From business ecosystems to ecosystems of innovation: the case of the video game industry in Montréal

Abstract

ABSTRACT The concept of ecosystem plays a central role in the recent debates on the unfolding of a new regime of innovation. In this paper, we contribute to these debates by clarifying the distinction between the emerging concept of ‘ecosystem of innovation’ from the established concept of ‘business ecosystems.’ Re-interpreting the case of the historical developments of the video game cluster of Montreal, we argue that the dynamics of knowledge creation and innovation in ‘ecosystems of innovation’ imply to adopt a wider scope and address knowledge flows between a diverse set of business ecosystems and between a business ecosystem and less formalised spaces dedicated to knowledge creation and exploration. We conclude suggesting the complementarity of ‘ecosystems of innovation’ with ‘business ecosystems’ and their generativity fuelled by creative tensions between formal and informal loci of knowledge creation, illustrated by diverse talent trajectories.