Navigating the Empowerment–Dependence Paradox: SMEs' export governance in digital platform ecosystems

How do small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets allocate exports between a dominant digital platform and firm-controlled channels? Drawing on transaction cost theory (TCT) and resource dependence theory (RDT), we analyze survey data from 299 Indian SMEs that use Amazon for export. We theorize and find that dedicated asset specificity increases platform reliance indirectly through perceived resource constraints, while multihoming weakens this resource-constraint-driven reliance. In contrast, internal and external uncertainty directly reduce platform-based exporting, suggesting that immediate hazards trigger efficiency safeguards without mediation. Together, these findings show how RDT complements TCT by revealing both the mediating mechanism through which a transaction hazard shapes governance choices and the moderating strategy through which that dependence on a focal platform is buffered. The study advances TCT–RDT integration by distinguishing when transaction hazards operate through resource constraints versus directly on governance choices, and by identifying multihoming as a strategic mechanism through which emerging market SMEs mitigate platform dependence in digital exporting.