Socio-Technical Governance of Information Asymmetry in Platform-Based Service Supply Chains
Main article
Abstract
Platform-based service supply chains increasingly depend on cloud infrastructure, software providers, analytics vendors, cybersecurity intermediaries, and multi-sided client channels. In such settings, information asymmetry is not limited to private demand or hidden cost. It emerges from distributed data ownership, algorithmic opacity, uneven cyber-risk knowledge, contractual incompleteness, and unequal visibility into capacity conditions across B2B and B2C markets. This paper develops a socio-technical governance framework for information asymmetry in platform-based service supply chains. The framework integrates organizational governance, data governance, algorithmic accountability, cybersecurity assurance, and risk-sharing mechanisms into a unified decision architecture. A calibrated scenario analysis compares five governance regimes: baseline transparency, asymmetric disclosure, unmanaged multi-risk exposure, technical-control mitigation, and integrated socio-technical governance. Results show that purely technical controls reduce cyber exposure but leave substantial residual risk in capacity shortage, partner opportunism, and client trust loss. In contrast, integrated socio-technical governance reduces the normalized capacity shortage probability from 0.34 to 0.16, cyber exposure from 0.41 to 0.19, and client trust loss from 0.37 to 0.17, while increasing profit retention from 0.86 to 0.97. The findings indicate that platforms should treat information asymmetry as a governance problem that spans technology, contracts, incentives, and human oversight rather than as a narrow optimization error. The study contributes a practical governance matrix, scenario-based analytics, and implementation metrics for platform managers seeking resilient and trustworthy digital service supply chains.
