A Systemic Perspective on Alignment in Sustainability-Oriented Ecosystems

How do heterogeneous actors achieve alignment in sustainability-oriented ecosystems? Existing research identifies several alignment mechanisms, yet we still lack a systemic understanding of how these mechanisms interact to shape collective action to materialize a value proposition. Based on a qualitative study of the Paris Zero Plastic ecosystem, this paper develops a multi-level systemic model of alignment that integrates six mechanisms -Engagement and motivation of actors, orchestration, social and geographical proximity, specific complementarities, value distribution, and external coherence -in addition to a meta mechanism -shared purpose. It examines how they jointly reinforce or undermine ecosystem performance. Our findings show that alignment emerges not from any single mechanism but from the dynamic interplay of positive and negative interdependencies across actors and subsystems. The paper contributes to ecosystem research by conceptualizing alignment as a systemic configuration, offering new insight into how sustainability ecosystems hold together -or fall apart -under conditions of institutional complexity and heterogeneous actor expectations.