Thriving in a Business Ecosystem : A study of role and capability alignment

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of what capabilities that are required by actors in a business ecosystem depending on what role they enact. To fulfill this research purpose, the following research questions were derived: RQ1: What key activities underpin different ecosystem roles? and RQ2: What capabilities allow actors to perform key activities? Method – This study was conducted as an abductive single case-study of a business ecosystem that evolves around Internet-of-Things-based solutions in the automotive and transportation sector. In total, four companies and one expert company took part in the research, all participating in, or have knowledge of, the ecosystem of inquiry. In total, 20 interviews were conducted, and results were generated through the use of a thematic analysis. Findings – The findings from the study are summarized in a framework that illustrates what key activities actors perform to enact either an ‘Enabler’, ‘Leader’ or ‘Direct Value Creator’ role, and more specifically, what capabilities that allow actors to perform those key activities. The findings also show that actors must be able to leverage ‘ecosystem intelligence capabilities’, regardless of role, to be successful in a business ecosystem. Theoretical and practical implications – The study provide implications for research on business ecosystem by empirically explicating the key activities that underpin different ecosystem roles, and, by highlighting that actors must not only possess a set of role-specific capabilities, but also some generic capabilities that allow them to operate in a business ecosystem. Our framework assists managers to better evaluate if their firm can leverage the capabilities required to perform the activities of the role they aspire. Limitations and future research – The study is limited by a single case-study of a business ecosystem currently in the early phases. Hence, future research is recommended to validate and extend our findings in other contexts than of ours, as well as to study if the capabilityrequirements vary among different stages of ecosystem evolvement.