In their article "Between mutuality, autonomy and domination: rethinking digital platforms as contested relational structures, öffnet eine externe URL in einem neuen Fenster", Elke Schüßler (Institute of Organization Science) together with Will Attwood-Charles (University of Miami), Stefan Kirchner (TU Berlin) and Juliet Schor (Boston College) develop a conceptual framework for understanding the diversity, hybridity and malleability of digital platforms and the dynamics of the platform economy. This article is the introduction to a whole Special Issue on the platform economy forthcoming at Socio-Economic Review, the leading international journal for research on socio-economic phenomena.