Tensions of Coopetition and Integration into the Multiplatform Ecosystems in Digital Care

The purpose of this chapter is to study the coopetition and integration in multiplatform ecosystems (MPEs) in digital care. Platforms integrate into MPEs to expand their business scope and achieve global reach. Via integrating into MPEs, each platform may share part of or the whole infrastructure with other platforms due to complementarity and knowledge sharing between platforms. The authors apply qualitative research to explore the coopetition-related tensions when complementing entrant and incumbent platforms integrate into MPEs. The study finds out that MPEs provide a mediating ecosystem enabling the multi-layered coopetition between new entrants and incumbent platforms to create more collective value than individual platforms could create independently. Tensions in integration arise from the unbalanced leadership power that may hinder the establishing of collective governance agreements between platforms in MPEs. Incumbent platforms struggle for market dominance intensifying the governance tensions as a precaution for the appearance of a sudden competition or dropouts from MPEs. The authors argue that platforms integrating into MPEs need to be opportunistically aligned; otherwise, sudden competition or dropouts from MPEs will inevitably occur if the unbalanced leadership roles pressurise the new entrant platform's ability of autonomy allowing to grant access to new stakeholders.