Systems, Scales & Stakeholders

A Framework for Designing Business Ecosystems

Abstract

The business as ecosystem model has attracted considerable attention from both academics andpractitioners as advances in information technology have enabled new forms of organization and value creation. This paper seeks to explore the dynamics of business ecosystems by drawing upon theoretical traditions related to ecosystems from the fields of ecology, sociology and stakeholder theory. We identify scope, governance, social value and change management as key dimensions in the design of effective business ecosystems. Based upon these four dimensions we propose a conceptual framework by which business ecosystems can be planned, implemented and evaluated.