Defining App Stores: The Role of Curated Marketplaces in Software Ecosystems

The app store is a novel concept in the software business, that has changed the way in which customers perceive software and its day-to-day use. The concept, however, is poorly understood, which can be observed by lack of a comprehensive definition and relatively little literature on the topic. This paper provides a definition of app stores, provides a conceptual model of the concept, and supplies typical features and policies that are observed in app stores, using six case studies. The increased understanding that the research provides, aims to help practitioners make their app store more successful and provides researchers with a frame for defining and analyzing app stores.