Digital Ecosystem Research Articles

Unpacking innovation in digital multi-sided platform startups: making sense of path creation in generating two distinct types of innovation

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of effectual logic as the basis of entrepreneurial action in path creation for influencing the performance of open innovation outcomes within the context of digital multi-sided platform (MSP) startups. Design/methodology/approach We utilize the PLS-SEM method with a sample of 70 Indonesian digital MSP startups that have implemented open innovation practices. Findings The empirical findings indicate a path creation between effectual logic and the open innovation process, particularly through the integration of absorptive capacity and crowds or communities management practices. Absorptive capacity development fosters incremental innovation, whereas crowds or communities management practices lead to radical innovation. Originality/value The research findings suggest that, despite limited resources and experience, young entrepreneurs can successfully implement an open innovation strategy for their digital MSP platforms by utilizing effectual logic principles, which capitalize on the external resources provided by digital platform ecosystem members.

“It’s not your fault!”: Aging and the dilemmas of literacy in a digital world

“It’s not your fault!”: Aging and the dilemmas of literacy in a digital world As the world becomes increasingly digitally focused, Kim Sawchuk, Director of engAGE: Centre for Research on Aging, Concordia University, examines what this shift means for older adults trying to navigate media literacy. In an increasingly digital world, media literacy has become a critical life skill. Yet, having the skills to engage in this world can be challenging. In a recent workshop on navigating digital ecosystems, older participants spoke eloquently of the joys, frustrations, and threats they encountered in their daily digital lives. They recounted the difficulties they face in acquiring and maintaining the knowledge and skills needed to access this digital world safely and securely in media systems that are changing at a rapid pace.

The Concept of Building an Integrated Digital Ecosystem to Improve the Quality of Products and Services of Defense Industry Enterprises

Research and development of systems for managing material, technical, and intellectual resources are key directions for improving manufacturing processes in the modern world. In recent years, the question of integrating various management systems has become particularly relevant due to the widespread adoption of quality management systems and their certification to meet current regulatory requirements. This study attempts to merge the advantages of using product lifecycle information support technologies, such as data and information management, with the concept of digital twins, including virtual design, digital product modeling, and real-time analysis. The analysis covers the constituent elements of the generalized product design and manufacturing process, addressing the construction of an integrated digital ecosystem to enhance the quality of products and services in the defense-industrial complex. This ecosystem is based on the integration of technologies for continuous product information support using their digital twins and an integrated quality management system. It is shown that the approach to evaluating the effectiveness of purposeful processes should be complemented by a risk-oriented model, which includes response scenarios to potential adverse effects of the operation of the purposeful organizational-technical system. A structural scheme and formalized description of a generalized product information support model are presented, allowing for the integration of specific quality indicators into a unified strategic outcome. Ultimately, a concept for building an integrated digital ecosystem for defense-industrial enterprises is proposed, aimed at enhancing the overall quality of products and services.

A Platform of Serious Video Games Co-built for the General Interest

In a context where training takes place both in initial courses and in lifelong continuing education, the use of games offers a way of promoting effective and sustainable learning: by its very nature, this medium is an open work in which players can become involved and give meaning to their learning. Ikigai - Games for Citizens offers a unique ecosystem for creating serious, expert video games and offering them free of charge to people who want to learn while having fun, as well as producing a set of learning-related data that can be used for research and customizing training courses. By bringing together universities, Grandes Ecoles, research laboratories, associations, and institutions, Ikigai is a collaborative consortium of general interest, implementing the co-construction of videogame services between scientific experts, video game professionals and educational engineers. Together, they are producing a centralized platform of serious games and associated services that can be used by teachers at a moderate cost by pooling resources: the building blocks of each game can be reused in other games developed. The consortium is committed to general interest and popular education by making the games available free of charge to members and the general public. The decentralized infrastructure set up by Ikigai, which respects privacy by design, means that game usage data can now be collected on a national scale, but conceptually it could extend much further. The data collected in compliance with the RGPD will eventually be used to draw up enriched user profiles to offer personalized courses, teaching recommendations and progress monitoring as close as possible to the learner, using AI in particular. Ikigai is also heavily involved in the construction of new digital standards in education, which are needed to ensure the interoperability of data for lifelong monitoring of learners. But also, for the digital education ecosystem, to guarantee a sovereign, efficient, coherent, and sustainable cloud on a European scale.

Towards an understanding of the political economy of earlychildhood education platforms. Pro Business or Pro Children?

There is a rapidly expanding and proliferating number of commercial early childhood platforms, competing for market share in what has become a crowded marketplace. Early childhood platforms provide a wide range of functions including an all-in-one digital ecosystem offering a learning management system; social media communication between educators, families and children; invoicing and payment; attendance monitoring; data tracking; individual profiling; documentation; pedagogic advice and even policy interpretation. Platforms are a sociocultural and ideological phenomenon that ‘can replace or profoundly disrupt educational systems’ (Cobo and Rivas) and hence their advent demands urgent critical thinking. However, within early years there is comparatively limited research of platforms' impacts upon families, educators and children. The aims of this colloquium are firstly to open a critical space to think about the political economy of commercial education platforms and secondly, to ask questions about platforms' impacts upon the neoliberal subjectivities of educators, families and children.

Artificial Intelligence for Social Innovation: Beyond the Noise of Algorithms and Datafication

In an era of rapid technological advancement, decisions about the ownership and governance of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence will shape the future of both urban and rural environments in the Global North and South. This article explores how AI can move beyond the noise of algorithms by adopting a technological humanistic approach to enable Social Innovation, focusing on global inequalities and digital justice. Using a fieldwork Action Research methodology, based on the Smart Rural Communities project in Colombia and Mozambique, the study develops a framework for integrating AI with SI. Drawing on insights from the AI4SI International Summer School held in Donostia-San Sebastián in 2024, the article examines the role of decentralized Web3 technologies—such as Blockchain, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, and Data Cooperatives—in enhancing data sovereignty and fostering inclusive and participatory governance. The results demonstrate how decentralization can empower marginalized communities in the Global South by promoting digital justice and addressing the imbalance of power in digital ecosystems. The conclusion emphasizes the potential for AI and decentralized technologies to bridge the digital divide, offering practical recommendations for scaling these innovations to support equitable, community-driven governance and address systemic inequalities across the Global North and South.

Ecosystem model of development of the unmanned aircraft systems industry

The article analyzes the structural transformations of Russian industry in the context of external constraints and the need to ensure technological sovereignty in high-tech industries. The scientific hypothesis of the work is the assumption of the importance of cross-sectoral coordination of subjects of industrial policy in order to develop the production of critical products. The digital industrial ecosystem of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry is considered as an object of research. The purpose of the research is to develop the foundations of the structure of the ecosystem model of the development of the UAS industry and substantiate the feasibility of its application in the interests of improving high-tech industries of the Russian Federation. The article offers the author’s interpretations of the concepts of “digital industrial ecosystem” and “cross-industry ecosystem”, substantiates the principles of functioning of the ecosystem model and its architecture. An ecosystem model of the development of the UAS industry was developed, including management bodies, technical infrastructure, organizational and economic tools, technological clusters and a network of participants. The main distinguishing features of the proposed model from the existing ones are: the distribution of ecosystem management bodies that ensure the autonomy of management at all horizontal and hierarchical levels of its organization; the ecosystem is considered as an instrument of the mechanism of strategic development of high-tech industries involved in the creation of civil-purpose UAS, and provides cross-industry interaction of participants in order to accelerate the development of industrial production and the formation of the UAS market. The ecosystem management model will ensure the possession of up-to-date data of actual and planned indicative evaluation indicators of the state and development of the industry on a time scale close to real, based on the principle of digital transparency.

Sustainable digital fashion in a metaverse ecosystem

The fashion industry ranks among the top polluters globally, yet the emergence of virtual worlds offers a chance for brands to switch to digital clothing as a greener option. This research explores whether the metaverse can enhance sustainability in fashion or worsen environmental issues, especially those linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). We introduce a game theory model to analyze the strategic dynamics between brand manufacturers and digital fashion platforms, factoring in platforms' abilities to reduce emissions. The model uncovers how these uncertainties influence pricing, investment, and performance outcomes. Our analysis is supported by a case study on DressX, a prominent digital fashion platform, showing that digital fashion brings technological innovation and environmental advantages. Platforms with greater emission reduction capacities and their collaborators witness increased revenues. However, information asymmetry complicates strategic decision-making, and the environmental implications of digital technologies underpinning the metaverse remain a critical concern. Platforms with advanced capabilities gain a competitive edge by managing costs effectively, whereas manufacturers profit at the platforms' expense. However, there is a strategic equilibrium that benefits both sides. Our study indicates that maximizing the environmental benefits of digital fashion demands responsible actions from all stakeholders, including careful technology selection, clear communication of capabilities, cost management, and strategic cooperation. Our game theory approach, combined with a real-world case study, provides a unique perspective on the strategic and environmental dynamics of digital fashion in the metaverse, contributing to the growing body of literature on sustainable fashion and digital ecosystems.

Wallet wars or digital public infrastructure? Orchestrating a digital identity data ecosystem from a government perspective

With the eIDAS 2.0 legislation, the European Union seeks to establish a digital identity data ecosystem and to empower citizens to manage digital credentials from various sources through an ID wallet interface. To achieve this, governments must develop holistic orchestration models integrating technical, regulatory, and economic perspectives. This approach will foster ecosystem value creation, address orchestration tensions, and design sustainable operating models for various ecosystem actors. While IS research has explored private-sector governance mechanisms in platform and data ecosystems, a research gap exists in understanding public–private orchestration where governments act as orchestrators. We address this through a structured document analysis of 80 position papers from various stakeholders participating in a public government consultation process and 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews. By examining ecosystem value creation mechanisms, orchestration tensions, and monetization challenges, we identify two government orchestration standard types for the ID wallet provision. The Government ID-Infrastructure Wallet model embodies an ecosystem-integrated public infrastructure, while the Trust ID Wallet Federation exemplifies a dynamic and competition-driven approach. By bridging the self-sovereign identity ecosystem paradigm with digital identity infrastructure research, our work contributes to the understanding and theoretical development of data ecosystems and digital identity research from a government perspective.

Digital technology and psychological happiness: the mediating roles of interpersonal relationships and employment situations.

Psychological happiness represents the ultimate pursuit of human beings, and the impact of digital technology on psychological happiness is becoming increasingly significant in the era of the digital economy. Based on data from 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study constructs an empirical model that examines the effect and mechanism of digital technology on happiness. Additionally, this study investigates the heterogeneity and robustness of the impact of digital technology on happiness. The research conclusions are as follows: Firstly, digital technology can promote psychological happiness. When controlling for other factors, the marginal effect coefficient of digital technology is 0.031. Secondly, the effect of digital technology on personal happiness varies among different groups, particularly among women, young individuals, primary and college graduates, and rural residents. Furthermore, as absolute income increases, the happiness effect of digital technology diminishes. Thirdly, in terms of the influencing mechanism, digital technology indirectly affects individual happiness by influencing health status, interpersonal relationships, employment situations and income levels. Specifically, digital technology negatively impacts personal health, interpersonal relationships, and agricultural work, while positively impacting family relationships, non-agricultural employment, absolute income and relative income. Digital technology affects happiness through these channels indirectly. Based on the study results, it is proposed that efforts should be made to enhance the development of digital technology infrastructure in remote rural areas, reduce the financial burden associated with digital technology, and promote the digital technology ecosystem. Moreover, providing online services, such as e-commerce, travel reservations, and digital financial management, can improve access to digital technology in rural areas and contribute to increased happiness levels. Simultaneously, there is a need to strengthen digital skills training, particularly among vulnerable populations such as the elderly and rural residents, to improve their proficiency in digital technologies. This can be achieved through the integration of additional educational resources, thereby facilitating cost-free digital technology training and guidance. Meanwhile, it is essential to vigorously develop the new economy and innovative employment models, create job opportunities, foster entrepreneurial prospects, and improve income levels to enhance individual well-being.

Enhancing the energy level of regional digital innovation ecosystems: A configuration perspective.

This study introduces the concept of "energy level" into the analysis of innovation ecosystems. Drawing on the theory of "architects", we have identified the key architects of regional digital innovation ecosystems. By integrating Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we examined the configuration effects of internal architects, external architects, and digital innovation habitats on the energy level of these ecosystems, utilizing data from 30 provinces in China as case studies. The results indicate that the contribution of a single architect to achieving a high energy level in a regional digital innovation ecosystem is limited and cannot be regarded as a necessary condition for driving a high energy level. However, core innovation actors and digital infrastructures emerge as more significant core conditions. The architects of regional digital innovation ecosystems exhibit multiple concurrent causal relationships. The configuration paths of high and non-high energy levels of ecosystems display a causally asymmetric "multiple paths to the same outcome" relationship. The three identified paths for driving high energy levels are categorized as "core actor-infrastructure"-driven paths. The findings of this paper hold substantial theoretical and practical significance for fostering the healthy development of regional digital innovation ecosystems.

Advances in diabetes technology within the digital diabetes ecosystem.

Ongoing innovations in glucose monitoring, insulin delivery, and telehealth technologies have created a digital diabetes ecosystem populated by connected tools and technologies that have been shown to improve clinical outcomes, lower costs, and reduce the burden of diabetes. Advances in connected continuous glucose monitoring devices, insulin pumps, and insulin pens have led to the development of automated insulin delivery systems that modulate insulin infusion based on sensor glucose data. Similar integrations of continuous glucose monitoring and connected blood glucose meter data into "smart" pens have lessened the guesswork of intensive insulin management for individuals who prefer traditional injection therapy. A growing number of health apps that can be accessed through smartphones and wearable devices provide information and advice that support individuals in adopting healthier lifestyles. The differences in features and functionality give users the ability to select the devices that best meet their unique requirements and preferences. This article reviews the most current digital diabetes technologies and discusses how the connectivity of these tools can create an overarching architecture of feedback mechanisms that monitor an individual's health status, motivate and enhance adherence to self-management, and provide advice and decision-support tools to clinicians as well as other members of the health care team to make living with diabetes more manageable.

Strategic digital product management: Nine approaches

Context:The role of product management (PM) is key for building, implementing and managing software-intensive systems. Whereas engineering is concerned with how to build systems, PM is concerned with ’what’ to build and ’why’ we should build the product. The role of PM is recognized as critical for the success of any product. However, few studies explore how the role of PM is changing due to recent trends that come with digitalization and digital transformation. Objectives:Although there is prominent research on PM, few studies explore how this role is changing due to the digital transformation of the software-intensive industry. In this paper, we study how trends such as DevOps and short feedback loops, data and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the emergence of digital ecosystems, are changing current product management practices. Methods:This study employs a qualitative approach using multi-case study research as the method. For our research, we selected five case companies in the software-intensive systems domain. Through workshop sessions, frequent meetings and interviews, we explore how DevOps and short feedback loops, data and artificial intelligence (AI), and digital ecosystems challenge current PM practices. Results:Our study yielded an in-depth understanding of how digital transformation of the software-intensive systems industry is changing current PM practices. We present empirical results from workshops and from interviews in which case company representatives share their insights on how software, data and AI impact current PM practices. Based on these results, we present a framework organized along two dimensions, i.e. a certainty dimension and an approach dimension. The framework helps structure the approaches product managers can employ to select and prioritize development of new functionality. Contributions:The contribution of this paper is a framework for ’Strategic Digital Product Management’ (SDPM). The framework outlines nine approaches that product managers can employ to maximize the return on investment (RoI) of R&D using new digital technologies.

Evolution Of The Indian Digital Payment Ecosystem And Its Global Impact: A Comparative Analysis And The Role Of Microfinance

This research seeks to understand how the Indian digital payments landscape has evolved in the last decade and what is changing in the financial world at large scale because of it. Long leaps have been made in the Indian fintech space over the years, mainly from crucial government initiatives, technological innovations, and a growing user base depending on digital payment platforms. This paper also situates India as a leader in the world of fintech innovation and uses cross-national comparisons to explore economic and social impacts and the global consequences of India's digital payment model. The paper finds that in creating a model for digital payments, India has set global standards for the development of fintech while increasing domestic financial inclusion (Kanungo & Gupta, 2021). It also tells the future trends and the prospect of India's digital payment ecosystem going global in influencing financial practices.

Blockchain-Based Digital Asset Circulation: A Survey and Future Challenges

The circulation of digital assets has become increasingly crucial in today’s digital economy, reflecting both its growing importance and the challenges it faces. Blockchain technology, with its inherent symmetry, has emerged as a transformative force in facilitating digital asset circulation, addressing various issues related to security, efficiency, and transparency. This paper aims to advance the development of digital asset circulation technologies by focusing on four key blockchain-based technologies: smart contracts, consensus algorithms, cross-chain technology, and decentralized exchanges. These technologies embody symmetry in their structure and operation, ensuring balanced and secure asset management across decentralized networks. This paper reviews the evolution of these key technologies, highlighting their contributions to the digital asset ecosystem. It explores effective application cases and analyzes the current challenges each technology faces. Additionally, this paper provides insights into potential future developments and directions to address these challenges and enhance the overall efficiency and reliability of digital asset circulation.

Evaluating Google's Protected Audience Protocol

While third-party cookies have been a key component of the digital marketing ecosystem for years, the way they allow users to be tracked across web sites raises serious privacy concerns. Google has proposed the Privacy Sandbox initiative to enable ad targeting without third-party cookies. While there have been several studies focused on other parts of this initiative, there has been little analysis to date as to how well the system achieves the intended goal of preventing request linking. This work focuses on analyzing linkage privacy risks for the reporting mechanisms proposed in the Protected Audience (PrAu) proposal (previously known as FLEDGE), which is intended to enable online remarketing without using third-party cookies. In this work, we summarize the overall workflow of PrAu and highlight potential privacy risks associated with its proposed design. We focus on scenarios in which adversaries attempt to link two requests to different sites to the same user and show that a realistic adversary would be still able to use the privacy-protected reporting mechanisms to link user requests and conduct mass surveillance, even with correct implementations of all the currently proposed privacy mechanisms.

Online Rating and Reviews of Restaurant on Customer Acquisition

Online restaurant evaluations have a significant influence on consumer behavior and decision-making processes, as indicated by survey data from Nepal. Important conclusions show that customers' propensity to visit a restaurant is greatly influenced by the quantity and caliber of reviews, with most respondents placing equal weight on the quantity and recentness of evaluations. This emphasizes how important it is to manage your online reputation to draw in clients. While unfavorable reviews might turn away potential customers, positive ones increase visibility and reliability. Additionally, the survey shows that customers are actively participating—many of them have even gone so far as to actively provide reviews—which suggests that a lively and interactive digital ecosystem is influencing dining preferences.

Advancing Education in Challenging Times: A Review of the XVI International Conference on Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (ICon-MaSTEd 2024)

Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive review of the XVI International Conference on Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (ICon-MaSTEd 2024), held from May 15-17, 2024, at Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine. The conference, organized in a hybrid format, brought together over 100 attendees from 9 countries, showcasing cutting-edge research and innovations in educational practices amid global challenges. The review synthesizes key themes and findings from 37 selected papers across various domains, including Mathematics Education, Science Education, Computer Science Education, and Educational Technology. Notable trends include the increased integration of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in education, the development of 21st-century skills, and adaptive strategies for education in crises. Particular attention is given to studies addressing the unique educational challenges faced in Ukraine, demonstrating the resilience and innovation of educators and researchers in conflict-affected regions. The paper highlights significant contributions in areas such as online learning environments, visual thinking in mathematics, AI applications in mental health education, and the design of university digital ecosystems.

A methodology to assess the maturity level of the digital ecosystem and its testing on the IT parks case

Subject. The article addresses a technopark as a form of a digital ecosystem that has a certain structure and is characterized by the features of structural components and their interrelationships. Objectives. The study aims to develop a methodology for assessing the maturity level of digital ecosystem, which enables to determine the stage of ecosystem's life cycle and the level of its development. Methods. The assessment rests on the developed multifactorial methodology. It includes three interrelated complex parameters (resource and infrastructure security, the level of development of central relational mechanisms, and ecosystem productivity). The methodology is based on methods of scoring and identifying correlation between indicators characterizing the maturity level of each component of the ecosystem. Results. From a theoretical perspective, we developed an assessment methodology. It is unique in its multifactorial and structural approach to assessing the maturity of ecosystems. From a practical point of view, we built ratings of IT parks, which clearly reflect the stage of ecosystem development, factors ensuring the growth of productivity, and socio-economic effect from ecosystem mechanisms of the IT park. The study identifies the best ecosystems of IT parks and ecosystems that need to be developed and supported financially and institutionally. Conclusions. The assessment methodology is applicable for monitoring and evaluating the stage of development of IT parks as digital regional ecosystems.

The Influence of Social Media, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and Mobile Applications on Consumer Purchasing Decisions at PT. Udayana Bali Ambassador

Consumer behavior is changing significantly due to the development of technology and the internet, which has impacted transaction activities from conventional to online. In Indonesia, the increase in internet users has made it easier for consumers to access information and compare products before purchasing. This requires companies, including PT Udayana Bali Ambassador, to understand the influence of digital elements such as social media, SEO, and mobile applications on consumer purchasing decisions. The three digital marketing elements are essential in building consumer relationships, increasing visibility, and facilitating buying. The combination of these three strategies creates an effective digital marketing ecosystem. This research aims to analyze the influence of social media, SEO, and mobile applications on consumer purchasing decisions at PT Udayana Bali Ambassador. The research method used is quantitative and descriptive, with data collection through questionnaires distributed online to 97 respondents. Instrument tests include validity, reliability, and classical assumption tests such as normality, multicollinearity, and heteroscedasticity. Data analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression to test the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. The results showed that social media, SEO, and mobile applications significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions. The calculated F value in this study has exceeded the F table value, namely, 407.078> 3.092, which means that social media (X1), SEO (Search Engine Optimization) (X2), and Mobile Application (X3) simultaneously affect consumer purchasing decisions (Y). Based on this, it can be concluded that social media, SEO, and mobile applications influence consumer purchasing decisions.