Geopolitical knowledge infrastructures and managerial decision-making: advancing the state–citizens–platforms triad

Purpose This conceptual paper examines how long-term geopolitical trends and short-term geopolitical events reshape managerial decision-making, strategic planning and organisational responses in platform-mediated environments. It theorises how states, citizens and platforms jointly shape the knowledge and decision logics through which firms respond to geopolitical discontinuity. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a PRISMA-ScR-guided scoping review, the study synthesises three literatures: platform ecosystems and digital infrastructures; political epistemology and knowledge production; and geopolitics and nonmarket strategy. The synthesis develops the state–citizens–platforms triad as an interpretive, management-oriented framework that treats knowledge production as contested and power-laden. Findings The framework shows that platforms operate as epistemic infrastructures rather than neutral intermediaries. State meta-governance shapes platform rules and data regimes; platform architectures translate sanctions, security concerns, regulatory fragmentation and supply-chain shocks into managerial categories; and citizens and experts stabilise or contest geopolitical claims. Geopolitical trends therefore affect firms not only through operational disruption but also by reshaping the visibility, credibility and actionability of decision-relevant knowledge. Originality/value The paper repositions digital platforms from firm-centric enablers of innovation and coordination to geopolitical knowledge infrastructures mediating among state power, organisational actors and citizen publics. Its contribution lies in explaining how epistemic power emerges from their interaction and why firms require triadic coordination and signal-integration routines to manage geopolitical uncertainty, risk assessment and ecosystem coordination.