The uneasy transition from supply chains to ecosystems

Abstract

Purpose – This paper uses the multidimensional definition of value – ecosystemic value – and employs lifecycle theory to identify the different stages of evolution of value-creation and -capture processes in an ecosystem. Specifically, the aim of this paper is to show the uneasy transition from supply chains to ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a field study of a Canadian ICT ecosystem, this paper adopts a multilevel perspective on value-creation and value-capture processes and illustrates how these processes need to move from a dyadic economic focus to a network socioeconomic one. Findings – The findings pinpoint the uneasy transition from supply-chains management to ecosystems management and provide a framework for understanding how value creation and value capture should be coupled throughout the ecosystem lifecycle. Finally, five theoretical and managerial propositions are suggested to better leverage ecosystemic capabilities and better manage value creation and value capture in ecosystems. Practical implications – Five theoretical and managerial propositions are suggested to better leverage ecosystemic capabilities and better manage value creation and value capture in ecosystems. Originality/value – Many marketing and management scholars discuss the limitations of unbalanced perspectives (customer- or seller-centric) in building a comprehensive view of how value is created and captured. This multi-actors case study highlights how ecosystemic value creation may be obstructed by a firm's focus on value capture.

Platform labor: on the gendered and racialized exploitation of low-income service work in the ‘on-demand’ economy

“…This essay addresses these questions by examining the gendered, racialized, and classed distribution of opportunities and vulnerabilities associated with digitally mediated service work, or what I call platform labor. It investigates how the ascendant 'on-demand' or 'gig' economies are shoring up a particular order of worth whose political and moral economy leverages inequality and severs the link between labor and livelihood for those at the bottom of its entrepreneurial supply chain -now reimagined as a value-adding 'ecosystem ' (Ben Letaifa, 2014;Van Alstyne, Parker, & Choudary, 2016). For these workers, the cost of living regularly exceeds the volatile earnings from what Susie Cagle (2015) has termed 'platformcaptured self-employment', resulting in daily struggles to make ends meet (DePillis, 2014;Singer, 2014).…”

A Conceptual Framework for Servitization in Industry 4.0: Distilling Directions for Future Research

“…In considering businesses being organised into networks and the difficulty in handling and interpreting value creation and capture Letaifa (2014) provides an outline of the theoretical developments of business ecosystems which refers to the work of Moore (1993) who in his seminal article "Predators and Prey: The New Ecology of Competition", puts forward the concept of business ecosystem for the first time. Letaifa (2014) talks of a system that includes resources of all sorts, drawing in capital, partners, suppliers, and customers to create cooperative networks determining the transition from supply chains to ecosystems. It provides a good scope of applied cases including radio stations and universities and it shows how the ecosystem unfolds over time and in concluding it mentions that the ecosystem requires a balance between value-co-creation and value-capture objectives to be able to innovate and survive.…”

The application of smart cities concept for citizens of Lithuania and Sweden: comperative analysis

“…The initiatives of creative cities often fail to become sustainable due to the shortage of resources and formal leadership (HARTLEY et al, 2012;LETAIFA, 2014).…”