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Delivering Sustainability Through Ecosystem Innovation: A Multilevel Framework for Sustainability Transition

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre-Jean Barlatier

    (EDHEC - EDHEC Business School - UCL - Université catholique de Lille, GRM - Groupe de Recherche en Management - EA 4711 - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur)

  • Jingshu Du
  • Emmanuel Josserand

    (DVHE - De Vinci Higher Education)

  • Thibaut Bardon

    (Audencia Business School)

  • Philippe Hermel

    (LAREQUOI - Laboratoire de recherche en Management - UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines)

  • Émilie Ruiz

    (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc, IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc)

Abstract

This introduction to the special issue examines how ecosystems can operate as arenas through which sustainability transition can be organized and enacted. Drawing on the articles included in this special issue, it analyses the mechanisms through which ecosystems generate and diffuse sustainable innovation by combining three complementary perspectives: (1) governance and coordination across plural logics, (2) redefinition of value creation, and (3) cognitive and learning dynamics supporting collective adaptation. Building on these insights, our introductive paper theorizes a multilevel framework that links microlevel cognition, mesolevel governance, and macrolevel institutions as recursive components of collective learning. It positions ecosystems as organizational interfaces that translate local experimentation into systemic transformation and argues that research methods should reflect this complexity through participatory, design-based, and data-enabled inquiry. We conclude by outlining several avenues for future research on sustainable ecosystem innovation as a continuous process of organizing, learning, and alignment across actors at different levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-Jean Barlatier & Jingshu Du & Emmanuel Josserand & Thibaut Bardon & Philippe Hermel & Émilie Ruiz, 2025. "Delivering Sustainability Through Ecosystem Innovation: A Multilevel Framework for Sustainability Transition," Post-Print hal-05427308, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05427308
    DOI: 10.37725/mgmt.2025.13718
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05427308v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Constance E. Helfat & Margaret A. Peteraf, 2015. "Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 831-850, June.
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