APp Superstars: Are high-status complementors a sustained source of innovation in platform ecosystems?

Previous research has argued that fostering superstar systems in platform ecosystems promotes innovation due to complementors' intense competition for few high-status positions. However, the ex post innovation consequences of superstar systems have generated controversial arguments in theories of organizational status and behavior, suggesting that reaching superstar status might actually discourage innovation. We exploit sudden shifts in complementor status caused by Google bestowing prestigious awards on complementors on its Android platform. We document a systematic exploitation shift: superstar status discourages new app development and encourages incremental app updates. The exploitation shift enjoys positive demand-side feedback, which offers complementors an incentive to deter balancing exploration-exploitation. These findings have implications for our understanding of complementary innovation, the innovation consequences of organizational status, and the exploration-exploitation balance.