The slow platform in a fast economy: Temporal frictions and the (un)making of an alternative e-commerce initiative

The Covid-19 pandemic constituted a critical juncture that opened a window of opportunity for digital platforms to experiment with socially, economically and environmentally oriented forms of innovation. Across sectors such as tourism, food and local logistics, alternative initiatives sought to develop sustainable counter-models to dominant corporate e-commerce systems. However, the post-pandemic return to established consumption patterns rapidly exposed the dificulties these experiments face in achieving a durable, transformative impact. This paper examines INDACO, a digital platform developed in Trentino during the pandemic, to analyse how temporality, scaling challenges and structural constraints shape the capacity of alternative digital platforms to realise their ecosocial objectives. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research and the multi-level perspective, we show how temporal frictions, coordination barriers and competitive pressures from incumbent platforms combined to produce a trajectory of mission drift and limited territorial embedding. By foregrounding the role of temporality in socio-technical transitions, this study contributes to debates on emergent social innovation, alternative organising and the structural limits faced by digital platforms seeking to contest entrenched economic regimes