What role do data network effects play for multihoming complements? An empirical analysis of platform complementors’ strategies for consumer value creation

Abstract The growing relevance of artificial intelligence (AI) and data in digital platform ecosystems shapes value creation, recently discussed by scholars as data network effects. Complementors significantly contribute to the value that consumers derive from a platform through its offerings. The potential to leverage user data affects complementors’ strategic choices, including multihoming across different platforms, designing products with greater autonomy from the platform technology, or monetizing their product. By drawing upon a dataset of 7063 iOS gaming apps, this study assumes the perspective of data network effects and investigates empirically how complement multihoming affects perceived consumer quality, shaped by complement independence from the platform core and value capture by complementors. We contribute to research on platform markets by (1) providing an updated perspective on the value contribution of multihoming, (2) emphasizing the value advantage of complements with high software autonomy, and (3) revealing a diminishing impact of complement monetization on complement quality. These findings offer practical insights for complementors and platform providers navigating value creation and capture in today’s digital ecosystems.