Digital Platforms Boundary Resource: A Third-Party Developers Strategy for Digital Start-Ups and Market Penetration in Nigeria

Abstract

Third-party application developers are increasingly using platform-based business models to enter new markets and create economic value. While prior research has mostly examined the design and architecture of digital platforms, less attention has been given to digital platform boundary resources as an entrepreneurship strategy. The boundary resources of a digital platform significantly impact third-party developers' motivation to engage in digital entrepreneurship. Consequently, scholars need to carefully investigate the affordances of the boundary resources that influence third-party developers to create complementary applications as products for entrepreneurial endeavors. To address this gap, the researcher formulated two research questions and conducted an inductive case study to explore the perspectives and views of third-party application developers in technology hubs within Nigeria's digital start-up ecosystem. Nigeria has a large youth population with a strong digital potential (i.e., tech-savvy) and is confronted with uncertainties, limited resources, and complexities. Furthermore, the study is grounded in the technological affordance theory, which guides the researcher's interpretation. The study's findings uncovered the digital platform's boundary resource affordances that play a strategic role in influencing third-party developers' participation in digital entrepreneurship.