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Platform owners need to encourage yet control complementors in ways that generate benefits. Retaining too much control can restrict innovation and knowledge flows; giving up too much control can lead to poor quality and platform instability. Studies provide mixed findings that make it difficult to draw generalizable conclusions. We aim to provide a more accurate understanding of the link between platform control and platform benefits.

We conducted a meta-analysis of empirical research in this area.

Access-based control positively influences realization benefits, but it does not appear to affect creation benefits. Authority-based control does not appear to affect creation or realization benefits. Control is positively linked to benefits on transaction platforms but not on innovation platforms. Platform control is positively related to platform benefits in studies that use objective measures and in studies that measure control from the complementor’s perspective. However, the relationship between control and benefits is uncertain in studies that use perceptual measures and in studies that measure control from the owner’s perspective.

Tighter restrictions on who can join the platform can lead to greater use of platform innovations. Platform control is also an effective driver of benefits on transaction platforms. Researchers should carefully think through the manner in which they measure platform control and platform benefits. Our study is limited by a small sample size, four moderators and a set of empirical-only studies.

Our findings can guide future research and help practitioners better understand when platform control is related to platform benefits.

Although digital platforms have become important to organizations and society, little is known about how platforms evolve over time. This is particularly true for early-stage platforms provided by entrepreneurial firms competing in nascent markets. This study aims to investigate the relationship between a platform provider's mission and the evolution of its digital platform.

This study conducted an exploratory, multi-case study of startups in the emerging health/fitness wearables market over the period 2007 to 2016.

This study emerged two organizational mission constructs – consistency and specificity – and two evolutionary dynamics of digital platforms – unity and evolution rate. It also considered unity and evolution rate in terms of features created by the platform provider and features connected by external parties. This study found relationships between aspects of mission consistency and platform unity and identified relationships between aspects of mission specificity and platform evolution rates.

This study formalized findings into a set of theoretical propositions, thereby enriching the understanding of the relationship between organizational mission and digital platform evolution in nascent markets. This study provides new constructs and relationships that can be tested and refined in future research.