This paper develops new insights into the important role trust plays in inter-firm relationships and smart contracts in digital platform ecosystems, specifically in the context of international entrepreneurial ventures of micro-multinationals. It takes a phenomena-based research approach to assess how digital platform ecosystems provide significant advantages over traditional networked business models, and, specifically, how micro-multinationals, characterized by their limited resources, develop dynamic digital capabilities and utilize these platforms as effective vehicles for expanding businesses globally. Triangulating literature on inter-firm networks, platform ecosystems, international business, and trust, the paper demonstrates how algorithmic relationships, embedded in smart contracts, offer opportunities as well as pose challenges to participants in digital platform ecosystems. We observe that smart contracts and the evolving algorithmic relationships do introduce process efficiency, but at the same time, the question of trust and trustworthiness affects the overall effectiveness of the ecosystems. This limits the micro-multinationals from taking full advantage of technology, considering the limited resources available to them for overseas deployment. The opportunity space for smart contracts is decided by trust level and synergy in resources and processes among platform participants. This opportunity space is further moderated by the following: (a) a lack of supporting legal frameworks, (b) adaptive learning processes, (c) complexity and time-criticality of inter-organizational processes, and (d) perceived risks in inter-organizational processes. The propositions and the emergent trust framework, developed from this synthesis, provide valuable insights into how factors associated with trust and trustworthiness contribute to the adoption of smart contracts in platform ecosystems and, specifically, how these factors enable micro-multinationals to pursue internationalization opportunities.

本文对信任在数字平台生态系统中的公司间关系和智能合约中发挥的重要作用提出了新的见解，特别是在微型跨国公司的国际创业企业的背景下。它采用基于现象的研究方法来评估数字平台生态系统如何提供优于传统网络商业模式的显着优势，特别是资源有限的微型跨国公司如何开发动态数字能力并将这些平台用作有效工具在全球范围内扩展业务。对关于公司间网络、平台生态系统、国际业务和信任的文献进行三角测量，本文展示了算法关系如何嵌入智能合约，为数字平台生态系统的参与者提供机遇和挑战。我们观察到智能合约和不断发展的算法关系确实提高了流程效率，但与此同时，信任和可信度问题会影响生态系统的整体有效性。考虑到可用于海外部署的资源有限，这限制了微型跨国公司充分利用技术。智能合约的机会空间取决于平台参与者之间的信任程度以及资源和流程的协同作用。这一机会空间进一步受到以下因素的影响：(a) 缺乏支持性法律框架，(b) 适应性学习过程，(c) 组织间过程的复杂性和时间紧迫性，(d) 组织间流程中的感知风险。从这一综合发展而来的命题和新兴信任框架提供了宝贵的见解，了解与信任和可信度相关的因素如何促进平台生态系统中智能合约的采用，特别是这些因素如何使微型跨国公司寻求国际化机会。