Innovation Ecosystem Evolution as Socio-technical Transition: A Case Study

Abstract

The evolution of innovation ecosystems is an important topic for scholars and practitioners alike, as externalities such as market changes, competitive landscapes, and regulatory pressures demand the delivery of new customer-facing value propositions. In this paper we aim to enhance our conceptual understanding of ecosystem evolution by shining a socio-technical lens upon the innovation ecosystem. Through this perspective we understand ecosystem evolution as a socio-technical transition resulting from the emergence and resolution of development-retarding social or technical components referred to as ‘reverse salients’. Our case study of a food innovation ecosystem in regional Australia identifies numerous reverse salients that inhibit ecosystem reconfiguration and transition from its current state delivering high-quality agricultural produce, to a new state marked by greater output capacity and higher number of value-added offerings. We categorise these reverse salients as ‘actors’, ‘connections’ between actors, and ‘resources’ flowing between actors. While these categories align with the ecosystem-as-structure perspective, our findings additionally underscore the role of ecosystem ‘leadership’ and ‘rules of engagement’ within the ecosystem as further sources of reverse salience. We subsequently present a conceptual model that integrates our study findings along with a set of propositions to guide future empirical research.