Preliminary insights into dominant issues, theories and methodologies in platform interoperability research

Abstract

This study presents preliminary insights on the dominant issues, theories, and methodologies in existing research on platform interoperability. The authors illustrate their position by analysing the various issues, theoretical approaches and research methodologies found in these studies. A total of 70 papers obtained from five academic literature databases from 2008 to 2018 were reviewed. The findings suggest that the reviewed studies largely lack theorisation. As such, we suggest that theorisation underpins future interoperability research. These research should, first, explore the antecedents of platform interoperability and how differing interests of stakeholders are unified and implemented. Second future research should explore technological and non-technological (process, administrative and structural) changes that organizations undergo while attempting to adopt interoperability and how the change shapes the outcome of the process. Lastly, future research needs to also examine the context-based factors that influence interoperability and how these factors compare or contrast across private and public sector organizations.