Challenges for Platform Ecosystems in the Mobility Domain – Insights from Mobility-as-a-Service

The literature on platform ecosystems is characterized by a success bias and a predominant focus on the technology sector. Emerging platform ecosystems in non-digital domains like mobility, particularly Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), encounter context-specific challenges. The domain provides fertile ground for research on platform ecosystem challenges, given the high market volatility, especially concerning MaaS platform ecosystem operators. Consequently, this paper investigates the challenges confronting MaaS platform ecosystems through a grounded theory approach. Based on interviews with 12 key informants from private and public organizations operating MaaS platform ecosystems, this inductive research identified four systemic challenges. At the core lies fragmented standardization governance regarding regulatory ambiguity and missing interoperability. Digital and technical partner misalignment, combined with interorganizational friction, undermines the economic viability of the ecosystem. A distinctive aspect of MaaS is the decision-making authority regarding ecosystem openness. Given the highly regulated mobility market, this responsibility is shifted from the ecosystem operator to the legislator.