Habitual entrepreneurship in digital platform ecosystems: A time-contingent model of learning from prior software project experiences

The emergence of large-scale digital platforms such as Facebook, Google Play and Apple App Store around 2008 has created opportunities for independent entrepreneurs to offer their self-developed software applications (“apps”) to large groups of platform users. The development and release of tens of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business venturing Vol. 36; no. 5; p. 106140
Main Authors: Fan, Terence, Schwab, Andreas, Geng, Xuesong
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Inc 01.09.2021
Subjects:
Digital platforms
Dynamic environments
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
Entrepreneurial learning
Habitual entrepreneurs
Prior project experience
Digital platforms
Prior project experience
Entrepreneurial learning
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
Habitual entrepreneurs
Dynamic environments
ISSN:0883-9026, 1873-2003
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The emergence of large-scale digital platforms such as Facebook, Google Play and Apple App Store around 2008 has created opportunities for independent entrepreneurs to offer their self-developed software applications (“apps”) to large groups of platform users. The development and release of tens of thousands of apps by thousands of independent developers has created dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems. This paper investigates whether and how learning by independent habitual entrepreneurs unfolds in substantively different ways in such dynamic platform-based environments. We argue that in these entrepreneurial ecosystems, the timing of learning efforts becomes essential. For Facebook app developers, we find that learning from their own prior app projects remains feasible. However, entrepreneurs have only a few months during which they can benefit from what they learned from a prior app project. This study supports the feasibility of time-contingent learning from prior app projects for increasingly prevalent dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems such as digital platforms. Implications for future research and management practice are outlined. •This study investigates how habitual entrepreneurs learn from their prior projects in digital entrepreneurial ecosystems.•Time-contingent learning hypotheses are supported for independent entrepreneurs who released software apps on Facebook.•Entrepreneurs have only a few months during which they tend to benefit from their prior software creation experiences.•Implications for future research and management practice are outlined.
ISSN:0883-9026
1873-2003
DOI:10.1016/j.jbusvent.2021.106140