{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T00:34:38Z","timestamp":1778546078464,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":99,"publisher":"MIS Quarterly","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The literature on platform ecosystems increasingly recognizes that nonfocal actors such as complementors may have growth ambitions. Such ambitions, if successfully advanced, may even elevate the complementor\u2019s position in the platform ecosystem to that of a focal actor. However, transitioning from nonfocal actor to focal actor is challenging. Along the way, the nonfocal actor may need to choose between the seemingly unfavorable alternatives of acting on its growth ambitions\u2014risking losing the focal actors\u2019 support needed for that growth\u2014or relinquishing its ambitions to ensure the support of the focal actors continues. Referring to this phenomenon as the complementor\u2019s dilemma, we unpack the process whereby a nonfocal actor can pursue growth ambitions while successfully managing relationships with the focal platforms in the ecosystem. To address this research problem, we conducted an in-depth, embedded case study of a Chinese short-form video platform, Douyin (known as TikTok outside of China), from its inception as a complement in 2016 to its establishment as a focal actor in 2018. During this two-year period, Douyin grew spectacularly from 0.75 million to 208.28 million users. We examined the process through which Douyin navigated the complementor\u2019s dilemma multiple times within the confines of its dependency on Weibo and WeChat, the focal actors in China\u2019s social network platform ecosystem. We contribute to the platform ecosystem literature by offering a process perspective that conceptualizes the complementor\u2019s dilemma and theorizes how to navigate the dilemma when transitioning from a nonfocal actor to a focal actor in a platform ecosystem.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.25300\/misq\/2024\/17767","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,19]],"date-time":"2024-11-19T19:27:21Z","timestamp":1732044441000},"page":"1123-1152","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["The Complementor\u2019s Dilemma: Navigating Growth Ambitions and the Dependency on Focal Actors in Platform Ecosystems"],"prefix":"10.25300","volume":"49","author":[{"given":"Shiyuan","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Business and Public Management, Wenzhou-Kean University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ola","family":"Henfridsson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, U.S.A."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jochem T.","family":"Hummel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joe","family":"Nandhakumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"10933","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"2025090211540577800_b1-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1177\/0149206316678451","article-title":"Ecosystem as structure: An actionable construct for strategy","volume":"43","author":"Adner","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Management"},{"issue":"3","key":"2025090211540577800_b2-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1216","DOI":"10.1287\/orsc.2022.1615","article-title":"Value creation tradeoff in business ecosystems: Leveraging complementarities while managing interdependencies","volume":"34","author":"Agarwal","year":"2023","journal-title":"Organization Science"},{"issue":"1","key":"2025090211540577800_b3-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1177\/0268396219881462","article-title":"Platforms as service ecosystems: Lessons from social media","volume":"35","author":"Alaimo","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Information Technology"},{"key":"2025090211540577800_b4-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","volume-title":"Design rules: The power of modularity","author":"Baldwin","year":"1999"},{"key":"2025090211540577800_b5-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","first-page":"19","article-title":"The architecture of platforms: A unified view","volume-title":"Platforms, Markets and Innovation","author":"Baldwin","year":"2010"},{"issue":"12","key":"2025090211540577800_b6-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5599","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.2020.3636","article-title":"Platform competition with multihoming on both sides: Subsidize or not?","volume":"66","author":"Bakos","year":"2020","journal-title":"Management Science"},{"issue":"3","key":"2025090211540577800_b7-10_ra_10_25300_misq_2024_17767","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.1057\/jit.2015.6","article-title":"How open is this platform? 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