To Be the Hub or Not: Explaining the Diffusion of Communication Apps

Abstract

Communication apps can be a major factor in a digital strategy based on being a data and communication hub, and therefore understanding their diffusion and growth is of high importance. In this paper, we provide a list of factors and concepts that drive their growth, but can also be used to differentiate between apps, in order to understand why some are successful, but at the same time limited to certain countries or regions. With the conceptual diffusion model proposed based on these factors, we contribute to our understanding of the dynamics in the network economy, as well as enable future quantitative research into this topic.