Decolonization of Digital Platforms: A Research Agenda for GREAT Domains

Abstract

Digital platforms are transforming commerce practice. Technology is not separate from the socio-cultural environment in which it is used and, thus, platforms mostly capture and imbue values of their origins in the west. As digital platforms are “migrated” outside the west, western values intrinsically embedded in the digital platforms are also unknowingly imposed around the world. However, research from western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) contexts does not necessarily generalize to the rest of the world. Instead, examining research phenomena on digital platforms anew in growing, rural, eastern, aspirational, transitional (GREAT) contexts is necessary. In this chapter, we highlight the need and pathways for decolonization of digital platforms research in GREAT domains.