Ecosystem types: A systematic review of boundaries and goals

Dieudonnee Cobben*, Ward Ooms, Nadine Roijakkers, Agnieszka Radziwon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the past few years, we have witnessed a reinvigorated interest by academics, practitioners and policymakers in the ecosystem concept. Recent reviews have set out to clarify the conceptual boundaries between ecosystem concepts. Yet there is still a lack of clarity when it comes to which ecosystem types can best help organisations achieve various goals. This systematic literature review advances our understanding of the conceptual boundaries between different ecosystems and, more importantly, identifies which types of ecosystems are suitable for achieving the goals. We focus on four commonly studied ecosystem types: business, innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge ecosystems. The key findings centre on systematically demarcating the ecosystem types by accounting for (and distinguishing between) their conceptual boundaries and goals. The results show how multifaceted ecosystem goals are and reveal several shifts in the literature on ecosystem types over time. Our review establishes a thematic agenda for future research with practical outlook.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Business Research
Volume142
Pages (from-to)138-164
Number of pages27
ISSN0148-2963
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022
Event6th Annual World Open Innovation Conference - LUISS, Rome, Italy
Duration: 12 Dec 201913 Dec 2019

Conference

Conference6th Annual World Open Innovation Conference
LocationLUISS
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityRome
Period12/12/201913/12/2019

Keywords

  • Business ecosystem
  • Entrepreneurial ecosystem
  • Innovation ecosystem
  • Knowledge ecosystem
  • Systematic literature review

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