Platform Governance and Small-Enterprise Innovation

Joshua Wood

Abstract

This policy review examines platform governance and small-enterprise innovation. The organizing question is how access rules, ranking, fees, data, and dispute mechanisms shape innovation opportunities for smaller firms. Ten related scholarly sources are synthesized through a decision-centered framework spanning problem definition, mechanism, measurement, evaluation, implementation, and governance. The review does not invent experiments, pooled estimates, or unreported quantitative results. It instead evaluates the strength and transferability of the available evidence, with particular attention to interpreting platform participation as evidence of durable capability or bargaining power. The resulting framework links technical or empirical performance to explicit use conditions and identifies tests that should precede wider adoption in digital entrepreneurship and platform policy.

Keywords

digital platformssmall businessinnovationgovernanceentrepreneurship

References

Bruckner, C. (2016). Shortchanged: The Tax Compliance Challenges of Small Business Operators Driving the On-Demand Platform Economy. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2784243 DOI
Costa, P., & Rodrigues, H. (2023). The ever-changing business of e-commerce-net benefits while designing a new platform for small companies. Review of Managerial Science, 18(9), 2507-2545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00681-6 DOI
Daxhammer, K., Luckert, M., Doerr, M., & Bauernhansl, T. (2019). Development of a Strategic Business Model Framework for Multi-Sided Platforms to Ensure Sustainable Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Procedia Manufacturing, 39, 1354-1362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01.322 DOI
Jin, H., & Hurd, F. (2018). Exploring the Impact of Digital Platforms on SME Internationalization: New Zealand SMEs Use of the Alibaba Platform for Chinese Market Entry. Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 19(2), 72-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10599231.2018.1453743 DOI
Kim, H., Lee, D., & Ryu, M. (2018). An Optimal Strategic Business Model for Small Businesses Using Online Platforms. Sustainability, 10(3), 579. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030579 DOI
Lee, S., & Yoon, C. (2022). Factors of the Adoption of O2O Service Platforms: Evidence from Small Businesses in Korea. Sustainability, 14(23), 15813. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315813 DOI
Lian, J. W. (2021). Determinants and consequences of service experience toward small retailer platform business model: Stimulus–organism–response perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102631 DOI
Omotosho, B. J. (2020). Small scale craft workers and the use of social media platforms for business performance in southwest Nigeria. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 35(2), 181-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2020.1764732 DOI
Wang, F., Ding, L., Yu, H., & Zhao, Y. (2019). Big data analytics on enterprise credit risk evaluation of e-Business platform. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 18(3), 311-350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-019-00414-x DOI
Xie, X., Han, Y., Anderson, A., & Ribeiro-Navarrete, S. (2022). Digital platforms and SMEs’ business model innovation: Exploring the mediating mechanisms of capability reconfiguration. International Journal of Information Management, 65, 102513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2022.102513 DOI

Publication details

Journal: Enterprise, Policy and Economic Dynamics
Volume: 1 (2026)
Article number: eped20260001
License: CC BY 4.0

[1] Bruckner, C. (2016). Shortchanged: The Tax Compliance Challenges of Small Business Operators Driving the On-Demand Platform Economy. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2784243 DOI

[2] Costa, P., & Rodrigues, H. (2023). The ever-changing business of e-commerce-net benefits while designing a new platform for small companies. Review of Managerial Science, 18(9), 2507-2545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00681-6 DOI

[3] Daxhammer, K., Luckert, M., Doerr, M., & Bauernhansl, T. (2019). Development of a Strategic Business Model Framework for Multi-Sided Platforms to Ensure Sustainable Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Procedia Manufacturing, 39, 1354-1362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01.322 DOI

[4] Jin, H., & Hurd, F. (2018). Exploring the Impact of Digital Platforms on SME Internationalization: New Zealand SMEs Use of the Alibaba Platform for Chinese Market Entry. Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 19(2), 72-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/10599231.2018.1453743 DOI

[5] Kim, H., Lee, D., & Ryu, M. (2018). An Optimal Strategic Business Model for Small Businesses Using Online Platforms. Sustainability, 10(3), 579. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030579 DOI

[6] Lee, S., & Yoon, C. (2022). Factors of the Adoption of O2O Service Platforms: Evidence from Small Businesses in Korea. Sustainability, 14(23), 15813. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315813 DOI

[7] Lian, J. W. (2021). Determinants and consequences of service experience toward small retailer platform business model: Stimulus–organism–response perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 62, 102631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102631 DOI

[8] Omotosho, B. J. (2020). Small scale craft workers and the use of social media platforms for business performance in southwest Nigeria. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 35(2), 181-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2020.1764732 DOI

[9] Wang, F., Ding, L., Yu, H., & Zhao, Y. (2019). Big data analytics on enterprise credit risk evaluation of e-Business platform. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 18(3), 311-350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-019-00414-x DOI

[10] Xie, X., Han, Y., Anderson, A., & Ribeiro-Navarrete, S. (2022). Digital platforms and SMEs’ business model innovation: Exploring the mediating mechanisms of capability reconfiguration. International Journal of Information Management, 65, 102513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2022.102513 DOI