On emergence in service platforms: An application to P2P lending

Three critical barriers limit the development of knowledge about service platforms today: ambiguous definitions of what service platforms entail, overemphasis of a digital artifact, and the a-priori assumption that an established and mature service platform exists. The logics, mechanisms, and implications associated with the initial development, subsequent transformation, and evolution of service platforms throughout their lifetime are therefore poorly understood. To address these challenges, we use complex systems theory to reconceptualize service platforms as complex adaptive systems and delineate three distinct order levels of emergence in service platforms: first-order, second-order, and third-order emergence. Contextualized for peer-to-peer lending platforms, our study contributes new knowledge of the systemic dynamics of service platforms at different moments in time - initial formation or assemblage, functioning, and evolution, while also identifying and discussing mechanisms that propitiate emergence.