Reframing value creation in industry PMNC ecosystem: The dynamic interplay between firm- and ecosystem-specific advantages

As pioneers in developing digital platform ecosystem, industry platform-based multinational corporations (industry PMNCs) play a dual role as both platform owners and leaders of product development and innovation. Their value creation process extends beyond the traditional dichotomy of firm-specific advantages (FSAs) (i.e., firm-specific value creation through internalization) and the emerging notion of ecosystem-specific advantages (ESAs) (i.e., ecosystem-specific value creation through externalization) in the international business (IB) literature. This paper theorizes the value creation of industry PMNCs by integrating internalization and externalization logics within a unified framework. We propose that FSA and ESA co-evolve through dynamic structural integration (structure), resource heterogeneity and recombination (resource), and governance mechanisms that balance centralized control with decentralized innovation (governance). Our two-tiered ecosystem architecture highlights the modular roles of PMNC subunits and the redefined functions of supply-chain partners, industry complementors, and end customers. By advancing internalization theory for the digital platform era, this study identified new avenues for research on platform governance, digital trust, and meta-organizational orchestration as the micro-foundations of value creation in global industrial ecosystems.