The governance mechanisms of business ecosystems through network-based business models

Abstract

An ecosystem is an intentional community of interdependent actors. If a firm adopts an ecosystem perspective, its focus shifts from maximising the firm’s value to creating value for the entire system. Consequently, the ecosystem governance represents a critical factor in successful value creation and capture. The aim of this paper is to understand how the governance of business ecosystems in network-based business models is configured. To this aim a cross-sectional field study was carried out. The cases selected were six Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the status of benefit corporation. The findings show that the governance configuration of the business ecosystem is hybrid. It requires both centralised mechanisms, such as the definition of shared value, the creation and orchestration of an ecosystem, and the management of risks and tensions, and decentralised mechanisms, such as activities for value creation, external communication, and the definition of the rules of network participation.