Factors influencing platform owners’ seller control choices in E-marketplaces

Danani, Shraddha; Behl, Abhishek; Gupta, Nakul

Abstract

Operating as micro-economies, electronic marketplace (EM) platforms connect numerous consumers and sellers and facilitate value-creating interactions. However, EM platform providers (platform owners)/ have limited authority over independent sellers, who often connect with several platforms, referred to as multihoming behaviors. An effective control portfolio serves as a crucial tool for owners to influence sellers' actions in alignment with the goals of the EM platform. For a control portfolio to be effective, it must be aligned with the prevailing contextual factors. This paper investigates the key antecedent factors that influence the control choices made by EM platform owners. By probing what factors guide EM platform owners in selecting specific control modes in this multi-case study, this research extends control theory into the relatively unexplored context of EM. The study identifies seven antecedent factors influencing owners' control mode choices: task programmability, outcome measurability, behavior observability, interdependencies, uncertain controlee motivations, internalization of controller objectives, and reciprocity norms. Based on these findings, the paper proposes explanations for the prominence of formal controls and the selective inclusion of informal control mechanisms in EM seller control portfolios, offering insights for practitioners and future research. The study findings help EM platform owners create a balanced portfolio of contextually appropriate control mechanisms.

Citation

Danani, S., Behl, A., & Gupta, N. (2025). Factors influencing platform owners’ seller control choices in E-marketplaces. Information and Organization, 35(1), Article 100555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2025.100555

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 8, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jan 21, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025-03
• Deposit Date: Jan 31, 2025
• Journal: Information and Organization
• Print ISSN: 1471-7727
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 100555
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2025.100555
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1053272
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471772725000016#:~:text=The%20study%20identifies%20seven%20antecedent%20factors%20influencing%20owners%27,motivations%2C%20internalization%20of%20controller%20objectives%2C%20and%20reciprocity%20norms.
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Factors influencing platform owners’ seller control choices in E-marketplaces; Journal Title: Information and Organization; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2025.100555; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.