In defense of ‘eco’ in innovation ecosystem

Abstract

Innovation ecosystem is an increasingly popular but all too often ambiguously utilized concept across academia, policy and business. In their recent well-argued critique of the concept, Oh et al. ( 2016) called it a "flawed analogy" that is potentially dangerous for its lack of rigor. This letter, we reflect on this critique and examine pathways to resolve some of the issues pointed out. We suggest that, at its best, the ecosystem analogy combines salient features from natural ecology to inform the design of system-level innovation management activities. This requires great deal of conceptual and empirical effort and rigor, and we outline a number of ideas for future research in this regard.

Q&A. Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research: Where Are We Now and How Do We Move Forward?

“…In this regard, an increasing number of studies discussing the applicability and boundary conditions of the ecosystem concept have been conducted (Oh et al, 2016;Ritala & Almpanopoulou, 2017;Stam, 2015;Tsujimoto et al, 2017). However, the conceptualization of ecosystems in innovation and entrepreneurship research remains a debated issue.…”

“…The use of some system-level theoretical concepts such as emergence, interdependence, and dynamics is rather frequent in current scholarly work (see, e.g., Adner & Kapoor, 2010;Ansari et al, 2016;Stam, 2015). However, a more overarching emphasis on system-level theoretical principles and concepts is much rarer (for exceptions and discussion, see, e.g., Peltoniemi, 2006;Ritala & Almpanopoulou, 2017;Roundy et al, 2018;Scaringella & Radziwon, 2017). Second, network theory and social networks were seen as another promising theoretical foundation.…”

“…However, there is a risk in relabelling networks as ecosystems, just because the latter might resonate better with some of the ongoing discussions, thereby helping to argue for novelty via reconceptualization. To harness the distinctive nature of the analogy, we need to understand the ecological component when it comes to explaining interdependencies and coevolution, as well as the systems component when it comes to studying not only network linkages, but also other actors in the broader system (see also Ritala & Almpanopoulou, 2017). Also, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems could be viewed as cultural or value systems (Fisher et al, 2017;Glynn & Lounsbury, 2005).…”

Re‐storying the Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Concepts: The Model‐Narrative Review Method

“…Hence, we argue that modelnarrative analysis, that is, examining these stories of ecosystems as the unit of analysis, is an appropriate method for understanding the way researchers convey meaning for ecosystem concepts. Adner 2006; Iansiti and Levien 2004;Ritala and Almpanopoulou 2017) and entrepreneurial/entrepreneurship ecosystem (e.g. Adner 2017; Moore 1993; Zahra and Nambisan 2012), innovation ecosystem (e.g.…”

Measuring the expected synergy in Spanish regional and national systems of innovation

“…Is innovativeness indicated at the regional and/or national level? How can one operationalize and measure innovation-systemness (e.g., Oh et al 2016;Ritala and Almpanopoulou 2017)?…”