“An iron hand in a velvet glove’’: the embodiment of the platform logic in the emergency sector

Despite increasing attention on organizational responses to digital platforms the Information Systems research has overlooked the influence of platforms on the public sector. In this paper we draw on the concept of institutional logics to examine the impact of platforms on the emergency sector. A qualitative case study of the emergency sector is undertaken, comprised of interviews with organizations—including emergency response organizations, government agencies, firms, non-government organizations and community and volunteer groups. The findings reveal the interplay between the prevailing ‘command and control’ and ‘community’ logics and the ‘platform’ logic and how the tensions and synergies between them are shaping the information landscape in the sector. We demonstrate how organizations embody and resist aspects of the platform logic.