innovation ecosystems—the collaborative arrangements through which firms combine their individual offerings into a coherent, customer-facing solution. Enabled by information technologies that have drastically reduced the costs of coordination, innovation ecosystems have become a core element in the growth strategies of firms in a wide range of industries. While leading exemplars tend to come from high-tech settings (think Intel, Nokia, SAP, and Cisco), ecosystem strategies are being deployed in industries as varied as commercial printing, financial services, basic materials, and logistics provision.
When they work, ecosystems allow firms to create value that no single firm could have created alone. The benefits of these systems—discussed under such labels as platform leadership, keystone strategies, open innovation, value networks, and hyperlinked organizations—are real and well publicized.