Recent works on business model innovation (Schneckenberg et al. 2019; Spieth et al. 2014; Demil and Lecocq 2010), ecosystems (Jacobides et al. 2018; Pankov et al. 2019) and platforms (Cusumano et al. 2019) have underlined the variety of configurations, roles and strategic positioning in contemporary industry but also the need for ecosystems to evolve to address contemporary common threats such as climate change and environmental issues. These works raised the critical issue of designing these ecosystems: is it possible to design an ecosystem to face contemporary issues? Who are the actors capable of designing an ecosystem? And also: what are the required managerial competences? What kind of leaders? What kind of work division and value division? What kind of collaborations?

On the other hand, the study of design regimes and innovation dynamics has shed light on new actors and new forms of interactions supporting intensive innovation dynamics at the ecosystem level (Lange et al. 2013; Le Masson et al. 2012; Ollila and Yström 2016). These works underline that new ecosystem dynamics call for new forms of relationships between economic actors, based on the capacity to collectively explore the unknown. In particular it can lead to new forms of relationships between industrial ecosystem, society and scientific research. These works also relied on recent advances in design methods, design theory and even design cognition (Agogué et al. 2012) to improve the analytical framework and experiment with new methods and organizational forms.

This track will study these actors in charge of new ecosystem dynamics. Papers can be based on the empirical study of the actors; the track also welcomes theoretical papers that could help re-discuss the nature of the relationship in this process of ecosystem design, a relationship that probably goes far beyond the usual economics transaction. The track also welcomes methodological papers that propose new instruments and new techniques to help study the design of ecosystems.

In 2019, the track attracted more than 20 papers, 15 were selected for presentation and we had a great 4-sessions track with constructive discussions. Key features emerged: 1-The design of new industrial ecosystem echoes contemporary socio-economics issues; 2- A rich empirical material; 3- The design of new industrial ecosystem relies on a surprising variety of institutions; 4- The study of the design of new industrial ecosystem leads to re-discuss basics in the literature of innovation ecosystems and business ecosystems; 5- The design of new industrial ecosystem calls for new models and analytical framework.

This first success pushed us to propose this track for a second year, with the perspective to apply for a special issue on the design of ecosystems.


Topic:
- research / industry relationship for double impact;
- managing collective innovation for contemporary ‘common threats’ such as climate change and contemporary ‘transitions’ such as industry 4.0, digital transition, energy transition
- platform emergence and platform overthrown
- design regimes
- prescription and ecosystem dynamics
- cognitive approach of ecosystem dynamics

References

Agogué M, Le Masson P, Robinson DKR (2012) Orphan Innovation, or when path-creation goes stale: missing entrepreneurs or missing innovation? Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 24 (6):603-616.

Cusumano M, Gawer A, Yoffie DB (2019) The Business of platforms. Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power. HarperBusiness.

Demil B, Lecocq X (2010) Business Model Evolution: In Search of Dynamic Consistency. Long Range Planning 43 (2):227-246.
Jacobides MG, Cennamo C, Gawer A (2018) Towards a theory of ecosystems. Strategic Management Journal 39(8): 2255-2276.

Lange K, Müller-Seitz G, Sydow J, Windeler A (2013) Financing innovations in uncertain networks—Filling in roadmap gaps in the semiconductor industry. Research Policy 42 (3):647-661.

Le Masson P, Weil B, Hatchuel A, Cogez P (2012) Why aren’t they locked in waiting games? Unlocking rules and the ecology of concepts in the semiconductor industry. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 24 (6):617-630.

Ollila S, Yström A (2016) Exploring Design Principles of Organizing for Collaborative Innovation: The Case of an Open Innovation Initiative. Creativity and Innovation Management 25 (3):363-377.

Pankov S, Velamuri VK, Schneckenberg D (2019) Towards sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: examining the effect of contextual factors on sustainable entrepreneurial activities in the sharing economy. Small Business Economics. doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00255-5

Schneckenberg D, Velamuri VK, Comberg C (2019) The design logic in business model innovation: Cognitive foundations for managerial reasoning. European Management Review 16(2):427-447.