Localization of Foreign-Owned Multi-Sided Retail Platform in a Developing Country: A Case Study from Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand why and how a foreign firm would opt to localize its Multi-Sided Retail Platform (MSRP) in a developing country and the consequences encountered. Much of the existing research on MSRP has focused on developed countries. Within the limited digital platform literature in developing countries, the dominant focus has been on impacts, implementation, user adoption and constraints. Little empirical findings exist on why foreign firms opt to localize their MSRPs in developing countries, how the localization is done, and the consequences thereafter. To address these research gaps, this study used the Boundary Object Theory (BOT) as its analytical lens and qualitative interpretive case study as the methodology to investigate the localization of a foreign-owned MSRP in a developing country. The findings revealed that foreign firms opt to localize their MSRPs in developing countries to adapt to the level of fraud, high cost of Internet bundles, and poor Internet speed. It further revealed that since developing countries’ digital infrastructure, including e-payment facilities, are at their nascent stage, it is necessary to localize foreign-owned MSRPs to adapt to the dominant cash culture and emerging local e-payment services. The need for foreign firms to adapt to the needs and constraints of local users compel them to localize their MSRP in a developing country. In addition, the findings show that foreign-owned MSRP localization commences by gathering user responses on how the developing country environment and preferences of the local users impacted or affected the acceptance, performance and use of the platform. The findings highlighted that the local environment was characterized by slow Internet speed, high cost of Internet bundles, limited trust, and limited digital infrastructure, including e-payment services that constrained the use of the transported platform. These reports influence foreign organizations to localize their MSRPs in a developing country. In terms of the consequences, there were some intended and unintended consequences. For intended consequences, the findings revealed that the use of localized MSRPs in developing countries improved customer trust and willingness to use the technology. The localization exercise was also expected to increase e-sales for advertisers and suppliers. For unintended consequences, the findings revealed that localization can delay transactional time and increase maintenance costs for platform owners. It was further revealed that localized foreign-owned MSRPs share transactional risks between platform owners, suppliers, third-party delivery organizations, and customers rather than among suppliers and customers. The originality of this study stems from it being one of the few studies conducted on the localization of MSRPs from a developing country perspective. Further research is encouraged in this area to demonstrate how MSRP localization differs across a greater selection of developing countries. Therefore, future studies may consider using multiple case studies from two or more developing countries to investigate foreign-owned MSRP localization.