The Strategic Role of Digital Platform Ecosystems in Cross-Industry Innovation: The Case of Haier

Abstract

This paper researches how innovating firms to achieve cross-industry innovation for products and services through ecosystem perspective, thus helping many manufacturing businesses who not have the capacity to upgrade for its products and services. We examine how might the structure of interdependences in platform ecosystems shape the innovation process focused on the firms' cross-industry innovation. A multiple-case study of Haier's three projects suggests that three boundary spanning capabilities were critical for cross-industry innovation of products and services: resources sharing, cross- networks bridging and digitalization transforming. The coexist of these three boundary-spanning capabilities promoted manufacturing businesses to redesign the new products and services, aligning with the digital innovation process. Importantly, by uncovering the relationship between the structure of ecosystem interdependencies and the cross-industry innovation process in the digital era, this study deepens our comprehension that how firms can shift the innovation process of manufacturing businesses by strategizing the platform ecosystems.