Facilitating innovation in an ecosystem :an exploratory case study

Abstract

This study has examined the research question; In what way can the establishment of an ecosystem facilitate innovation in the construction and real estate industry? by conducting an exploratory case study of a recently established ecosystem. Eight informants from six firms have been interviewed, where half of the informants represent the company that initiated the ecosystem. The current literature on ecosystems have been reviewed and applied to discuss the findings of this thesis. Supplementing the ecosystem research with knowledge on network resources allowed for additional understanding of the findings. The literature on ecosystems have seen increasing levels of interest in the past few years, and research on its dynamics and elements have resulted in varied approaches (Jacobides et al., 2018; Bogers et al., 2019). The findings of this study reveal that the ecosystem was established as a result of pressure from macro forces, which are especially connected to new technological advances. The need for collaboration across firm and industry boundaries, flexible memberships, international ambitions and regional benefits in the form of competences on ecosystems, affected the choice of the ecosystem solution. The ecosystem facilitates for innovation based on three main findings. The combination of arranging activities that are both flexible and more focused are important for the members ability to innovate within the ecosystem. The ecosystem allows for the possibility of sharing resources such as data, which provides large innovation opportunities. It provides advantages related to a holistic value chain approach and interdisciplinarity that can facilitate innovation on several parts of the value chain. In order to successfully facilitate for innovation as the ecosystem evolves, the findings revealed that focusing on communicating the larger goal of the ecosystem, changes to the leadership role and establishing trust between members will be crucial in the future.