IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v136y2018icp88-102.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Studying innovation ecosystems using ecology theory

Author

Listed:
  • Shaw, Duncan R.
  • Allen, Tim

Abstract

This paper proposes a set of perspectives for studying innovation ecosystems that are based on ecological research. Our perspectives are based on fundamental similarities between natural and business systems. We suggest that innovation ecosystems can be defined as pathways of interlinked business models. Pathways are characterised by the flows they convey not the types of business model that support the flows. These pathways convey material and informational resources, as well as value. Like the nutrient and energy pathways in natural ecosystems. Pathways help to recycle scarce resources such as customer attention and customer-derived information. Business model descriptions are similar to an organism's genome in that they describe limitations on sensing, acting and understanding. We conceptualise this as the ‘umwelt’; the self-world. These limitations have implications for how firms and customers interact with customers. They have other implications for how firms interact with each other in business model communities and how they accommodate each other.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaw, Duncan R. & Allen, Tim, 2018. "Studying innovation ecosystems using ecology theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 88-102.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:136:y:2018:i:c:p:88-102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.11.030
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162516307880
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.11.030?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clarysse, Bart & Wright, Mike & Bruneel, Johan & Mahajan, Aarti, 2014. "Creating value in ecosystems: Crossing the chasm between knowledge and business ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1164-1176.
    2. M. Lynne Markus & Daniel Robey, 1988. "Information Technology and Organizational Change: Causal Structure in Theory and Research," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 583-598, May.
    3. Zahra, Shaker A. & Nambisan, Satish, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and strategic thinking in business ecosystems," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 219-229.
    4. Kristian Möller & Senja Svahn, 2006. "Role of Knowledge in Value Creation in Business Nets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 985-1007, July.
    5. Rafael Ramírez, 1999. "Value co‐production: intellectual origins and implications for practice and research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 49-65, January.
    6. Shankar, Venkatesh & Inman, J. Jeffrey & Mantrala, Murali & Kelley, Eileen & Rizley, Ross, 2011. "Innovations in Shopper Marketing: Current Insights and Future Research Issues," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(S1), pages 29-42.
    7. Timothy F. Allen & Duncan Shaw & Peter C. Allen & James Spohrerin, 2013. "Insights into the Relationship Between Products and Services Coming from Biology," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 570-579, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paredes-Frigolett, Harold & Pyka, Andreas & Leoneti, Alexandre Bevilacqua, 2021. "On the performance and strategy of innovation systems: A multicriteria group decision analysis approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Xin Cao & Taohua Ouyang & Puzant Balozian & Sixuan Zhang, 2020. "The Role of Managerial Cognitive Capability in Developing a Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem: A Case Study of Xiaomi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-27, September.
    3. Sara S Grobbelaar & Mauricio Uriona-Maldonado, 2019. "Using technology to improve access to healthcare: The case of the MomConnect programme in South Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 34(8), pages 838-852, December.
    4. Fischer, Bruno & Meissner, Dirk & Vonortas, Nicholas & Guerrero, Maribel, 2022. "Spatial features of entrepreneurial ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 27-36.
    5. Dorota Ciołek & Anna Golejewska & Adriana Zabłocka‐Abi Yaghi, 2022. "Innovation drivers in regions. Does urbanization matter?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1933-1960, December.
    6. Kaur, Sarabjot & Gupta, Shivam & Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Perano, Mirko, 2019. "Organizational ambidexterity through global strategic partnerships: A cognitive computing perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 43-54.
    7. Xie, Xuemei & Liu, Xiaojie & Blanco, Cristina, 2023. "Evaluating and forecasting the niche fitness of regional innovation ecosystems: A comparative evaluation of different optimized grey models," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Schaeffer, Paola Rücker & Guerrero, Maribel & Fischer, Bruno Brandão, 2021. "Mutualism in ecosystems of innovation and entrepreneurship: A bidirectional perspective on universities’ linkages," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 184-197.
    9. Cobben, Dieudonnee & Ooms, Ward & Roijakkers, Nadine & Radziwon, Agnieszka, 2022. "Ecosystem types: A systematic review on boundaries and goals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 138-164.
    10. Granstrand, Ove & Holgersson, Marcus, 2020. "Innovation ecosystems: A conceptual review and a new definition," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 90.
    11. Gabriele Cepeliauskaite & Zaneta Stasiskiene, 2020. "The Framework of the Principles of Sustainable Urban Ecosystems Development and Functioning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, January.
    12. Zhang, Marina Yue & Williamson, Peter, 2021. "The emergence of multiplatform ecosystems: insights from China's mobile payments system in overcoming bottlenecks to reach the mass market," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    13. Matthew M. Mars & Judith L. Bronstein, 2020. "The population ecology of undesigned systems: an analysis of the Arizona charter school system," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    14. Zhongji Yang & Liangqun Qi & Xin Li & Tianxi Wang, 2022. "How Does Successful Catch-Up Occur in Complex Products and Systems from the Innovation Ecosystem Perspective? A Case of China’s High-Speed Railway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    15. Denicolai, Stefano & Previtali, Pietro, 2020. "Precision Medicine: Implications for value chains and business models in life sciences," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    16. Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos & Flechas, Ximena Alejandra & Facin, Ana Lucia Figueiredo & Borini, Felipe Mendes, 2021. "Ecosystem management: Past achievements and future promises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    17. Patrycja Klimas & Wojciech Czakon, 2022. "Species in the wild: a typology of innovation ecosystems," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 249-282, January.
    18. Jing Huang & Hongqi Wang & Jianlong Wu & Zhongji Yang & Xiaobo Hu & Mengmeng Bao, 2020. "Exploring the Key Driving Forces of the Sustainable Intergenerational Evolution of the Industrial Alliance Innovation Ecosystem: Evidence from a Case Study of China’s TDIA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-31, February.
    19. Könnölä, Totti & Eloranta, Ville & Turunen, Taija & Salo, Ahti, 2021. "Transformative governance of innovation ecosystems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    20. Rush, Howard & Marshall, Nick & Bessant, John & Ramalingam, Ben, 2021. "Applying an ecosystems approach to humanitarian innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nasser Al‐Baimani & Nick Clifton & Eleri Jones & Rhiannon Pugh, 2021. "Applying the ecosystem model in a new context? The case of business incubation in Oman," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 663-686, June.
    2. Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos & Flechas, Ximena Alejandra & Facin, Ana Lucia Figueiredo & Borini, Felipe Mendes, 2021. "Ecosystem management: Past achievements and future promises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    3. Gupta, Ranjit & Mejia, Cristian & Kajikawa, Yuya, 2019. "Business, innovation and digital ecosystems landscape survey and knowledge cross sharing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 100-109.
    4. Jiewang Chu & Jiaxuan Li, 2022. "The Composition and Operation Mechanism of Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: A Study of Hangzhou Yunqi Town as an Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Han, Jin & Zhou, Haibo & Löwik, Sandor & de Weerd-Nederhof, Petra, 2022. "Building and sustaining emerging ecosystems through new focal ventures: Evidence from China's bike-sharing industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    6. Zsolt BedÅ‘ & Katalin ErdÅ‘s & Luke Pittaway, 2019. "University-Centered Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Conceptual Framework," UPFBE Working Paper Series 2019_1, Faculty of Business and Economics, University Pécs.
    7. Zondag, Marcel M. & Mueller, Elisabeth F. & Ferrin, Bruce G., 2017. "The application of value nets in food supply chains: A multiple case study," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 199-212.
    8. Kamilla Kohn Rådberg & Hans Löfsten, 2023. "Developing a knowledge ecosystem for large-scale research infrastructure," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 441-467, February.
    9. Magali Malherbe & Guillaume Detchenique & Thomas Loilier, 2015. "La territorialisation d'un écosystème d'affaires : une approche par les proximités. Le cas de la technologie NFC," Post-Print hal-01597667, HAL.
    10. Christopher S. Hayter & Andrew J. Nelson & Stephanie Zayed & Alan C. O’Connor, 2018. "Conceptualizing academic entrepreneurship ecosystems: a review, analysis and extension of the literature," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 1039-1082, August.
    11. Vesa Harmaakorpi & Satu Rinkinen, 2020. "Regional development platforms as incubators of business ecosystems. Case study: The Lahti urban region, Finland," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 626-645, June.
    12. Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos & Facin, Ana Lucia Figueiredo & Salerno, Mario Sergio & Ikenami, Rodrigo Kazuo, 2018. "Unpacking the innovation ecosystem construct: Evolution, gaps and trends," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 30-48.
    13. Amel Attour & Nathalie Lazaric, 2020. "From knowledge to business ecosystems: emergence of an entrepreneurial activity during knowledge replication," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 575-587, February.
    14. Alessandra Colombelli & Emilio Paolucci & Elisa Ughetto, 2019. "Hierarchical and relational governance and the life cycle of entrepreneurial ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 505-521, February.
    15. Abraham K. Song, 2019. "The Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystem—a critique and reconfiguration," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 569-590, October.
    16. Scaringella, Laurent & Radziwon, Agnieszka, 2018. "Innovation, entrepreneurial, knowledge, and business ecosystems: Old wine in new bottles?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 59-87.
    17. Rush, Howard & Marshall, Nick & Bessant, John & Ramalingam, Ben, 2021. "Applying an ecosystems approach to humanitarian innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    18. Rod Mccoll & Yann Truong & Antonella La Rocca, 2019. "Service guarantees as a base for positioning in B2B," Post-Print hal-02326105, HAL.
    19. Bellini, Silvia & Cardinali, Maria Grazia & Grandi, Benedetta, 2017. "A structural equation model of impulse buying behaviour in grocery retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 164-171.
    20. Christina Theodoraki & Karim Messeghem & Mark P. Rice, 2018. "A social capital approach to the development of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: an explorative study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 153-170, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:136:y:2018:i:c:p:88-102. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.