Web API Ecosystems: Socio-Technical Analysis and Characterization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51252/rcsi.v5i1.757Keywords:
API management, Web API, software ecosystem, socio-technical systemAbstract
Digital transformation and the API economy have given rise to digital ecosystems, where Web APIs are the main assets. Web API Ecosystems (WEAs) bring together people, companies, services, resources, tools, and innovative development activities and processes on a platform. In the field of Software Engineering, WEAs are Software Ecosystems (SECOs). One way to examine and understand complex systems is the Socio-Technical (S-T) approach, which reduces the risk of systems not meeting organizational objectives. According to various published review studies, there are no S-T studies reported in relation to Web APIs as in SECO. In order to identify categories of analysis, we performed an exploratory and descriptive case study applied to four current WEAs, applying an S-T approach. We found and classified the components of the social, infrastructure, and standards dimensions into five main categories, which also include subcategories. Relationships with the context have been classified into three categories. Finally, we discuss and compare our observations with the most widely disseminated literature regarding API Management and Software Ecosystems.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Sandra Casas, Marcela Constanzo, Graciela Vidal, Diana Cruz
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