Visualizing the Alliance Network Structure of Service Industries

Abstract

A growing body of research focuses on the structure of interfirm value co-creation.Despite this emphasis, little is known about the variation in interfirm collaboration across different service industries. Building on prior work in service value networks and business ecosystems, we analyze the structural characteristics of 11 service industries using a data-driven visualization approach. We first examine the alliance network structure of each service industry individually and differentiate the nature of collaboration using an exploration/coopetition lens. Second, we examine service industries integratively, thereby exploring the extent to which service industries are converging and traditional industry boundaries are blurred. Our results reveal significant structural differences in alliance network structures between service industries as well as diverse value co-creation orientations. Our macro analysis reveals an overall core-periphery structure and different service industry coupling levels, with actors in the ICT industry playing a particularly central role across subclusters. We frame our findings in terms of industry robustness, openness, and embeddedness.We conclude the paper with theoretical and practical implications for understanding and managing service ecosystems and suggest future research opportunities.