ABSTRACT Digital platforms have transformed various industries, with profound changes witnessed in settings characterized by repeated, low value, and novel transactions, such as ride sharing, household services, and food delivery. Platform providers need to understand the factor(s) that suppliers consider before choosing to participate on their platforms. We argue that multi-level theorizing is necessary to explain the patterns of decision criteria that constitute the complex, yet boundedly-rational decision of platform participation. We draw on multiple theoretical perspectives which include predictors from firm-level strategic behavior, firm-level digital predictors, institutional predictors, and platform level, competition and contextual (environmental) predictors to model restaurant’s decision to participate on food delivery platforms, which are an exemplar of platforms that digitize transactions of ubiquitous and episodic nature. The population of 95,735 restaurants, serving a total of 135 different cuisines, located in the 37 largest cities of India, forms the dataset for developing our multi-level theory. Our decision tree induction methodology, which employs high levels of pruning, empowers us to discover context-specific rules that serve as credible approximations of the partial ordering of decision flows tacitly used by restaurants in deciding to participate on platforms. We identify six combinations of predictors, that is, decision rules, which are situated in at least four theoretical perspectives, to succinctly explain supplier participation on digital platforms. Finally, we abduct away from these specific decision rules to develop generalizable theoretical propositions. The decision trees, context-specific rules, general forms of the rules, and generalized propositions together form our multi-level theory for supplier participation on digital platforms. Our findings aid platform providers identify suppliers who can be the focus of efforts to increase platform participation, and help suppliers identify the participation status of competitors. For policymakers, our findings imply that incentives at the ends of the pricing spectrum can increase supplier participation on digital platforms.

中文翻译：

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饿鬼界：供应商参与数字平台的多层次理论

摘要 数字平台已经改变了各个行业，在以重复、低价值和新颖交易为特征的环境中见证了深刻的变化，例如拼车、家庭服务和食品配送。平台提供商需要了解供应商在选择参与其平台之前考虑的因素。我们认为，多层次的理论化对于解释构成复杂但有限理性的平台参与决策的决策标准模式是必要的。我们利用多种理论观点，包括来自公司层面战略行为的预测因素、公司层面的数字预测因素、制度预测因素和平台层面、竞争和背景（环境）预测因素，以模拟餐厅参与外卖平台的决策，这是将无处不在和偶发性交易数字化的平台范例。位于印度 37 个最大城市的 95,735 家餐厅的人口总数为 135 种不同的美食，构成了开发我们的多层次理论的数据集。我们的决策树归纳方法采用了高水平的修剪，使我们能够发现特定于上下文的规则，这些规则作为餐厅在决定参与平台时默认使用的决策流的偏序的可信近似。我们确定了六种预测因素组合，即决策规则，它们至少位于四个理论视角，以简洁地解释供应商在数字平台上的参与。最后，我们从这些特定的决策规则中汲取灵感，以发展可概括的理论命题。决策树、特定于上下文的规则、规则的一般形式和一般命题共同构成了我们供应商参与数字平台的多层次理论。我们的发现有助于平台供应商识别可以成为增加平台参与度的努力重点的供应商，并帮助供应商识别竞争对手的参与状态。对于政策制定者，我们的研究结果表明，定价范围末端的激励措施可以增加供应商对数字平台的参与。我们的发现有助于平台供应商识别可以成为增加平台参与度的努力重点的供应商，并帮助供应商识别竞争对手的参与状态。对于政策制定者，我们的研究结果表明，定价范围末端的激励措施可以增加供应商对数字平台的参与。我们的发现有助于平台供应商识别可以成为增加平台参与度的努力重点的供应商，并帮助供应商识别竞争对手的参与状态。对于政策制定者，我们的研究结果表明，定价范围末端的激励措施可以增加供应商对数字平台的参与。