Corporate governance, digital platforms, and network theory: information and risk-return sharing of connected stakeholders

Digital platforms are a technology-enabled transactional tool that facilitates connec-tions between stakeholders. Their features are consistent with network theory appli-cations where stakeholders are the nodes rotating around the platform. Platforms may be considered a new virtual stakeholder that, consistently with network theory, connects conventional partners (shareholders, managers, employees, lenders, cli-ents, suppliers, etc.), representing a bridging node and edge in multilayer networks. Stakeholders are nodes that interact around the bridging (hub) node, sharing infor-mation, and co-creating value within a sustainable digital ecosystem. Shared infor-mation is fueled in real-time by big data and reduces asymmetries and risk, rede-signing information systems. Corporate governance and managerial implications emerge as a critical, still under-explored issue.