From matching to integrating: iterative development of business models in China's B2B e-commerce

Adopting a platform-economy perspective, this study investigates the iterative evolution of business models in China's B2B sector, framing firms as multi-sided intermediaries that orchestrate ecosystem interactions. Through a longitudinal multi-case analysis, the research identifies distinct developmental pathways shaped by initial resource configurations, revealing how companies transform from transaction facilitators to ecosystem designers. The findings demonstrate that value is created through three synergistic mechanisms: improving operational efficiency, optimising activity systems, and reconfiguring the division of labour across upstream and downstream participants. Crucially, these business model innovations enable platforms to leverage bilateral network effects and collaborative resource utilisation, embodying key sharing economy characteristics such as shared infrastructure and the pooling of idle capacities. By explaining how platforms align their activity systems with resource-sharing logic, this paper contributes a comprehensive framework to platform economy theory and the broader literature on B2B digital transformation.