This thesis is located at the intersection of digital sustainability and platform economy. The theoretical lense of the planned work is Transaction Cost Theory (TCT), that helps to understand the economic logic behind strategic decisions. The planned research project investigates how platform design influences the engagement of users of not-for-profit digital platforms. The research will explore how TCT can be applied to understand the incentives that drive complementor participation, and how design decisions impact platform arrangement and transaction efficiency. Gamification, rating, or further elements of digital platforms (that you can think of?) can be the subject of investigation. By examining the dynamics in not-for-profit environments, the thesis is a building block in unraveling the peculiarities of not-for-profit digital platforms.

If you are interested, please contact Lea Kuhlmann from the Offis: lea.kuhlmann@offis.de 

The suggested research approach is design science research. The theoretical frame and a set of interviews as basis for requirements analysis already exist and can be used. Furthermore, a literature review is proposed for requirements analysis. This is followed by the synthesis of design principles based on prior findings, instantiation of design principles as a prototype, qualitative evaluation of the prototype (focus groups or interviews), and the final analysis. The DSR approach can be limited to Design Cycle one. Exemplary paper using DSR: DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00801
The descriptions of the planned work are work in progress, feel free to approach me with your own ideas and adaptations of the proposed topic.

A general interest in platform economy and sustainability