Generativity and the paradox of stability and flexibility in a platform architecture: A case of the Oracle Cloud Platform

Ruonan Sun; Shirley Gregor; Erwin Fielt

doi:10.1016/j.im.2021.103548

Generativity and the paradox of stability and flexibility in a platform architecture: A case of the Oracle Cloud Platform

Ruonan Sun^*, Shirley Gregor, Erwin Fielt

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

23 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Generativity is a technology's capability of producing new outputs without input from the originator. Platforms are important technologies that embrace generativity. While the literature generally assumes that generativity arises from platform governance and high-level platform design, we propose that generativity also arises from a platform's three architectural components: the base, the interface, and the add-ons. Drawing on a case study of the Oracle Cloud Platform, we reveal how generativity emerges through the paradox of stability and flexibility in a platform's architectural components. Further, standardization navigates this paradox by coordinating the dependencies between stability and flexibility across heterogeneous stakeholders.

Original language	English
Article number	103548
Journal	Information and Management
Volume	58
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103548
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

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abstract = "Generativity is a technology's capability of producing new outputs without input from the originator. Platforms are important technologies that embrace generativity. While the literature generally assumes that generativity arises from platform governance and high-level platform design, we propose that generativity also arises from a platform's three architectural components: the base, the interface, and the add-ons. Drawing on a case study of the Oracle Cloud Platform, we reveal how generativity emerges through the paradox of stability and flexibility in a platform's architectural components. Further, standardization navigates this paradox by coordinating the dependencies between stability and flexibility across heterogeneous stakeholders.",

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AB - Generativity is a technology's capability of producing new outputs without input from the originator. Platforms are important technologies that embrace generativity. While the literature generally assumes that generativity arises from platform governance and high-level platform design, we propose that generativity also arises from a platform's three architectural components: the base, the interface, and the add-ons. Drawing on a case study of the Oracle Cloud Platform, we reveal how generativity emerges through the paradox of stability and flexibility in a platform's architectural components. Further, standardization navigates this paradox by coordinating the dependencies between stability and flexibility across heterogeneous stakeholders.

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Generativity and the paradox of stability and flexibility in a platform architecture: A case of the Oracle Cloud Platform

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