An intermediary as a trust enabler in a spatial business ecosystem

The role of trust in innovation ecosystems

“…As an attempt to conceptualize trust, Mayer et al (1995, p. 712) defined it as “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party.” In simple terms, trust can be described as a willingness to assume risks (Mayer et al , 1995), with an expectation that the other party will act in a fair, ethical (Chams-Anturi et al , 2020) and benevolent way (Welter, 2012). Trust is dynamic: it shifts and evolves over time according to interactions among parties, which means that it can also be easily lost, particularly due to its fragility and to the propensity of being vulnerable to another party (Bstieler et al , 2017; Barney and Hansen, 1994; Huang and Wilkinson, 2013; Majava et al , 2016; Mayer et al , 1995; Teramoto and Jurčys, 2017; Welter, 2012). Because of its strong relation with credibility, trust is the base for any business connection (Majava et al , 2016) and a source of competitive advantage (Barney and Hansen, 1994).…”

“…Trust is dynamic: it shifts and evolves over time according to interactions among parties, which means that it can also be easily lost, particularly due to its fragility and to the propensity of being vulnerable to another party (Bstieler et al , 2017; Barney and Hansen, 1994; Huang and Wilkinson, 2013; Majava et al , 2016; Mayer et al , 1995; Teramoto and Jurčys, 2017; Welter, 2012). Because of its strong relation with credibility, trust is the base for any business connection (Majava et al , 2016) and a source of competitive advantage (Barney and Hansen, 1994). Trust motivates stable relationships, contributes to knowledge transfer and facilitates the communication of ideas (Chams-Anturi et al , 2020).…”

Regional development platforms as incubators of business ecosystems. Case study: The Lahti urban region, Finland

“…They emphasise the role of, for example, the availability of different forms of capital, an entrepreneurial culture that enables risk‐taking and accepts failure, local conditions that attract new talent, a strong knowledge ecosystem, platforms for formal and informal cooperation, and committed leadership. Also, they highlight the importance of trust among ecosystem members and the role of intermediary actors as trust enablers (Majava, Kinnunen, Foit, & Kess, 2016). Based on their analysis on knowledge and business ecosystems in Flanders, Belgium, Clarysse et al (2014) suggest that public procurement policies could provide a stimulus for building new business ecosystems and that large companies could play a more significant role in nurturing regional business ecosystem development.…”

Business ecosystem perspective on innovation policy: a case study of San Diego life sciences

“…Prior to CONNECT, collaboration in vertical industries was modest because companies focussed on their own businesses. CONNECT created trust among the ecosystem's actors (Majava et al, 2016a). CONNECT members shared their contacts to benefit others.…”