A bid for sustainability from the digital platform: an institutional work perspective

Purpose Digital platforms and sustainability are two growing trends associated with organisational innovation and change. However, little emphasis has been placed on exploring how digital platforms can lead to the development of sustainability practices. This paper argues that different classes of sustainability can emerge from platforms in the form of institutional work whose legitimacy derives from judgments of value aimed at solving sustainability problems. This paper aims to identify the forms of institutional work proposed by different platform models that emphasise sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Based on a theoretical process model to depict the nexus between digital platforms and sustainability and a documentary examination of 153 digital platform ventures that claim sustainability solutions, this research uses qualitative comparative analysis to derive combinations of causal conditions to explain the scope of sustainability (form of institutional work) from types of platform solutions. Qualitatively, this paper derives patterns, iterating between data and the literature to validate the model. Findings The findings highlight the role of platforms’ information provision and persuasion techniques in advancing a sustainable digital inclusion agenda, which can have different forms of influence on organisational culture, business processes, performance metrics, supply chain practices and communication language. In particular, the provision of feedback on business sustainability can trigger new organisational processes and metrics, while the persuasion techniques embedded in some platforms’ business models have the potential to change practices at the value chain level in the face of persistent digital rebound effects. Originality/value While the effectiveness of such solutions could be called into question, the intended influence of platforms on businesses provides valuable stepping stones towards the prospect of more effective digital sustainability outcomes, with implications for the digitalisation-sustainability nexus, its theory and practice. Beyond the types of value that platforms can provide, this research has shown that many types of business models can unlock different forms of sustainability, challenging the dichotomy that prevails between market and alternative forms of value.