Digital platform capabilities, boundary spanning, and service innovation in manufacturing firms: a moderated mediation model

Purpose This study aims to disentangle the link between digital platform capabilities and service innovation in manufacturing firms. It examines the mediating role of firm boundary spanning, specifically, power and knowledge boundary spanning, and investigates how participants’ complementarity and service complexity moderate these mediating effects. Design/methodology/approach This study first conducted an exploratory factor analysis, based on a presurvey of 150 questionnaires, to refine the measurements adapted from established scales. The formal survey was then administered between May and August 2023, covering 287 Chinese manufacturing firms. The authors used a percentile bootstrap approach to test the mediation and moderated mediation effects. To address potential endogeneity, the study applied a two-stage least squares method and performed multiple robustness checks to ensure the reliability of the results. Findings Digital platform capabilities positively influence service innovation in manufacturing firms. Moreover, firm boundary spanning, specifically power and knowledge boundary spanning, can mediate this link. Interestingly, participants’ complementarity and service complexity can each moderate the mediating effect of knowledge boundary spanning. In contrast, they do not play any moderating role on the impact of power boundary spanning. Originality/value This study advances the understanding of how digital platform capabilities translate firm-centric resources into ecosystem-oriented service innovation by theorizing firm boundary spanning, specifically, power and knowledge boundary spanning, as key mechanisms. It further explores the contingencies of participants’ complementarity and service complexity, highlighting how relational and structural characteristics of the service ecosystem shape the effectiveness of digital platform capabilities. This study not only extends the application of dynamic capability but also emphasizes the co-creation and cross-boundary aspects of service ecosystems in driving service innovation through an integrated, multilevel perspective on digital-enabled service innovation.