Platform as Theoretical Framework Rather Than Just Empirical Context: How Information Science Scholars Examine Digital Platforms

This panel aims to highlight the importance of digital platforms to information science (IS) and in doing this to help connect IS scholars to the important work from other intellectual communities when conducting studies on platforms. The pervasiveness of digital platforms in our lives has encouraged scholars across multiple disciplines to turn their attention to these socio-technical arrangements. And, over the past two-plus decades, scholars have advanced multiple conceptualizations and some initial theorizing about digital platforms. This noted, platform-oriented literature in IS is less focused, and more importantly, does not connect to the conversations on this topic developed in other intellectual communities. To begin connecting IS scholars with platform scholarship outside of our field, this panel brings together IS scholars who have focused their scholarly attention to studying platforms in order to share their research and discuss how their studies could be inspired by and contribute to the platform literature.