Algorithmic Orchestration and Platform Business Model Innovation in Generative AI Ecosystems
Keywords:
generative AI, algorithmic orchestration, platform ecosystems, business model innovation, digital platforms, AI-enabled coordinationAbstract
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is increasingly reshaping how digital platforms organize economic activity and create value within complex ecosystems. Despite growing scholarly attention, existing research offers fragmented explanations of how AI capabilities influence platform-based business models, often emphasizing technological capabilities while overlooking the mechanisms through which algorithmic systems coordinate ecosystem interactions. This article addresses this theoretical gap by developing a mechanism-based conceptual framework explaining how generative AI enables platform business model innovation. Drawing on an integrative synthesis of literature on platform ecosystems, artificial intelligence, and business model innovation, the study conceptualizes algorithmic orchestration as the coordination of ecosystem interactions through AI-enabled decision infrastructures embedded within digital platforms. The framework identifies four orchestration mechanisms—algorithmic complementor coordination, data-driven ecosystem governance, intelligent interaction mediation, and algorithmic value capture optimization—that translate generative AI capabilities into ecosystem-level coordination processes. These mechanisms reshape how value is created, delivered, and captured within platform environments. By integrating previously disconnected research streams, the article advances theory on digital platforms and AI-driven innovation while offering a structured research agenda for future empirical studies examining algorithmic coordination in digital ecosystems.
References
Adner, R. (2017). Ecosystem as structure: An actionable construct for strategy. Journal of Management, 43(1), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316678451
Berente, N., Gu, B., Recker, J., & Santhanam, R. (2021). Managing artificial intelligence. MIS Quarterly, 45(3), 1433–1450. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2021/16274
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2017). The business of artificial intelligence. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–20.
Cennamo, C. (2021). Competing in digital markets: A platform-based perspective. Academy of Management Perspectives, 35(2), 265–291. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2016.0048
Chen, M. K., Mislove, A., & Wilson, C. (2021). Algorithmic pricing and digital markets: Evidence from online platforms. Management Science, 67(9), 5603–5621. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3662
Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Ismagilova, E., Aarts, G., Coombs, C., Crick, T., Duan, Y., Dwivedi, R., Edwards, J., Eirug, A., Galanos, V., Ilavarasan, P., Janssen, M., Jones, P., Kar, A., Kizgin, H., Kronemann, B., Lal, B., Lucini, B., … Williams, M. (2023). So what if ChatGPT wrote it? Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative AI for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 71, 102642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102642
Foss, N. J., & Saebi, T. (2017). Fifteen years of research on business model innovation. Journal of Management, 43(1), 200–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316675927
Jacobides, M. G., Cennamo, C., & Gawer, A. (2018). Towards a theory of ecosystems. Strategic Management Journal, 39(8), 2255–2276. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2904
Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: Four approaches. AMS Review, 10(1–2), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00161-0
Kellogg, K. C., Valentine, M. A., & Christin, A. (2020). Algorithms at work: The new contested terrain of control. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 366–410. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0174
Nambisan, S., Wright, M., & Feldman, M. (2019). The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship. Research Policy, 48(8), 103773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.03.018
Parker, G. G., Van Alstyne, M. W., & Choudary, S. P. (2016). Platform revolution: How networked markets are transforming the economy. W. W. Norton & Company.
Raisch, S., & Krakowski, S. (2021). Artificial intelligence and management. Academy of Management Review, 46(1), 192–210. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0072
Sjödin, D., Parida, V., Jovanovic, M., & Visnjic, I. (2023). Value creation and capture in AI-enabled digital servitization. Journal of Business Research, 154, 113334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113334
Teece, D. J. (2018). Business models and dynamic capabilities. Long Range Planning, 51(1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2017.06.007
Tiwana, A. (2014). Platform ecosystems: Aligning architecture, governance, and strategy. Morgan Kaufmann.
Trabucchi, D., & Buganza, T. (2021). Fostering digital platform innovation: From platform thinking to platformization. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120392
Verhoef, P. C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Dong, J., Fabian, N., & Haenlein, M. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889–901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.09.022
Zott, C., & Amit, R. (2010). Business model design: An activity system perspective. Long Range Planning, 43(2–3), 216–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.004
