The impact of manufacturer data empowerment on value co-creation in the platform economy: an evolutionary game perspective

With the rise of data-sharing by e-commerce platforms, manufacturers' data empowerment is a key to digital transformation and fosters value co-creation. This study constructs an evolutionary game model to analyse behaviours of manufacturers and e-commerce platforms, focusing on conditions that influence stakeholders' choices and the equilibrium points of their strategic interactions. Additionally, it considers static and dynamic incentives' impact on strategy selection. Findings reveal the following insights. First, initial data empowerment levels maximise shared data value but may diminish the platform's incentive to engage in co-creation. Second, under a static reward mechanism, manufacturers' decisions to adopt data empowerment strategies primarily depend on the trade-off between the cost per unit of data empowerment and the combined benefits of enhanced data value, increased sales revenue, and empowerment rewards. In contrast, platforms' decisions to participate in value co-creation depend on comparing the benefits of value co-creation with the costs associated with empowerment rewards and data maintenance. Third, the introduction of dynamic incentives stabilises the system, leading to the convergence of behaviours of both manufacturers and platforms toward an optimal equilibrium that fosters sustainable data empowerment and co-creation. The study provides policy recommendations to support strategic decision-making for sustainable digital growth.