Innovating within Institutional Voids: A Digital Health Platform in India

Abstract

Most of the literature on digital innovation assumes availability of resources and access to markets and intermediaries. Institutional voids – lack of formal and informal arrangements – are generally seen as detrimental to digital innovation. While the extant literature provides insights about how some innovation can take place within institutional voids, it largely ignores the role of digital platforms. Based on field work in India, we examine how digital platforms can interface with institutional voids to create social and economic impacts. We find that platforms can address socio-economic challenges by framing, aggregating, and networking within institutional voids. Using an illustrative case study in rural India, where voids and constraints are prevalent, our research highlights how platforms can take strategic actions to develop socio-digital solutions to serve marginalized populations while earning sustainable revenues. We highlight dynamic interactions among physical, social, and digital layers that help platforms reframe constraints and address institutional voids.