Ecosystem Concept Research Articles

Ecosystem dynamics of air transport business development in the digital age

Aim. The presented study aims to analyze the dynamics of air transport business development in the era of digital transformation from the perspective of the implementation of the ecosystem paradigm as a relevant modern business model organization concept.Tasks. The authors investigate approaches to defining the concept of “ecosystem” in the field of economic relations; reveal the essence of approaches to defining the structure of the economic ecosystem; describe key trends in the development of air transport within the paradigm of the ecosystem concept.Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition in various aspects to analyze scientific approaches to defining the concept of “ecosystem” in the field of economic relations and defining the structure of the economic ecosystem, and to identify trends in the development of air transport within the paradigm of the ecosystem concept.Results. The introduction of the ecosystem concept into business processes leads to changes in the attitude to the concept of “competition”. The theory of rivalry is replaced by the practice of convergence — the alignment and unification of different technologies into new types of technologies. Technological convergence changes the nature of familiar things. The authors identify and analyze three essential characteristics of the concept of “ecosystem”, the joint implementation of which makes it possible to entertain the possibility of implementing the ecosystem concept of business development in practice. The digital basis of ecosystem organization ensures its modular structure, which, in turn, determines the ease and flexibility of both connecting participants to the system and exiting it. By forming new consumer preferences, the ecosystem allows participants to work with consumers successfully. In the context of the assessed advantages of the ecosystem, the authors identify and investigate its 13 disadvantages. Seven key development trends are identified from the perspective of assessing the prospects for the ecosystemization of professional activity in the passenger air transport market.Conclusions. The tourism market is the most popular sector for ecosystem development in the air transport industry at the current stage of market development. Tourism ecosystems are a definite trend of inter-product cooperation, including those using the services of airlines, airports, and aggregator sites. The authors believe that the issues of theoretical understanding and practical analysis of the ecosystem dynamics of air transport business development in the digital age remain not fully investigated and need to be studied in detail. In further studies, the authors will analyze the organizational and legal nature of ecosystems, the essential characteristics of the structural elements of the ecosystem, the types of ecosystems in air transport, and the practice of their implementation.

Toward green innovation ecosystems: past research on green innovation and future opportunities from an ecosystem perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to synthesize the extant literature on green innovation (GI), and more importantly, to provide future directions for GI research from the innovation ecosystem (IE) perspective.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review is conducted to summarize the status of current GI research, followed by content analysis to identify connectivity and crossovers between key concepts in the bodies of GI and IE literature. Then, the authors propose a green innovation ecosystem (GIE) framework and offer recommendations for future research on GI.FindingsIt is evident that the bodies of GI and IE literature overlap on the roles of external actors, and yet, there is scant research investigating GI activities from the IE perspective. Moreover, there are multiple directions worthy of future research applying the proposed GIE framework.Originality/valueThough the concept of ecosystem has become pervasive in innovation management research, this study is one of the first works to introduce IE concepts and propositions in the GI research context. This paper provides new knowledge on GIEs and sets the basis for further investigation.

Creating digital ecosystem for small and medium enterprises: the role of dynamic capability, agile leadership and change readiness

Purpose The digitization efforts for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a result of advances in information technology are challenging, with one of them being the creation of digital ecosystems for SMEs. This study aims to develop a model of the relationship between SMEs’ readiness to change, agile leadership and dynamic capability to implement a digital ecosystem for SMEs in the creative industry in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach A survey methodology was used in this study. Respondents in this study were creative industry SMEs in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. SMEs in the creative industry sector were chosen as samples as they require digital technology to manage their business development, production and distribution, customer relationships and to innovate in their businesses. In total, 250 creative SMEs, selected based on a purposive random sampling method, were included in this study. Data were analyzed using structural equation model-partial least square. Findings This study provides current insights and future needs for implementing digital ecosystems in SMEs in Indonesia’s creative industries. It also identifies three critical conditions for dealing with Industry 4.0: organizational readiness to change, agile leadership and dynamic capability. Originality/value In response to information technology advancements, this study proposes a new model for implementing digital ecosystems for SMEs. Furthermore, this study adds knowledge about the concept of a service-oriented technology ecosystem to help SMEs operate more efficiently. It focuses on the interaction of entities to improve the system’s utility, gain benefits and promote information exchange.

The Quality Management Ecosystem in Cell Therapy in Catalonia (Spain): An Opportunity for Integrating Standards and Streamlining Quality Compliance.

Cell therapies are required to meet with compulsory regulations that co-exist with other optional standards and guidelines that together compose a complex quality management system. Indeed, reliable insights on the mechanisms of action and safety of novel cell-based therapies require adherence to solid quality management structures in all steps of the value chain, from early research and tissue procurement to clinical trials and biovigilance, thus guaranteeing reproducibility and solid foundations for better science and improved clinical practice. Herein we present the concept of the quality ecosystem as a tool to understand and assist all stakeholders involved in developing and structuring the integration of standards as novel developments are taking place. We conclude that the various quality management initiatives can all be thought about under the umbrella of an ecosystem.

Exploring the Dynamic of a Circular Ecosystem: A Case Study about Drivers and Barriers

The circular economy (CE) aims to minimize the environmental impact caused throughout the entire production chain, which can be achieved by implementing circular strategies in collaboration with different actors within a business ecosystem. Although the close relationship between CE and business ecosystem concepts, which originated the term “circular ecosystem”, research about this subject is necessary, given the scarcity of empirical studies addressing the phenomenon. Therefore, this study aims to contribute by investigating a Brazilian circular ecosystem specialized in the manufacture of ecological tiles through recycled carton packages. The exploratory case study method was selected to characterize the ecosystem and identify 27 drivers and 17 barriers that enhance and hinder the ecosystem’s existence and functioning. Our findings, summarized by a framework, demonstrate the need for integration among the ecosystem’s actors so that its value proposition can be delivered. This issue is crucial for collecting post-consumer packaging for recycling and manufacturing ecological tiles. However, actors within the circular ecosystem face some obstacles to collecting the amount of packaging post-consumer material, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, this work generates discussions and future studies on circular ecosystems, especially in the Brazilian context, where there is little evidence in this research field.

Restoring ecosystem brands: The role of sustainability-led innovation

Although business-to-business (B2B) firms increasingly realize the benefits of belonging to a sound ecosystem, few studies examine how heterogenous actors contribute to the branding of such a higher-order system. Building on the ecosystem concept and integrative branding theory, this research offers an evolving three-stage process model to guide actors in restoring an ecosystem brand suffering from the lack of innovativeness and public disapproval. Using data from 51 informants in three key groups of actors: (1) citizens, (2) firms, and (3) authorities, as well as complementary sources, this study uncovers a nuanced pattern of interplay between the different ecosystem actors. The findings show that the restoration of an ecosystem brand is possible through (1) reframing, (2) blending, and (3) proacting. These stages are driven by a single-actor, dyadic, and triadic focus on sustainability-led innovation. The proposed model provides important insights for practitioners and scholars seeking to understand brand restoration of complex, multi-actor, adaptive systems.

Does the marine environmental carrying capacity of the Yellow Sea’s large marine ecosystem maintain sustainable development? – Evidence from Shandong China

Under the framework of sustainable development of the marine economy, much consideration has been given to various coastal states for the large marine ecosystem (LME) concept. The Yellow Sea LME (YSLME) is one of the most heavily exploited LMEs in the world, and its sustainable development has been heavily threatened by human activities, with negative impacts on the economies of bordering countries, such as China. With the aim of mitigating environmental threats by developing a low-carbon economy based on low pollution, low energy consumption and low emission, an index system for evaluating marine environmental carrying capacity (MECC) was established in this study based on the entropy method, and gray relation analysis (GRA) was carried out to assess the MECC of three main coastal cities (Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai) along the YSLME in China. The results verified the importance of the environmental carrying capacities (ECCs) of marine resources, marine economy and marine environmental governance for the sustainable development of the YSLME, and revealed paths for improving the MECC of the studied cities. Based on the results, suggestions for ecosystem-based management of a low-carbon economy were provided to help government departments to reasonably develop and utilize marine resources, protect the marine environment and implement sustainable development strategies.

The concept of agroecosystems as a theoretical basis of ecologically tolerant nature management

Purpose. The main goal of the authors was to prove the suitability of the concept of noosphere ecosystems to interpret not only ecological phenomena and processes, but also phenomena of socio-natural content, and, subsequently, possibly geopolitical processes, in particular, spatial expansion of certain ethnic groups. Methods. In the course of our research a set of methodological approaches and scientific methods was used. The set of methods includes: empirical, which was implemented in the sequential implementation of the following operations: observation, modeling, forecasting; comparative – was implemented while comparing the main functions of natural and agroecosystems. Results. The formation of agricultural areas is the second stage in the transformation of natural ecosystems into agroecosystems. The main assumption of our work is the possibility of the existence of an agricultural system that has a dual character of borders. Our assumption was tested on the territory of Kharkiv region – one of the most developed agricultural territories of Ukraine. Based on the assumption that soil is both a condition and a result of human agricultural activity, as well as the fact that it connects natural and economic boundaries of agroecosystems in space-time, we calculated the balance of matter in the soil and coefficient of ecological danger. Mapping the values ​​of the coefficient of ecological danger showed that out of 429 farms in the region, only 7 farms have values ​​of the coefficient more than 1. This means that under the conditions of intensive agriculture there is a constant shortage of matter and energy, which leads to a negative balance of humus in the soil. According to the author's concept, one of the main causes of environmental problems lies in the different rates of development of nature and society. Conclusions. The “memory” of the former structurally and informationally unchanging biosphere is embedded in agroecosystems. According to modern notions of rhizome, such a memory is soil. Such “memory” at the level of agroecosystems provides self-regulation of the “human ecosystem” through both direct regulation of the human population (disease, war) and indirect impact on planetary spatial structures. In particular, due to the preservation of certain proportions between the territories with “naturalized” and “commodity” economy.

Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystems of Traditional Companies – A Case Study

Purpose: The paper aims to answer the question of how the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem (DEE) shapes the activities of companies from highly traditional industries. In particular, we want to identify different types of actors from the DEE and how they foster the entrepreneurial activities of very traditional companies with a high proportion of manual labor, as well as to identify the kinds of entrepreneurial activities fostered by the DEE. Methodology: This paper applies a case study method based on the analysis of highly traditional companies in the confectionery industry that cooperate through a digital platform to sell their products. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews with key informants from three companies in the confectionery industry, as well as with the provider of the digital platform, the IT supplier and a final B2B customer. Findings: The concept of DEE needs to be extended to include an analysis of two settings – digital and traditional – as both interfere with and influence entrepreneurial activities. Digital actors within the DEE play a key role in both the digital and the traditional entrepreneurial activities of highly traditional companies. Traditional actors, meanwhile, play a supporting role in the process. Additionally, the study determines the unique characteristics of the DEE, in which traditional companies are active. Originality: The paper develops the concept of the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. The originality of the paper lies in the analysis of the DEE from the perspective of companies from a highly traditional industry. This is a novel approach towards the DEE that has not been proposed in the literature to date.

User-defined ecosystems in health and social care

Purpose People with complex health conditions must often navigate landscapes of uncoordinated public, private and voluntary health-care providers to obtain the care they need. Complex health conditions frequently transcend the scope of typical health-care service systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore and characterize such unique assemblages of actors and services as “user-defined ecosystems”. Design/methodology/approach Building on literature on customer ecosystems, this paper introduces the concept of the user-defined ecosystem (UDE). Using an abductive approach, the authors apply the concept in an interpretive, qualitative study of ten families with special needs children. Findings This study uncovers complex UDEs, where families actively combine a broad range of services. These ecosystems are unique for each family and extend beyond the scope of designed service ecosystems. Thus, the families are forced to assume an active, coordinating role. Research limitations/implications This paper shows how to identify ecosystems from the user’s point of view, based on the selected user unit (such as a family) and the focal value-creating function of the ecosystem for the user. Social implications This paper highlights how service providers can support and adapt to UDEs and, thus, contribute to user value and well-being. This can be used to understand users’ perspectives on service and systems in health and social care. Originality/value This study develops the concept of the UDE, which represents a customer-focused perspective on actor ecosystems and contrasts it with a provider-focused and a distributed perspective on ecosystems. This study demonstrates the practical usefulness of the conceptualization and provides a foundation for further research on the user’s perspective on ecosystems.

Digital technology and national entrepreneurship: An ecosystem perspective

Although the importance of digital technology has been recognized in the entrepreneurship literature, we know relatively little about how and to what extent it influences a nation’s entrepreneurial activities. Drawing on the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem, this study developed a conceptual model to explain the impact of digital technology on national entrepreneurship and the interactions between digital technology and other ecosystem elements. The hypotheses are tested by using unbalanced panel data of 101 countries from 2001 to 2018. The empirical results show that the level of digital technology is positively associated with the output of national entrepreneurial ecosystems, and this positive relationship is strengthened in nations with a supportive culture, high-quality institutions, supportive policies, accessible resources, and well-developed service industries. The findings highlight the importance of digital technology, provide fresh insights into the interdependence between elements and causal mechanisms in national entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Animal Welfare and Environmental Ethics

Abstract Bernard Rollin’s main concerns are domestic and research animals. Such animals have endured less suffering as a result of Rollin’s seminal work. Animals are of moral concern because they have conscious interests, or telos. Rollin’s use of telos is plausible though more specialized than usual. Rollin has theoretical or in-principle ideals that are unlikely to be accepted as current practice. In result he adopts more moderate moral principles. In the fair-contract, husbandry dimension of agriculture, the farmer takes care of the cows and pigs, recognizing their rights, and then eats them, or sells them to be eaten. He reaches a strange combination of kinship and chasm separating human and animal minds. Rollin’s account of any deeper environmental ethics for a biospheric Earth is unsatisfactory, any respect for life beyond sentience, especially his concepts of global ecosystems.

Evolution of Agricultural Innovation Ecosystem in County Areas: A Life-Cycle Perspective of Cases in Hebei Province

The concept of agricultural innovation ecosystem in county areas was defined by reviewing the literature on agricultural innovation systems and innovation ecosystems. Combined with the urgent demand for agricultural innovation-driven development, a multidimensional agricultural innovation ecosystem was established in county areas. From the life-cycle perspective, the evolution law of agricultural innovation ecosystems in county areas was analyzed, and the evaluation system was constructed from four aspects: subjects, network, resources, and the environment. Then, the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution approach was used to determine the evolution stage of the system. It was found that the agricultural innovation ecosystem in county areas includes three ecological layers of microsubjects, meso-interfaces, and the macroenvironment. The microsubjects exchange material, energy, and information, with the macroenvironment more effectively depending on the carrier function of meso-interfaces. The system shows periodic laws in the process of spiraling evolution, gestation, growth, maturity, and recession, where different stages of the system exhibit different characteristics. Through an empirical analysis of the apple industry of Neiqiu County, Shunping County, and Yi County in Hebei province, the innovation ecosystems formed around the apple industry in the three counties were judged to be in the maturity stage, growth stage, and growth stage, respectively. The evaluation results are consistent with the actual situation, which effectively verified the scientific nature and effectiveness of the theoretical model and the evolutionary evaluation index system.

IT, Social Capital and the Digital Ecosystem: A New Approach to Online Content Co-Creation

In this paper, we explore how the dynamics of knowledge transfer within a community depends on social capital and how the synergies generated by social capital can positively impact the co-ordination between member-nodes. This could lead to the evolution of a more complex and multi functional ICT enabled socio-technical system capable of enhanced co-creation of knowledge. In this context, we present the Digital Ecosystem (DE) concept as a prototype for a sustainable knowledge synthesizing network. A Digital ecosystem describes an ICT enabled network that displays associative and autopieotic properties. In other words, not only is a so defined network capable of self sustenance, but also of expansion through heightened inclusion (i.e., increasing heterogeneity in the network composition) and growth (i.e., increase in the size and scope of the network). In simple terms, a DE is a web of interconnected and interdependent ICT enabled users who transact in the digital mode resulting in synergistic benefits for all. The strength of this system is that it enables a resilient, multi-user exchange relationship capable of adjusting to change. The sustenance of a DE depends on co-operation between member-nodes of the network. This closely rejects the social capital embedded in community relationships. We then look at the evolution of norms and extended social ties within a DE and the effect on content co-creation. Finally, we outline the case of the DEAL (Digital ecosystem for Agriculture and Livelihood) project as an illustration of the digital ecosystem model outlined in the paper, in terms of its projected content creation, validation and sharing systems.

Spatial features of entrepreneurial ecosystems

Growing importance has been attached to the concept of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EE) as productive structures that encompass complex sets of interaction driving economic agents’ competitive capabilities. Drawing from biomimetism, the EE approach dedicates attention to unraveling the mechanisms through which socioeconomic environments organize to introduce new knowledge and innovations in markets. Yet, while challenges associated with identifying the spatial scale of natural ecosystems have long been part of discussions in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology, and in economic geography, the geographic reach of EE remains largely uncharted in literature. Importantly, from a biomimetic standpoint, we know that ecosystems’ boundaries must be defined according to their formative processes, rather than reflect predefined political or administrative boundaries. In this study, we try to shed some light on these topics, underscoring the analytical and methodological challenges associated with the spatiality of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Thinking about entrepreneurial ecosystems as fixed analytical units attached to administrative boundaries will likely cause an inadequate analytical understanding of how entrepreneurship-oriented relationships are distributed in space.

Digital Technologies for Managing Accounting and Control Information in Large and Small Ecosystems

The article is devoted to the study of the paradigm of accounting, control and analytical information that affects the success of business processes in the corporate and state sectors of the economy. The authors propose the step-bystep development of the methodology for managing big data and the creation of corporate digital ecosystems (CECE). This includes clarifying the content of the digital ecosystem concepts as well as the development of a mechanism for collecting and processing information for corporate management (using modern digital technologies and system financial platforms) with the conclusion that the most productive is the distributed ledger technology (DIT). On the basis of a clear identification of the positive and negative consequences of scaling the CECC, recommendations were made on the technology for transferring reporting data. It has been proven that DIT offers a choice for the best scaling options, can be also applied when transferring reporting information to various higher authorities. It has been determined that the search for new and improvement of the applied technologies for managing big data is actualized as the information field expands and its diversity. The possibilities of collaboration of database management systems (DBMS) are disclosed and directions for improving the efficiency of new digital technologies for managing accounting and control information (distributed registers and their variants) are identified both for large ecosystems (the economy of the country, territories, regions, clusters and banking and other large holdings) and small (economic entities and their information technology and economic departments).

Skill ecosystems in the global South: Informality, inequality, and community setting

The concept of ‘skill ecosystems’ considers how contextual and institutional factors shape the acquisition and utilisation of skills. Although initially developed in the global North, there is value in applying this concept in the global South, where large-scale skill development and vocational education reforms are underway, many of which struggle with post-training skill underutilisation. The concept requires modification, however, if it is to be meaningfully applied in the global South. To date, skill ecosystem research has focused on skill utilisation in contexts of formal employment and the institutional actors who support it. In the global South, where most people are employed in the informal sector, a different approach is required, more sensitive to regional power structures and social inequalities. Geographical research on skills can help develop a more dynamic, relational, and power-inflected version of the skill ecosystem concept. Drawing on a short-term longitudinal study of agricultural skills trainings in India, this paper argues a geographically sensitive skill ecosystems perspective helps identify how context shapes the outcomes of skill development programs. To be meaningfully deployed in relation to informal sector work in the global South, however, it must be extended in at least three ways: (1) a different set of institutions and actors must be recognized as comprising the ‘ecosystem,’ particularly those supporting entrepreneurship; (2) the community and family settings in which informal sector work takes place must be recognized; and (3) social inequalities must be considered to promote greater skill utilisation and more equitable outcomes.

Analysis of Knowledge, Higher-Order Thinking Skills, and Compiling Evaluations for MA Biology Teachers in Pati Regency

The thing that biology teachers must pay attention to in educating students to be able to think at higher-order is the mastery of the teachers' knowledge in biology material, the teachers' higher-order thinking skills, and their ability to develop HOTS in the learning process. When the teachers possess them, the teacher can create and develop an effective HOTS learning class. The purpose of this study was to analyse the ability of knowledge (factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive), higher-order thinking (analysing, evaluating, and creating), and activities to design HOTS-oriented evaluations for Madrasah Aliyah teachers in Pati Regency. This study uses a mixed-method approach with a sequential explanation method. The research population includes members of the MA Biology MGMP in Pati Regency, totalling 35 people. The results showed that 1) MA teachers in Pati Regency had high-level knowledge and thinking skills in ecosystem concepts in the sufficient category, and 2) the ability to compile a HOTS-oriented biology learning evaluation was in a good category.

Concept Refinement, Factor Symbiosis, and Innovation Activity Efficiency Analysis of Innovation Ecosystem

This paper makes a comprehensive description of the innovation ecosystem from three perspectives, the concept refinement of the innovation ecosystem, factor symbiosis, and system efficiency, since the traditional definition of innovation ecosystem is not sufficient to fully describe the innovation ecosystem. With grounded theory for reference, the concept of innovation ecosystem is reconstructed, and it is discovered that the conceptual model of innovation ecosystem is composed of main categories and subcategories. The main category is the innovation population and innovation habitat category in the innovation ecosystem, and the subcategory is the input and output activities of the innovation subjects in the innovation ecosystem. The concept refinement of the innovation ecosystem based on the Chinese scenario reflects the characteristics of the innovation ecosystem in a specific context. It has been found that, under the Chinese scenario, there is an asymmetric symbiotic relationship between populations and habitats in the innovation ecosystem. The input-output total factor productivity of the entire innovation ecosystem is in a state of decline, and this decline in total factor productivity is mainly due to the decline in technological change. China’s innovation ecosystem is an asymmetric symbiosis system that relies on factor inputs. Due to insufficient technological innovation, the total factor productivity of the innovation ecosystem has declined.

The role of finance in the literature of entrepreneurial ecosystems

ABSTRACT Financial access is considered a crucial element of entrepreneurship. Much of the literature focuses on how individual actors demand or supply finance, but rarely within the context of systemic entrepreneurship. The current entrepreneurial finance literature is fragmented and rooted in various traditions. However, the entrepreneur’s perceived role in aggregated wealth creation is currently being strengthened, most recently by the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. This calls for exploring the role of finance in systemic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. By conducting a systematic literature review of financial determinants, sources and effects, the study synthesizes debates across the different research fields, i.e. finance, entrepreneurship and regional development. As the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept is considered a pre-paradigmatic approach, the paper argues that the role of finance depends on how we regard and define ecosystems. The state of knowledge is also underdeveloped due to the obstacles of acquiring longitudinal data. Such issues keep us from achieving a better evolutionary and processual understanding of the financial dynamics in ecosystems and, therefore, presents a promising avenue for future research.