Dear TIM Division colleagues,
we are pleased to share the Call for Papers for an upcoming Special Issue of Technovation titled:
Hybrid Platformization: Exploring Configurations, Contingencies, and Innovation Outcomes
Over the past decade, platforms have been widely studied as digital infrastructures enabling multi-sided markets and ecosystem coordination. However, an increasing number of organizations are now adopting hybrid forms of platformization, in which platform logics intersect with existing products, processes, organizational structures, and institutional environments.
This Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of how hybrid platform configurations emerge, how they are governed, and how they shape innovation outcomes across contexts. It seeks contributions that move beyond fully digital-native platform settings to examine hybrid arrangements across industries, sectors, and technological domains.
We welcome conceptual, empirical, and review papers that address topics such as:
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configurations and design choices in hybrid platform models
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complementarities between platform and non-platform elements
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governance mechanisms and organizational contingencies
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innovation processes and performance implications of hybrid platformization
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sectoral and institutional contexts shaping hybrid platform trajectories
The Special Issue is edited by:
Haiyan Lu, Luca Mora, Daniel Trabucchi, Tommaso Buganza, and Marin Jovanovic.
Important Dates
Full details on scope, submission guidelines, and procedures are available here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/330347/hybrid-platformization-exploring-configurations-contingencies-and-innovation-outcomes
Symplatform 2026 – Special Track Opportunity
Authors interested in the Special Issue may also consider Symplatform 2026 as an opportunity to discuss early-stage work. The conference (1 September online; 3–4 September 2026 in Milan) will host a dedicated special track linked to this Special Issue, offering the possibility to receive in-person, pre-submission feedback from the guest editors.
Extended abstracts for this track are due by April 2, 2026. https://symplatform.com/
Call to Action
We warmly encourage submissions from scholars working on platforms, platform ecosystems, digital transformation, innovation management, organizational design, governance, and socio-technical change. Please feel free to circulate this call within your networks, including PhD students and early-career researchers.
Kind regards,
Haiyan Lu, Luca Mora, Daniel Trabucchi, Tommaso Buganza, and Marin Jovanovic
Guest Editors, Technovation Special Issue