Low-code development platform ecosystems

Low-code development platforms (LCDPs) such as Mendix, OutSystems, and Microsoft Power Platform are reshaping software development. These platforms enable non-technical users to develop applications by reusing and configuring out-of-the-box components in visual, user-friendly environments. While LCDPs are typically portrayed as new standalone development tools, they also exhibit many characteristics of digital platform ecosystems. For example, similar to traditional app stores, they also offer marketplaces where external developers and business users can contribute what they have developed. Yet, despite these conceptual similarities, the “platform” dimension of LCDPs has received little attention. Accordingly, this Fundamentals paper conceptualizes LCDPs as a distinct type of digital platform ecosystem. We build on research in digital platform ecosystems, boundary resources, packaged software reuse, and platform governance, and explain how LCDPs align with and differ from conventional platforms. Specifically, we show how LCDPs combine infrastructure and reuse, embed design constraints directly into components, and orchestrate ecosystem participation through a logic of “curated enablement” rather than open contribution. We conclude by outlining a research agenda that highlights LCDPs not as marginal tools for end-user development, but as rich, theory-relevant settings for further exploration.