Designing digital platforms as generative systems through the lens of complex adaptive systems theory

As digital platforms continue to gain momentum, there is a pressing need for a better conceptualization of the ways these generative systems emerge through a deliberate, ongoing design. This design, we claim, is very different from more traditional approaches to Information Systems (IS) design with pre-defined requirements and the known end-goal. Instead, digital platforms are continuingly emerging, in response to changes in their organizational and wider contexts, through mutually shaping co-evolution. Focusing on a lesser-explored research area of internal digital platforms, in this paper we describe a case study of a novel digital platform designed through deliberate design and emergence. Based on our research findings, observed through the lens of the Complex Adaptive Systems theory, we propose a set of design principles for designing digital platforms as generative systems and discuss their practical implications.