La naissance contrariée d’un écosystème d’affaires : entre développement global et territoire. Le cas des services mobiles NFC

This article analyses the birth of a business ecosystem through the study of the NFC (Near Field Communication) technology appropriation by the mobile phone industry. In 2002, NXP and Sony jointly developed NFC technology. This technology enables exchanges between two communicating objects (e.g. a telephone, computer, television, interactive terminal, electronic terminal). However, the birth of the ecosystem offering NFC mobile services – i.e. the structuring of a group of organizations around this new offer – has been difficult. Conflicting individual goals coupled with several technological alternatives for performing the services have led to an instability of the leadership and a lack of consensus. The objective of this article is therefore to understand the role of a geographic area in fostering the emergence of an international and global business ecosystem. Our strategy of research has been a single and process-oriented case study. We collected primary data (mainly through semi-directive interviews, research notes, and passive observations) and secondary data to analyze the different forms of proximity, either geographical or organized, that govern the relations among the actors. More precisely, we focused on its local variations in Normandy. Thanks to the analysis, we determined three successive phases symbolized by a different mobilization of the geographical proximity and the organized proximity. Finally, this article highlights that the particular coordination of actions within a local geographic area can leverage the emergence of a global ecosystem. Both geographical proximity and organized proximity enable niche players to 1) be part of the ecosystem and 2) to focus and coordinate their actions on a shared vision specific to the geographic area.