This article proposes an integrative framework for understanding technological platforms, bridging two theoretical perspectives: economics, which views platforms as double-sided markets, and engineering design, which sees them as technological architectures. The framework conceptualizes platforms as evolving organizations or meta-organizations that federate and coordinate agents who can innovate and compete, create value through economies of scope in supply and/or demand, and have a modular technological architecture composed of a core and periphery. The framework is applied to derive a model of how platform innovation and competition interact, yielding hypotheses that can be tested empirically. The article highlights the importance of understanding the interaction between platform innovation and competition, as platforms often combine innovation with competitive tensions within and across ecosystems. It argues that platforms can be viewed as dynamic systems that facilitate innovation and competition, and that the economic and engineering design perspectives, while useful, have not fully captured this interaction. The proposed framework integrates these perspectives, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of platforms as evolving organizations. The framework is supported by a classification system that identifies three categories of platforms: within firms, across supply chains, and within industry innovation ecosystems. The article concludes that the framework provides a useful theoretical foundation for further research on platforms, allowing scholars to tap into the vast organizational theory literature to develop new insights on how platforms operate and evolve.This article proposes an integrative framework for understanding technological platforms, bridging two theoretical perspectives: economics, which views platforms as double-sided markets, and engineering design, which sees them as technological architectures. The framework conceptualizes platforms as evolving organizations or meta-organizations that federate and coordinate agents who can innovate and compete, create value through economies of scope in supply and/or demand, and have a modular technological architecture composed of a core and periphery. The framework is applied to derive a model of how platform innovation and competition interact, yielding hypotheses that can be tested empirically. The article highlights the importance of understanding the interaction between platform innovation and competition, as platforms often combine innovation with competitive tensions within and across ecosystems. It argues that platforms can be viewed as dynamic systems that facilitate innovation and competition, and that the economic and engineering design perspectives, while useful, have not fully captured this interaction. The proposed framework integrates these perspectives, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of platforms as evolving organizations. The framework is supported by a classification system that identifies three categories of platforms: within firms, across supply chains, and within industry innovation ecosystems. The article concludes that the framework provides a useful theoretical foundation for further research on platforms, allowing scholars to tap into the vast organizational theory literature to develop new insights on how platforms operate and evolve.