zurich), 108–111.Google Scholar
- (2020) Impact of platform owner’s entry on third-party stores. Inform. Systems Res. 31(4):1467–1484.Link, Google Scholar
- (2018) Platform sponsor investments and user contributions in knowledge communities: The role of knowledge seeding. MIS Quart. 42(1):213–240.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2013) Appropriability mechanisms and the platform partnership decision: Evidence from enterprise software. Management Sci. 59(1):102–121.Link, Google Scholar
- (2017) Governance practices in platform ecosystems: Navigating tensions between cocreated value and governance costs. Inform. Systems Res. 28(3):563–584.Link, Google Scholar
- (2020) Platform signaling for generating platform content. MIS Quart. 44(3):1177–1205.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2025) Digital battlegrounds: The power dynamics and governance of contemporary platforms. Acad. Management Ann. 19(1):265–297.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2022) Power dynamics in software platform ecosystems. Inform. Systems J. 32(2):310–343.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2021) Complementor dedication in platform ecosystems: Rule adequacy and the moderating role of flexible and benevolent practices. Eur. J. Inform. Systems 30(3):237–260.Crossref, Google Scholar
- IEEE (2008) IEEE standard for software test documentation. IEEE Standard No. 829-2008, IEEE, New York.Google Scholar
- (2018) Towards a theory of ecosystems. Strategic Management J. 38(8):2255–2276.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2023) Platform owner entry into complementor spaces under different governance modes. J. Management 49(5):1766–1800. Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2019) The impact of platform entry strategies on the quality of complements in multihoming. Proc. 40th Internat. Conf. Inform. Systems (Munich, Germany).Google Scholar
- (2018) Exploiting and defending open digital platforms with boundary resources: Android’s five platform forks. Inform. Systems Res. 29(2):479–497.Link, Google Scholar
- (2013) Effects of piracy on quality of information goods. Management Sci. 59(1):245–264.Link, Google Scholar
- (2023) Positive demand spillover of popular app adoption: Implications for platform owners’ management of complements. Inform. Systems Res. 34(3):961–995.Link, Google Scholar
- (2024) Coordination in a digital platform organization. Inform. Systems Res. 35(1):363–393.Link, Google Scholar
- (2019) Platform leadership: Managing boundaries for the network growth of digital platforms. J. Assoc. Inform. Systems 20(10):1531–1565.Google Scholar
- (2017) Platform integration and demand spillovers in complementary markets: Evidence from Facebook’s integration of Instagram. Management Sci. 63(10):3438–3458.Link, Google Scholar
- (2024) Regulating powerful platforms: Evidence from commission fee caps. Inform. Systems Res. 36(1):126–140.Link, Google Scholar
- (2022) Mobile app portfolio management and developers’ performance: An empirical study of the Apple App Store. Inform. Management 59(8):103716.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2019) The spillover of spotlight: Platform recommendation in the mobile app market. Inform. Systems Res. 30(4):1296–1318.Link, Google Scholar
- (2025) The complementor’s dilemma: Navigating growth ambitions and the dependency on focal actors in platform ecosystems. MIS Quart. 49(3):1123–1152.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2022) Competing with superstars: Does exclusive third-party content discourage complementary innovation? Bjørn-Andersen N, ed. Proc. 43rd Internat. Conf. Inform. Systems (AIS Electronic Library (AISeL), Atlanta).Google Scholar
- MacWorld (2024) iOS versions: Every version of iOS from the oldest to the newest. Accessed October 10, 2025, https://www.macworld.com/article/1659017/ios-versions-list.html.Google Scholar
- (2025) Delaying informed consent: An empirical investigation of mobile apps’ upgrade decisions. Management Sci. 71(8):7113–7135.Link, Google Scholar
- (2022) Digital attrition: The negative implications of the sharing economy for the digital options of incumbent firms. Inform. Systems J. 32(5):1005–1033.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2013) How a firm’s competitive environment and digital strategic posture influence digital business strategy. MIS Quart. 37(2):511–536.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2019) Apple cracks down on apps that fight iPhone addiction. New York Times (April 27), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/technology/apple-screen-time-trackers.html.Google Scholar
- (2018) Board independence and firm performance in the IT industry: The moderating role of new entry threats. MIS Quart. 42(3):979–999.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2005) Two-sided network effects: A theory of information product design. Management Sci. 51(10):1494–1504.Link, Google Scholar
- (2017) Platform ecosystems: How developers invert the firm. MIS Quart. 41(1):255–266.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2010) A control function approach to endogeneity in consumer choice models. J. Marketing Res. 47(1):3–13. Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2012) Shackled to the status quo: The inhibiting effects of incumbent system habit, switching costs, and inertia on new system acceptance. MIS Quart. 36(1):21–42.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2017) Logic pluralism in mobile platform ecosystems: A study of indie app developers on the iOS App Store. Inform. Systems Res. 28(2):225–249.Link, Google Scholar
- (2012) Research note—Online users’ switching costs: Their nature and formation. Inform. Systems Res. 23(1):197–213.Link, Google Scholar
- (2020) Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google grilled on Capitol Hill over their market power. Washington Post (July 29), https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/29/apple-google-facebook-amazon-congress-hearing/.Google Scholar
- (2019) Endogeneity and marketing strategy research: An overview. J. Acad. Marketing Sci. 47:479–498. Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2020) Turning liabilities of global operations into assets: IT-enabled social integration capacity and exploratory innovation. Inform. Systems Res. 31(2):361–382.Link, Google Scholar
- (2012) Exploring value cocreation in relationships between an ERP vendor and its partners: A revelatory case study. MIS Quart. 36(1):317–338.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (1990) Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston).Google Scholar
- (2023) Comparing platform owners’ early and late entry into complementary markets. MIS Quart. 47(4):1727–1744.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2018) The ecosystem of software platform: A study of asymmetric cross-side network effects and platform governance. MIS Quart. 42(1):121–142.Crossref, Google Scholar
- Statista (2023) Distribution of worldwide mobile app revenues in the Apple App Store store from 2021 to 2027, by category. Accessed January 8, 2025, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401233/apple-app-store-revenue-share-by-category/.Google Scholar
- Statista (2024) Apple’s iPhone revenue from 3rd quarter 2007 to 4th quarter 2024. Accessed January 8, 2025, https://www.statista.com/statistics/263402/apples-iphone-revenue-since-3rd-quarter-2007/.Google Scholar
- TechCrunch (2023) All the things Apple sherlocked at WWDC 2023. Accessed October 2025, https://tcrn.ch/3oZkfU1.Google Scholar
- (2015) Evolutionary competition in platform ecosystems. Inform. Systems Res. 26(2):266–281.Link, Google Scholar
- (2010) Platform evolution: Coevolution of platform architecture, governance, and environmental dynamics. Inform. Systems Res. 21(4):675–687.Link, Google Scholar
- (2023) Software components and product variety in a digital platform ecosystem: A dynamic network analysis of WordPress. Inform. Systems Res. 34(4):1339–1374.Link, Google Scholar
- (2023) A complex adaptive systems perspective of software reuse in the Digital Age: An agenda for IS research. Inform. Systems Res. 34(4):1728–1743.Link, Google Scholar
- (2021) Connecting the parts with the whole: Towards an information ecology theory of digital innovation ecosystems. MIS Quart. 45(1):397–422.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2018) Copycats vs. original mobile apps: A machine learning copycat-detection method and empirical analysis. Inform. Systems Res. 29(2):273–291.Link, Google Scholar
- (2023) Do employees’ views matter in corporate governance? The relationship between employee approval and CEO dismissal. Strategic Management J. 44(5):1328–1354.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2014) Technology ecosystem governance. Organ. Sci. 25(4):1195–1215.Link, Google Scholar
- (2019) Threat of platform-owner entry and complementor responses: Evidence from the mobile app market. Strategic Management J. 40(9):1336–1367.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2019) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: Toward a contextual understanding of compensation of information technology professionals within and across geographies. Inform. Systems Res. 30(3):892–911.Link, Google Scholar
- (2021) Coupons or free shipping? Effects of price promotion strategies on online review ratings. Inform. Systems Res. 32(2):633–652.Link, Google Scholar
- (2016) You can promote, but you can’t hide: Large-scale abused app detection in mobile app stores. Proc. 32nd Annual Conf. Comput. Security Appl. (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 374–385.Google Scholar
- (2019) Implications of application programming interfaces for third-party new app development and copycatting. Production Oper. Management 28(8):1887–1902.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2018) User service innovation on mobile phone platforms. MIS Quart. 42(1):165–192.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2010) The new organizing logic of digital innovation: An agenda for information systems research. Inform. Systems Res. 21(4):724–735.Link, Google Scholar
- (2022) Platform governance matters: How platform gatekeeping affects knowledge sharing among complementors. Strategic Management J. 43(3):599–626.Crossref, Google Scholar
- (2018) Competing with complementors: An empirical look at Amazon.com. Strategic Management J. 39(10):2618–2642.Crossref, Google Scholar

