Governance of corporate social responsibility: a platform ecosystem perspective

Purpose The sustainable development of the platform economy has been hindered by the absence and alienation of platform corporate social responsibility. Previous studies have mainly focused on the contents and governance models for platform corporate social responsibility. This study seeks to explore which strategy participants choose in the governance of platform corporate social responsibility and their influencing factors. Design/methodology/approach Using a platform ecosystem approach, a quadrilateral evolutionary game model was developed, and the stabilities of subjects’ behavioral strategies and their combinations in various scenarios were analyzed. Additionally, the effects of key parameters on the system’s evolutionary path were simulated. Findings The ideal steady state system is achieved when platform enterprises, complementors and consumers adopt positive strategies while the government adopts lax regulation. Moreover, the evolutionary strategies of the subjects are influenced by several factors, including the participation costs of governance, the rewards and punishments imposed by platform enterprises, as well as the reputational losses of platform enterprises and complementors due to media coverage. Practical implications This study offers insights into improving the governance effectiveness of platform corporate social responsibility for managers and practitioners. Originality/value This study contributes to existing literature by considering the rational orientation of platform ecosystem members and revealing the interaction mechanisms among members. Furthermore, this study combines collective action theory and reputation theory to clarify the influencing factors on members’ behaviors.