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Conceptualising Digital Platforms in Developing Countries as Socio-Technical Transitions: A Multi-level Perspective Analysis of EasyTaxi in Colombia

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Abstract

Digital platforms play an increasing role across socio-economic sectors in developing countries yet development research to date on this topic has been limited and under-conceptualised. To help facilitate such research in future, this paper presents and applies the “multi-level perspective” as a framework to understand platforms in development as socio-technical transitions. Analysing a successful ride-hailing platform—EasyTaxi in Colombia—it finds what was originally a niche innovation then effected a socio-technical transition within Bogotá’s taxi regime. Although there are some issues in applying the framework, it is found to have a factoral, scalar and longitudinal holism that were lacking in existing conceptualisations within the literature on platforms and developing countries. The multi-level perspective offers insights into the process of innovation, rapidity of scaling, and development impacts relating to resource endowments, institutional formalisation, and shifts in power. The framework may therefore be a useful lens for development researchers seeking to better understand digital platforms.

Résumé

Les plateformes numériques jouent un rôle de plus en plus important dans les secteurs socio-économiques des pays en développement. Pourtant, à ce jour, la recherche sur ce sujet a été limitée et peu conceptualisée. Afin de faciliter ce type de recherche à l’avenir, cet article présente et applique le cadre de la «perspective multi-niveaux» pour envisager les plateformes comme des transitions sociotechniques, dans le domaine du développement. En analysant une plateforme de covoiturage qui a eu du succès - EasyTaxi en Colombie – l’étude découvre que ce qui était à l’origine une innovation, une niche, a par la suite provoqué une transition socio-technique dans le milieu des taxis de Bogotá. Bien qu’il y ait quelques problèmes dans l’application du cadre, il s’avère qu’il dispose d’un holisme fondé sur plusieurs facteurs, scalaire et longitudinal, qui faisait défaut dans les cadres conceptuels existants qui figurent dans les publications sur les plateformes et sur les pays en développement. La perspective à plusieurs niveaux offre un aperçu du processus d’innovation, de la rapidité de la mise à l’échelle et des impacts sur le développement liés aux dotations en ressources, à la formalisation institutionnelle et aux changements au niveau du pouvoir. Le cadre peut donc être un prisme utile pour les chercheurs en développement qui cherchent à améliorer leur compréhension quant aux plateformes numériques.

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Notes

  1. As one indicator, in seven leading development studies journals by mid-2020 (Development and Change, Development Policy Review, European Journal of Development Research, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of International Development, Third World Quarterly, World Development), there were only five published papers with ‘platform’ in the title, only one of which related to digital platforms. The four non-digital-platform papers referred to platforms in the sense of an institutional or economic foundation for development activity.

  2. A total of 107 papers identified in mid-2020 from the first 200 items returned by the Google Scholar search: intitle:platform (digital AND (“developing countries” OR “developing country” OR "global South") AND (growth OR expansion OR scaling OR adoption OR impact)). These do not represent the totality of all literature relating to platforms and developing countries but these papers specifically signal their interest in platforms by using the term in the title, and reflect coverage of the main issues of relevance. The other 93 papers studied non-digital platforms and/or did not relate to developing countries and/or were inaccessible.

  3. Acknowledging that these features are not universal to developing countries nor are they absent from high-income countries but they are typical of developing countries.

  4. Our literature review also indicated that a case study approach has been typical of analyses of digital platforms in developing countries.

  5. Noting that insecurity and mistrust characterise not only other forms of transport e.g. buses (Kash and Hidalgo 2014) but life in the city more generally (Zeiderman 2016).

  6. A few local customisations were still required e.g. around ways to specify passenger location; something notoriously difficult in Bogotá and other Colombian cities. However, the technical design of the platform and app allowed it to immediately customise (e.g. in terms of map, language, taxi links) to the location in which it was opened (EasyTaxi Manager 3).

  7. By 2018, the figure was 110,000 with more than two million passenger-journeys per month (Gonzalez 2018).

  8. Though the latter includes Tappsi.

  9. Drivers cannot rate passengers: they have requested this but EasyTaxi refused, saying this would prevent potential for racial discrimination by drivers for which they might be held liable.

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Acknowledgements

We thank reviewers for comments on earlier versions of this paper, including one presented and published in the proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1-3 May 2019.

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  1. Systems Engineering Dept, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

    Juan Erasmo Gomez-Morantes

  2. Centre for Digital Development, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, Arthur Lewis Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Richard Heeks & Richard Duncombe

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Gomez-Morantes, J.E., Heeks, R. & Duncombe, R. Conceptualising Digital Platforms in Developing Countries as Socio-Technical Transitions: A Multi-level Perspective Analysis of EasyTaxi in Colombia. Eur J Dev Res 34, 978–1002 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00409-w

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