Sales · Difference-in-differences, synthetic control, instrumental variables using API-network variation, and private API data.
How APIs Create Growth by Inverting the Firm
Management Science · 2023
Summary
In this study, Public API adopters grew an additional 38.7% over 16 years relative to similar nonadopters; growth was stronger with more complementors and network centrality. Internal-only API use had no significant effect, while public APIs increased breach risk. Founder use: Treat an API as an ecosystem product: measure active complementors, connected apps, centrality, and partner value—not only API calls—and budget for security controls.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Treat an API as an ecosystem product: measure active complementors, connected apps, centrality, and partner value—not only API calls—and budget for security controls.
Reported result
What the study found
Public API adopters grew an additional 38.7% over 16 years relative to similar nonadopters; growth was stronger with more complementors and network centrality. Internal-only API use had no significant effect, while public APIs increased breach risk.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Do public APIs create firm growth by enabling third-party complementors, and what are the security trade-offs?
Design
Difference-in-differences, synthetic control, instrumental variables using API-network variation, and private API data.
Sample and setting
Public firms adopting public APIs, API-network data from 2005 onward, and a private API development firm's data.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Firm-level observational designs still depend on identification assumptions; public-company/API adopters and market-value outcomes may not map to early-stage private SaaS.
Research sources
Publisher page directly retrieved with Firecrawl; scrape reference 01a1227f-25d8-722f-8628-9d5191c591cd. Claims are limited to the reported article record. Correction notices were not separately checked.