Mapping out Cooperative Digital Platforms: A Conceptual View

Abstract

Cooperative digital platforms are considered an alternative to corporate-controlled platforms because their governance structure allows multiple stakeholders to voice their opinions and participate in organizational decision-making processes. These platforms a priori, have more beneficial socioeconomic impacts because they can engage members via more democratic and participatory models. However, the existing literature evaluates these platforms as instances of a homogeneous phenomena. This article proposes the existence of different models of cooperative digital platforms based on the theory of partial organizations, utilizing a mapping organized in four quadrants. To structure this mapping, we adopt the main elements of the concept of partial organizations, illustrating the proposal with cases. The study contributes to the field of platforms and cooperative organizations, opening new perspectives for study and unveiling a wide variety of digital platform models. The mapping also stimulates empirical studies to verify the relevance of the proposed mapping.