The iterative innovation of tourism digital platforms: a new framework

With the development of the digital economy, numerous tourism digital platforms have emerged, connecting suppliers directly to end-users. While iterative innovation forms a key competitive advantage behind digital platforms, what triggers the iterative innovation is little understood. This study proposes a framework of the triggers, specific to tourism digital platforms that encompasses direct network externalities, indirect network externalities, sociotechnical coordination, openness and boundary resources, as well as the moderating effects of the development scale of digital platforms and technology investment. The framework helps platform managers better understand, predict and respond to iterative innovation, thereby securing economic benefits, user satisfaction and sustainable development of the tourism digital platforms.