Investigating the Dynamics of Trust Establishment Between Core Firms and Their Actors

The stability and collaborative development of digital platform ecosystems depend on the establishment and maintenance of harmonious interfirm relationships. However, extant research has paid limited attention to the processes through which trust is cultivated among platform participants or to the potential negative behaviours of core firms that may erode such trust. Adopting the perspective of ecosystem actors, this study specifically examines how trust in core firms is formed and how possible negative behaviours by core firms may influence this trust relationship. In doing so, it addresses a significant gap in the literature on the dynamics of core firm–subordinate firm (hereinafter referred to as “actors”) relationships in digital platform ecosystems. Drawing on signalling theory, this study examines whether and how the perceived ecological niche creativity and key resource sharing intention of core firms influence actors’ trust intention through the reputation of core firms. It also incorporates the opportunistic behaviour and manipulation power of core firms into the model as important contextual moderators in order to examine whether these factors erode core firm–actor trust relationships within the ecosystem. Based on survey data from 347 actors operating in digital platform ecosystems, the results show that: (1) the ecological niche creativity and key resource sharing intention both significantly enhance actors’ trust intention; (2) the reputation of core firms mediates both of these relationships; and (3) the opportunistic behaviour negatively moderates the relationship between the reputation of core firms and actors’ trust intention, whereas the manipulation power of core firms positively moderates this relationship. Adopting the perspective of ecosystem actors, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms through which trust relationships with core firms are established. This examination differs from the prevailing view in the literature that trust within digital platform ecosystems is primarily algorithmic in nature. In doing so, it extends the theoretical perspective of trust research in digital platform ecosystem relationships and offers useful implications for core firms in guiding and maintaining relationships among ecosystem participants and supporting the development of platform ecosystems.