As the platform co-operativism movement gains importance and visibility, management scholars focus increasingly on such emerging models that are attempting to provide suitable alternatives to capitalist platforms. Yet, to our knowledge, no conceptual framework has been proposed to study strategic choices performed by co-operatives when establishing digital infrastructures of collaboration, i.e.: inter-organizational information systems (IOIS). This theoretical paper intends to raise awareness about IOISs as important strategic features, conditioning both the co-operative movements’ ability to perform its digital transition and to produce positive social impacts. Our theoretical framework for studying co-operative IOISs combines elements of social justice according to Nancy Fraser, standards, and meta-organizations. Using this theoretical framework, we uncover possible contradictions which may emerge when co-operatives need to choose between proprietary or open interoperability standards.
