Sustainability pressures and willingness to integrate multi-sided platforms: unpacking the demand-side dynamics in manufacturing firms

This study examines manufacturing firms’ willingness to integrate multi‐sided retail platforms (MSPs) in response to sustainability‐driven demands. Grounded in Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Institutional theory, the analysis focuses on how consumer-driven factors (green customer pressure, product quality, and consumer involvement) interact with an organizational capability (internal green supply chain management) to shape firms’ willingness to integrate MSPs. Using survey data from 316 managers and applying fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) together with necessary condition analysis (NCA), the analysis yielded four distinct configurations. Results indicate that firms are most inclined to integrate MSPs when green customer pressure and product quality co-occur with internal green supply chain management. These findings reveal the joint role of external sustainability expectations and internal readiness in shaping firms’ strategic engagement with digital retail platforms. They also extend research on platform-based innovation by outlining multiple demand-oriented pathways to digital engagement under sustainability pressures.