Differential effects of formal and self-control in mobile platform ecosystems: Multi-method findings on third-party developers' continuance intentions and application quality

Although control modes have been studied extensively in traditional IS contexts, minimal attention has been directed toward understanding how different control modes operate in platform ecosystems. Drawing on the IS control and self-determination literatures, we examined the differential effects of formal and self-control on third-party developers' continuance intentions and application quality on mobile software platforms. Two studies from a laboratory experiment (N = 138) and a follow-up field survey with Android app developers (N = 230) show that self-control is superior to formal control because it allows for higher perceived autonomy that in turn promotes continuance intentions and application quality.