At present, the ‘platform business model’ has indicated innovative potentials not just in traditional industrial sectors such as telecommunications, IT and retail, but also other sectors like social commerce. However, ‘Platform’ is not static as it is firmed at the beginning. Using Pinduoduo as a case study, this research conducts in-depth interviews and surveys in China to analyze the dynamic change of the platform provider’s role for successful platform operation via the lens of platform business models. As a “2.0 generation eCommerce platform”, Pinduoduo platform has become the largest social commerce platform in China with continuous growth at a high speed. The study found that stabilisation of the platform has experienced two stages: spread and evolution. At the spread stage, the role of platform provider focuses on forming “incentive to participants” through “Low price + Social contact” strategy and “Gamification + brand channel” strategy. At the evolution stage, the provider’s role is transformed into manager of products/services quality and revenue structure. Pinduoduo’s quality control is composed of three levels, including front-end quality control, middle-end quality control and back-end quality control. Besides, platform revenue structure strategies are sponsor-type. The purpose of this study is to enlighten the current players in the market on how they might utilize the underlying rationales in framework to further develop their platform business models. From the perspective of a platform, sustainable development of a theoretical framework is proposed based on these findings to facilitate future research in this area.

The business ecosystem theory has developed rapidly in recent years and has become a hot topic in the field of business and management. However, the use of this concept is controversial. This study systematically reviewed literature published spanning nearly three decades from 1993 to 2022. In this paper, researchers designed an improved traceability method to retrieve literature based on data sources form Web of Science. VOSviewer and CiteSpace are adopted as two scientific atlas tools for information processing and visualization to evaluate the relationship between sub fields of business ecosystem. The findings show that the four branches of business ecosystem, i.e., innovation, platform, entrepreneurship and service, absorb theoretical ideas to varying degrees. Among them, the theoretical inheritance relationship of innovation branch is most clear, and gradually grows into the backbone of ecosystem research. Major contribution of this study is reflected in three aspects: Firstly, the improved traceability method provides a repeatable quantitative description process on the basis of significantly reducing researchers’ subjective participation. Secondly, from perspective of bibliometrics, the branch direction and key nodes of theory development are identified. Thirdly, the study helps identify the future development directions of business ecosystem, including innovation, digitalization, entrepreneurship, self-organization and the strategic transformation guided by emerging technologies.

Although the research of corporate entrepreneurship has continued to advance, few studies investigate corporate entrepreneurial activities within existing organizations in emerging market firms based on a case study approach. Building on a case study of PHNIX, a Chinese manufacturing firm, we draw on the literature on corporate entrepreneurship to develop a framework for understanding the occurrence, development and management of corporate entrepreneurial activities in organizational settings, and present a typology of some of the strategies that can be used in the process of corporate entrepreneurship. The findings considered the elements of entrepreneurial insight, pro-entrepreneurial organizational antecedents, knowledge sharing activities and internal incubation represent the core work in the fission process of corporate entrepreneurship. As such, we conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications for further understanding the essence of corporate entrepreneurship in a complex organizational context. In addition, managers seeking to corporate entrepreneurship could benefit from the findings enabling them to understand and even adopt some of the principles and fission strategies used by PHNIX.

While the significance of mobile technologies to support deep learning has been recognized, the impact factors of applying these technologies into various organizational learning environments still remain poorly understood. This chapter has explored the community of inquiry (CoI) framework as the lens to understand culture and context impact on mobile technology application to facilitate learners' engagement and educational experiences. Two sharp-contrast case studies are selected to provide the practical insight of the research. Results infer that usage of mobile technology has a positive impact on organizational learning, which leads to greater learning engagement as long as culture and context are considered as key issues to select appropriate mobile technologies. These factors decide the mobile native functions, delivery platforms, and provided learning contents, which are key elements in the proposed CoI framework in the context of m-learning.

This chapter explores the evolving landscape of service delivery in digital transformation, examining how all organisations are increasingly becoming service-based through technological advancement. Through analysis of servitization trends and the integration of digital technologies, the chapter demonstrates how organizations can enhance stakeholder experiences while optimizing operational efficiency. Special attention is given to the role of AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and data analytics in transforming service delivery across various sectors. The discussion covers aspects of service quality management using the GAP model, addressing challenges in stakeholder satisfaction and service implementation. With case studies including Alibaba, WeChat, and Rolls Royce, the chapter illustrates successful digital service transformation strategies while highlighting potential challenges such as AI bias and stakeholder readiness. Key focus areas include process optimisation, stakeholder engagement, and the balance between automation and human interaction in service delivery. The chapter provides practical guidance for organisations transitioning towards Service 4.0, showing the importance of maintaining service quality while leveraging digital capabilities. Essential considerations for implementing AI-driven services and ensuring inclusive service design are examined, offering direction for organisations at various stages of digital maturity. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->