PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore a way to reshape the business ecosystem for existing industries by comparing traditional and Shanzhai networks in China. The research is also conducted on the supporting activities by service intermediaries in the ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThis research starts with a literature review on firms' strategy of industry maturity from three perspectives, including technology orientation, innovation orientation, and network orientation. The approach of multiple case studies is adopted to unveil the reshaping process of the business ecosystem. Two types of networks are mapped: the traditional mobile companies' network and the Shanzhai network. Intra‐network and inter‐network cross‐case analyses aim to generate the research findings and provide implications for different ecosystem players.FindingsFirst, the relationship between industry and the business ecosystem is placed into a two by two matrix. Second, in order to reshape the business ecosystem, the traditional network prefers geographical dispersion to other countries to establish a new ecosystem, whereas the Shanzhai network brings niche substitutes to cut down industry entry barriers. Third, government agencies, as one of the service intermediaries, not only support the traditional network dispersion by providing preferential policies, but also support the reshaping process enabled by the Shanzhai network with legal guidance and resource capture. Fourth, other service intermediaries such as law firms, technology services, talent searchers, financial and industry associations, have greater impact on the Shanzhai network than on the traditional network. Fifth, from the comparison between these two networks, strategies to reshape the ecosystem can be differentiated in five aspects: frugal solution, platform enablement, organization recentralization, downstream innovation, and regulation adaptation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research further develops the observations into service intermediaries not only in core business but also in the extended level of the business ecosystem. The Shanzhai phenomenon also provides an excellent example implicating classical theories like cluster, innovation and global manufacturing virtual network. From a methodology perspective, this research combined the roadmap methods and cross‐case analysis. However, this study focuses more on Shanzhai network study than the traditional network.Practical implicationsFive nurturing strategies implicate small firms in the Shanzhai network and large firms in the traditional network as well as service intermediaries.Originality/valueThis paper is the first one to deeply study the relationship between industry and the business ecosystem in China, and the reshaping process of a mature business ecosystem from the traditional network, Shanzhai network and service intermediaries' perspectives.

Recently, price comparison service (PCS) websites are more and more popular due to its features in facilitating transparent price and promoting rational purchase decision. Motivated by the industrial practices, in this study, we examine the pricing strategies of retailers and supplier in a dual-channel supply chain influenced by the signals of PCS. We categorize and discuss three situations according to the signal availability of PCS, under which the optimal pricing strategies are derived. Finally, we conduct a numerical study and find that in fact the retailers and supplier are all more willing to avoid the existence of PCS with the objective of profit maximization. When both of retailers are affected by the PCS, the supplier is more willing to reduce the availability of price information. Important managerial insights are discussed.

Alongside Patent Super Aggregators represented by Intellectual Ventures in the United States, there is a trend to construct patent intermediary in the context of platform ecosystem. Accordingly, patent operation platforms (POPs) have emerged recently in China, yet few studies focus on uncovering their structures and operating mechanisms. This article aims to explore them based on two in-depth case studies with the application of a four-dimensional service innovation framework. Findings pinpoint that POP consists of ‘Patent Plus’ database, patent service platform and two-sided patent platform, as a closed loop. In this structure, ICT plays a prominent role, connected with new service concepts, service delivery system and client interface, to operate the platform. Our article also shows implications to POP related theory and practice.

As China emerges as a centre of manufacturing of the world, more and more small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) start to outsource their production and related supply chain management in China. But it is very difficult to effectively manage the international outsourcing and supply chain mainly because their limited size and resources. International outsourcing agents emerge as a potential solution pursued by many western companies. Currently it has very limited information from both practical and theoretical aspects to understand the agents and their characteristics. This paper, based on four case studies of agents in three major industrial sectors in China, introduces business models and growth paths of the international manufacturing outsourcing agents, and establishes a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for evaluation. The paper seeks to help western SMEs and hightech startups recognize the Chinese maturing and an ideal system for implementation, and to provide theoretical insights about the agents role and characteristics in international supply networks.