Moving towards digital platforms revolution? Antecedents, determinants and conceptual framework for offline B2B networks

Fostering productive networking relationships with organizations inside and outside the value chain increases the enterprise’s competitiveness. Today, the ongoing digital platforms revolution is facilitating these networked relationships. Nevertheless, despite recent technological advancements facilitating business interactions, there is a considerable lack of clarity about how and why offline B2B networks implement digital platforms solutions. In addition, the antecedents and determinants that drive their engagement are poorly understood in the literature. To address these challenges, this article examines the antecedents and determinants influencing the decisions of 1,704 offline networks (business associations, chambers of commerce, and employer’s unions) to implement a new multisided digital market platform (MDMP). Mixed methods research, including semi-structured interviews and a large-scale survey were conducted. Overall, findings unveil that the knowledge on digital platforms’ potentials and acceptance levels remain limited. Shared and unique antecedents and determinants for MDMP implementation by business associations, chambers of commerce, and employer’s unions emerged. The article also proposed a novel conceptual framework representing the mechanisms influencing the implementation of MDMPs. Grounded in the large-scale survey, we develop substantive theories on the factors influencing the decision of business associations, chambers of commerce, and employer’s unions to implement MDMPs. These theories identify and describe the interrelated paradoxes that these three categories of B2B networks need to address when moving towards the digital platforms revolution. The new managerial, theoretical, and policy insights originating from this study advance the general knowledge in the field.