The role of trust in innovation ecosystems

Abstract

Purpose There are indications that trust is essential in innovation ecosystems relations. However, studies have not yet focused on deeply exploring such connection. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the influence of trust among actors in the context of innovation ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach This study developed a conceptual framework and a set of propositions. We raised a discussion based on the intertwining of three widely known dimensions of trust (ability, benevolence and integrity) and four dimensions of innovation ecosystems (network collaboration, interdependency, value co-creation and innovation objectives). Findings This paper suggests that trust contributes to the development of innovation ecosystems’ dimensions. In addition, it sheds light on the need to consider all three dimensions of trust together and simultaneously, because, by itself, none of them is sufficient to build trust in innovation ecosystems. Also, we argue that the different connections between the dimensions of trust and those of innovation ecosystems lead to the development of such ecosystems. Originality/value Through the approach of an underexplored area of research, this paper contributes to a broad understanding of the role of trust in innovation ecosystems toward the pursuit of creating innovation. It also proposes a novelty to the field, by suggesting four dimensions of innovation ecosystems to help managers analyze ecosystems through a more practical perspective.

An Evolutionary Analysis of Relational Governance in an Innovation Ecosystem

“…Note. That zero-sum situations may exist in our game, but abundant works have verified that innovation and value co-creation activities in innovation ecosystem scenarios generally nurture non-zero-sum outcomes (e.g., Bhargava, 2021;Ranjan & Read, 2021;Visscher et al, 2021), even so in co-evolution of innovation ecosystems (e.g., Benitez et al, 2020;Breslin et al, 2021;Steinbruch et al, 2022). Thus, following their works, we proceed with our analysis under a non-zerosum context.…”

“…It shows a willingness and an expectation that other actors will meet commitments fairly, ethically, and benevolently (Chams-Anturi et al, 2020; Mayer et al, 1995; Welter, 2012). Trust, embedded into relationships of innovation ecosystems, is an enabler of ecosystem innovations through enhancing collaboration, openness of information, understandings of conflicts (Chams-Anturi et al, 2020; Steinbruch et al, 2022), and further mitigates opportunism (Carson et al, 2006). Reciprocity represents the exchanges of supports or assistance between parties (Dong et al, 2017) and a social norm requiring a counterpart or compensation which one entity asks for from the others (Hoppner & Griffith, 2011).…”

“…In innovation ecosystems, relational governance is evolutionary due to evolutionary relationships between actors (Ness & Haugland, 2005; Steinbruch et al, 2022). However, the analyses of influential mechanisms of relational governance on strategy interactions between actors in co-evolution of innovation ecosystems are still ambiguous.…”

The Effect of Proximity on Enterprise Innovation Performance in the Innovation Ecosystem

“…in the innovation ecosystem, enterprises need to improve innovation performance through effective interaction with further innovation subjects [54]. To better promote the realization of interactive sharing, it is necessary to establish a satisfactory relationship between enterprises and partners, and the maintenance of this cooperation is based on the appropriate proximity between enterprises and other innovation subjects [55].…”

Coopetition within the entrepreneurial ecosystem: startups’ entrepreneurial learning processes and their implications for new venture performance

“…As the ecosystem is an orderly whole based on healthy competition and cooperation, the exploration of the learning process of startups may be helpful to explain the mechanism of this cohort effect and reveal the significance of the ecosystem. On the other hand, from the perspective of the ecosystem, the social capital of the entrepreneurial ecosystem should also be considered as an important boundary condition (Nicotra et al , 2018; Steinbruch et al , 2021). Many scholars in the field of coopetition have paid attention to the influences of trust between enterprises (Chai et al , 2020; Czakon and Czernek, 2016; Yu, 2019) while at the ecosystem level, it corresponds to social capital.…”