The Journal of Strategic Information Systems focuses on the strategic management, business and organizational issues associated with the introduction and utilization of information systems, and considers these issues in a global context. The emphasis is on the incorporation of IT into organizations' strategic thinking, strategy alignment, organizational arrangements and management of change issues. The journal publishes research from around the world which:

• investigate the changing nature of business in the context of emerging IT
• discuss the justification and evaluation of information systems
• discuss the organizational implications of IT
• consider how organizations have been transformed as a result of the astute management and application of IT

A transdisciplinary, critical approach/perspective is welcome.

Topics covered include:
• organizational transformation on the back of IT
• information systems/business strategy alignment
• inter-organizational systems
• global issues and cross-cultural issues
• the impact and significance of emerging IT 

Special Issue on Platform Partnerships
Submission Date: 2025-09-15

Over the last years platform partnerships between independent third-party developers (complementors) and providers of software platforms (platform owners) have become the prevailing model for developing and delivering software products and services (Fürstenau et al. 2023; Jacobides et al. 2024). Platforms are strategic in enabling value co-creation through boundary resources—such as software development kits (SDKs) and application programming interfaces (APIs)—which provide complementors with the tools needed to seamlessly integrate their offerings into the core platform infrastructure (Eaton et al. 2015; Ghazawneh and Henfridsson 2013; Mann et al. 2022; Schreieck et al. 2022; Zapadka et al. 2022).

Guest editors:

Thomas Huber (ESSEC Business School, France) 
Maximilian Schreieck (University of Innsbruck, Austria) 
Andreas Hein (University of St Gallen, Switzerland) 
Ilan Oshri (University of Auckland, New Zealand) 
Julia Kotlarsky (University of Auckland, New Zealand) 

Special issue information:

Novel and creative uses of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), low-code/no-code platforms, and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) like blockchain are redefining how organizations interact, collaborate, and compete. AI and IoT enable real-time data analytics and predictive insights, allowing platforms to coordinate relationships and optimize sourcing decisions by anticipating demand, managing risks, and adjusting partnerships (Gregory et al. 2020; Shollo et al. 2022). IoT enhances this by providing continuous data streams from connected devices, enabling more responsive, data-driven collaborations in logistics and inventory management (Pauli et al. 2021). Low-code/no-code platforms reduce entry barriers for participants, enabling organizations to develop solutions independently (Bock and Frank 2021; Viljoen et al. 2024). Blockchain and smart contracts automate partnership agreements through self-executing code, reducing transaction costs and fostering trust, particularly in complex, cross-border environments (Ellinger et al. 2023).

Together, these technologies have strategic implications on partnerships in platform ecosystems, potentially reshaping established practices in value co-creation and appropriation (Li and Tuunanen 2022), and sourcing arrangements (Oshri et al. 2015). While they offer complementors opportunities to innovate and gain leverage, they also equip platform owners with new tools to reinforce their dominance. Whether these new tools will benefit complementors or increase platform owners' control remains an open question. For example, as decentralized, real-time decision-making becomes more common, will these technologies empower complementors to innovate and operate autonomously, or will they reinforce existing power imbalances, allowing platform owners to strengthen centralized control and dictate terms of value appropriation and collaboration (Cutolo and Kenney 2021; Huber et al. 2017; Hurni et al. 2022)?

As dominant platform owners like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in Western markets, and Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu in China, continue to control key sectors of consumer and business markets (Chatterjee and Sarker 2024), complementors face growing challenges in navigating the advantages of platform participation against the risks of dependency and lock-in, both undermining complementor autonomy (Kude and Huber forthcoming; Engert et al. 2023; Cutolo and Kenney 2021; Engert et al. forthcoming; Hurni et al. 2022). Meanwhile, the evolving regulatory landscape, such as the European Union’s (EU) Digital Markets Act[1], seeks to address these power imbalances by imposing restrictions on platform gatekeepers that reshape partner strategies and value co-creation.

Indeed, platform partnerships are undergoing significant strategic transformations (Zapadka et al. 2022). Advancements in technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain, along with shifts in political and regulatory environments, are influencing how partnerships within platform ecosystems evolve (Kude and Huber forthcoming; Schreieck et al. 2024). In this rapidly changing landscape, critical questions arise about the future dynamics of partnerships in platform ecosystems. How will the balance between value co-creation and value appropriation shift as AI, DLT, and IoT become more integrated into platform partnerships? Will these technologies empower complementors to innovate and capture a fair share of the value they create, or will they enable platform owners to centralize control, deepening dependencies and shifting value appropriation in their favor? And as platform ecosystems often narture sourcing relationships, how and in what ways sourcing relationships between a platform owner and complementors affect the platform ecosystem? Ultimately, how can both platform owners and complementors strategically navigate these changes to ensure mutual benefit in an increasingly complex ecosystem?

This call for papers invites research that explores how these strategic shifts are reshaping platform partnerships, including changes in the strategies and business models of platform owners and complementors (Böttcher et al. 2022), and the governance of these partnerships and ecosystems (Huber et al. 2017; Wareham et al. 2014). We welcome empirical, conceptual[2], design, and simulation research. Any methodologies and theoretical perspectives are encouraged as long as they contribute to the theoretical understanding of platform partnerships, along with practical insights.

Below, we list potential topics for this Special Issue along several themes, but we are not strictly limited to these topics[3].

Platform Partnerships and Emerging Technologies

    The role of AI/machine learning and predictive analytics in managing platform partnerships.
    The impact of AI platforms' unique characteristics, such as learning abilities and non-deterministic behaviors, on platform partnerships.
    The role of IoT in real-time coordination and dynamic management of platform partnerships.
    Effects of distributed ledger technologies on platform partnerships.
    Impact of low-code/no-code platforms on the role of complementors within these platforms.

Platform Partnerships, Platform Power, and the Regulatory Environment

    Strategies for complementors to manage power asymmetries within platform partnerships.
    The role of regulatory interventions in addressing the increasing power of platform owners.
    Strategies for complementors and platform owners to adapt to regulatory changes, such as new laws and antitrust decisions.
    Managing regulatory trade-offs between restricting powerful platform owners and fostering innovation.

Governance of Platform Partnerships

    Impact of emerging technologies on managing tensions in platform governance, such as control versus autonomy.
    The impact of changes in the platform core on platform partnerships.
    The heterogeneity of complementors in digital platform ecosystems and its implications for governance.
    The impact of scaling platforms/ecosystems on platform partnerships

Platform Partnerships and the Evolution of Sourcing Arrangements

    The role of AI, real-time analytics, and DLTs in shaping sourcing strategies, decisions, and governance.
    The influence of platforms in managing evolving sourcing relationships.