The complementor journey to the voice destination - An exploratory case study of the heterogeneity of complementors in a multi-sided platform based on speech recognition technology

Sammanfattning: Multi-sided platforms have a rising importance in business and society as they are capable to significantly alter industry structures and social interaction. Providers of complementary services play a crucial role for the functioning of multi-sided platforms. Despite their importance, the perspective of complementors has been a neglected area of research. With this thesis we aim to overcome this research gap by using a qualitative research design and drawing upon literature on market development and expectations in commercial and technological development. By conducting an exploratory case study, we investigate the interaction of complementors with a multi-sided platform based on speech recognition technology. We find that expectations and public narratives play a major role in the joining process of complementors. Moreover, the heterogeneity of complementors' characteristics and expectations have an important impact on complementors' platform engagement. We hope that our conceptual and empirical contributions will prove valuable for both researchers and practitioners and raise awareness of the role of complementors in multi-sided platforms.