Key pillars in a business ecosystem success

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore the dimensions that foster the accomplishment of goals of business ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews recent contributions to business ecosystems and identifies the key pillars that support the achievement of good results. Findings The paper suggests that entanglement with the customers, value sharing based on a holistic win-win approach, organizational entrepreneurship alignment and continuous smart learning are four dimensions of criticality for designing an effective business ecosystem. These four dimensions nurture the relationships between participants and external actors to make ecosystems successful. Entanglement with the customer is critical to the long-term relevance of the value proposition that reinforces companies’ relationships within the second pillar of value sharing in a win-win system. The development is structured in an organizational alignment where entrepreneurship is the engine, from the employees themselves to the largest corporations, and is enriched with continuous learning based on the exploitation of knowledge and big data. Research limitations/implications The paper identifies a set of four pillars of business ecosystem design for further empirical analysis by ecosystem researchers. Practical implications The paper provides managers and professionals with strategies to develop effective growth within business ecosystems. Originality/value The authors contribute a fresh perspective to the business ecosystems literature by identifying four key pillars of success in the current business landscape.

Perspective Chapter: Business Ecosystems – A Structure to Commercialize Value Chain of Rural Economies in Developing Areas

“…In a business setting, firms should not be viewed as members of a single industry but as members of a business "ecological unit" [14,37]. This ecological unit also called a Business Ecosystem (BE) is a community of interdependent firms [13,14,41] with different capabilities working together to deliver a focal value to customers [15,31,34]. It is a relationship where the set of interacting firms depends on each other's activities and resources to create value for customers and capture value from the activity [42,43].…”

“…But, this cannot be done by a single firm and in a single setting. It requires firms to coevolve capabilities around an innovation: they work cooperatively and competitively to create value for customers and capture a sizable value from their activities [12][13][14][15]. Therefore, it is important to analyze innovative approaches through which rural economic activities can be commercialized: rural firms should be able to create value and capture a sizable value from their activities.…”