Which of the following is true in organizations that establish an ecosystems theories approach?

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Highlights

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We offer a unique viewpoint on knowledge ecosystems by studying their organization.

We specify distinct types of joint search performed by knowledge ecosystems.

The nature of the joint search affects the organization of knowledge ecosystems.

We identify two organizing forms of knowledge ecosystems: Prefigurative & partial.

The organizing forms are different in terms of participation and coordination.

Abstract

This paper provides a unique perspective on knowledge ecosystems by studying their organization. Grounded in empirical evidence, we propose that knowledge ecosystems consist of users and producers of knowledge that are organized around a joint knowledge search. A distinction is drawn between knowledge ecosystems searching for a knowledge domain and those searching within an identified knowledge domain, respectively characterized as prefigurative and partial forms of organizing. In a knowledge ecosystem organized in prefigurative form (to identify a knowledge domain), actors whose participation is affiliated, self-resourced, and unobliged probe that domain to identify and establish shared knowledge as a basis for collective actorhood, with no formal rules or coordination mechanisms. In a knowledge ecosystem organized in partial form (where a knowledge domain has already been identified), actors search and reveal problem- and solution-related knowledge, participating though formal membership and access to resources, and their contributions are monitored. The present study contributes to the literature by 1) specifying the distinct types of joint search performed by knowledge ecosystems; 2) considering how the nature of joint search affects how knowledge ecosystems are organized; and 3) distinguishing two forms of organizing knowledge ecosystems, with a focus on participation and coordination.

Keywords

Collective case study

grounded theory

knowledge domain

knowledge ecosystem

organization

partial organization

© 2018 Lappeenranta University of Technology. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Under a Creative Commons license

Open access

Highlights

•

We review received definitions of the innovation ecosystem concept.

We identify seven key components of the concept.

We provide a new synthesized definition.

We validate and illustrate the definition with three empirical examples.

Abstract

The concept of innovation ecosystems has become popular during the last 15 years, leading to a debate regarding its relevance and conceptual rigor, not the least in this journal. The purpose of this article is to review received definitions of innovation ecosystems and related concepts and to propose a synthesized definition of an innovation ecosystem. The conceptual analysis identifies an unbalanced focus on complementarities, collaboration, and actors in received definitions, and among other things proposes the additional inclusion of competition, substitutes, and artifacts in conceptualizations of innovation ecosystems, leading to the following definition: An innovation ecosystem is the evolving set of actors, activities, and artifacts, and the institutions and relations, including complementary and substitute relations, that are important for the innovative performance of an actor or a population of actors. This definition is compatible with related conceptualizations of innovation systems and natural ecosystems, and the validity of it is illustrated with three empirical examples of innovation ecosystems.

© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.