Dynamic Capabilities as the Key Approach to Investigate Digital Ecosystems

Abstract

As a result of technological change and increasing digitalization, corporate and industry structures are changing. Due to a growing dynamic in the competitive environment, companies are forced to reinvent themselves. Digital and platform-based ecosystems represent a promising direction for rapid progress in competition and cooperation at the same time. From a strategic perspective, however, the question of sustainable management must be posed. The classic approach of the Resource-Based View (RBV) appears too static in the dynamic digital environment and must be supplemented by the Knowledge-Based View (KBV) or the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV). This paper structures and analyzes the existing literature on digital ecosystems against the background of existing management theories. Within the framework of a structured literature review, we identify and analyze 23 relevant management publications. The extant literature shows an existing research gap with regard to the KBV and DCV.