Value Creation and Appropriation in Ecosystems: From Network Dynamics to Organizational Challenges

Abstract

An ecosystem is a group of independent firms linked to one another through non-generic complementarities, through which organizations combine their individual offerings into a coherent, customer-facing solution. When multiple organizations need to work together, they are faced with a familiar dilemma: when should they collaborate to create value and when should they compete to capture value? This symposium unites papers from some of the leading scholars in this emerging field that look at collaboration and competition in innovation ecosystems across multiple levels. We will begin with looking at competitive dynamics at the level of entire ecosystems, then take a graph theoretic approach to map patterns of complementarities within ecosystems so that we can link firms’ ecosystem positions to their performance. Next, we will explore whether external stakeholders care about collaborations among ecosystem members and conclude with looking at how exactly senior leaders manage their companies’ positions within evolving ecosystems. The (brief) presentations of the papers are followed by extensive discussion between presenters and coauthors, and also moderated Q&A with the audience. Our collective aim is to foster a discussion around developing better frameworks for thinking about value creation and appropriation within ecosystems and linking firms’ position in these ecosystems to performance. Competitive Dynamics in an Age of Ecosystems Presenter: Ron Adner; Dartmouth College Indirect Interdependence: How Ecosystem Structure Affects Firms’ Adaptation to Environmental Change Presenter: Natalie Jane Burford; INSEAD Presenter: Andrew V. Shipilov; INSEAD Presenter: Nathan Furr; INSEAD A Network-Based Perspective on Platform Ecosystems Presenter: Shiva Agarwal; U. of Texas at Austin Alliance Networks and Value Capture in Innovation Ecosystems Presenter: David R. Clough; Sauder School of Business, U. of British Columbia How Do Large Organizations Engage in Dynamic Ecosystems? Presenter: Michael G Jacobides; London Business School