Openness and control in digitally-enabled construction platforms
a comparative case study of supply-chain strategies
Shanjing Zhou (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University College London)
Daniel Hall (TU Delft - Design & Construction Management)
Jennifer Whyte (University of Sydney)
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Abstract
While product platforms in vertically-integrated firms are well studied, prior explanations become limited where platforming firms face tensions between openness and control in managing supply-chains. This paper explores how construction firms govern supply-chain interactions through digitally-enabled product platforms with varying interface openness. Drawing on a comparative case study of four firms, the research establishes that process embedding and process generativity serve as common foundational mechanisms required to bridge physical production constraints and digital workflows. Furthermore, the study provides new insight on process streamlining and process improvement as the distinctive control mechanisms used to dynamically adjust supply-chain governance. Depending on interface openness, firms configure proprietary or democratised process streamlining to control data flows and stakeholder workflows. Simultaneously, they deploy highly centralised or self-initiating process improvement loops to maintain authority over platform evolution. The paper extends platform governance theory from a physical-digital setting, by providing strategies to resolve the openness paradox and retain control over value creation.
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