The structure of an innovation ecosystem: foundations for future research

Abstract

PurposeThe concept of an innovation ecosystem, based on the idea of business ecosystem, has increasingly grown in the literature on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. However, not all innovation ecosystems have the same architectural models or internal collaboration, and existing research rarely deconstructs an ecosystem of innovation and examines its structure. The objective of this article is to systematize the discussion about the structure of an innovation ecosystem and offer a foundation for future research.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Web of Science database as the source for the articles, this paper presents a systematic review of the literature on the structure of the innovation ecosystems. The period of analysis spanned from January 1993 to August 2019. Two methods, bibliometric analysis and content analysis, were used to structure the systematic review.FindingsThe results of the content analysis showed that the main classifications related to the structure of an innovation ecosystem are the ecosystem life cycle (birth, expansion, leadership, and self-renewal), the classification according to the ecosystem level (macroscopic, medium, and microscopic), and the layered structure (core–periphery structure, triple-layer structure, triple-layer core–periphery structure, and framework 6C). The results also showed that studies in the field are concentrated around a small group of authors, and few studies have discussed the structure of an ecosystem.Research limitations/implicationsThis study includes only peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science database.Originality/valueThis article contributes to innovation ecosystem theory by exploring the characteristics that influence ecosystem structure. In addition to the theoretical contribution, the triple-layer core–periphery framework and the 6C framework set a benchmark for future research on innovation ecosystems.

Condiciones para el aprendizaje organizacional y prácticas de gestión de innovación: un análisis en medianas empresas

“…El éxito de las iniciativas basadas en conocimiento depende de su alineación con la estrategia de la organización, en este contexto, la claridad estratégica se concibe como el conocimiento de los colaboradores respecto a la planeación organizacional (Castañeda, 2015). Así, el desafío de la dirección estratégica es posicionar la innovación en la empresa, mediante el trabajo colaborativo tanto interno como externo, que permita aumentar la competitividad (Álvarez y Bernal, 2017) y consolidar ecosistemas de innovación (Dias et al, 2020). Además, el conocimiento de la estrategia aumenta la motivación de los colaboradores debido a que identifican su aporte al logro de los objetivos (Castañeda, 2015) y es un factor determinante de la relación entre la estrategia y el desempeño, en estructuras descentralizadas (Qinglan et al, 2019).…”

Exploring Cultivation Path of Building Information Modelling in China: An Analysis from the Perspective of an Innovation Ecosystem

“…Existing theoretical research of innovation ecosystem provided significant inspiration and foundation for this study. Tomás et al [33] identified that not all innovation ecosystems have the same architectural models or internal collaboration, and existing research rarely deconstructs an ecosystem of innovation and examines its structure. This article contributes to innovation ecosystem theory by exploring the structure of the BIM ecosystem.…”

Toward More Inclusive Networks and Initiatives in Innovation Ecosystems: Protocol for a Systematic Review

“…Themes including cooperation between actors, creation and acquisition of value by organizations, and ecosystem leadership have received increasing interest from both practitioners and scholars [ 6 ]. Nevertheless, the activities and processes taking place during the ecosystem genesis and expansion phases have received limited attention and many relevant knowledge gaps remain [ 7 , 8 ]. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase our understanding regarding the formation of innovation ecosystems at their early stage and the formation of roles within these structures of collaboration [ 2 ].…”

“…Therefore, it is crucial to identify effective methods of “opening-up” for innovation ecosystems to broaden the participation of innovation stakeholders, particularly from low-innovation countries and during the ecosystem formation period. This period of ecosystem evolution is the most fragile, as described in recent research [ 2 , 7 , 8 ]. Therefore, external provision of the necessary conditions, resources, and activities during this period will have the highest impact.…”