Strategic leaders' ecosystem vision formation and digital transformation: A motivated interactional lens

Abstract

Research SummaryThe question of why and how strategic leaders differ in the ecosystems they envision is central to firms' digital transformation. We unpack the cognitive microfoundations of how strategic leaders form their ecosystem vision—a mental model of a firm's multilateral complementarities with its partners to realize a value proposition. Our motivated interactional lens emphasizes the role of strategic leaders' cognitive motivation for shaping four interaction types with (prospective) partners: participatory, selective, collaborative, and reclusive. We theorize how these interactions shape the changes strategic leaders make in their mental models, and thus, to envision different levels and types of complementarities with (prospective) partners in the digital transformation. Our theory illuminates the roles of strategic leaders, their cognitive motivations, and social interactions in firms' ecosystem leadership.Managerial SummaryDigital transformation is an ecosystem challenge for incumbent firms. As part of their ecosystem leadership, strategic leaders need to form a vision of how to complement their value offerings with (prospective) partners' offerings. This vision, in turn, can affect the types of ecosystems they enact. We develop a theoretical model that emphasizes the role of strategic leaders' cognitive motivation for the interactions they engage in with (prospective) partners and for the types of ecosystem visions they form as a result.

Leading digital transformation in incumbent firms: A strategic entrepreneurship framing

“…Clearly, then, it is a core task of strategic leaders to form and execute a vision for ecosystem development strategically. In this regard, the Special Issue article by Reuter and Floyd (2024), entitled "Strategic leaders' ecosystem vision formation and digital transformation: A motivated interactional lens," makes a valuable contribution by developing novel theory about why and how strategic leaders differ in the digital ecosystems they envision. The authors conceptualize ecosystem visions as mental models of the firm's multilateral complementarities with (prospective) partners, which are developed through leaders' social interactions with the ecosystem.…”

“…Externally, digital transformation has implications for the firm's ecosystem (i.e., Adner, 2021). Reuter and Floyd (2024), in this special issue, suggested that digital transformation entails an ecosystem challenge, requiring firms to complement their value proposition with partners' offerings. Thus, a key strategic choice is whether firms will choose to compete independently or deepen and/or widen their participation in external ecosystems.…”