Creating Value in a Business Ecosystem

Our new and developing world, according to Ballantyne and Varey (2006) and Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004), is centred on the use of interaction as a basis for co-creation, which is in line with Grönroos’ (2012) concept of value co-creation. In today’s modern businesses, value creation and business ecosystems are crucial for success. The technological revolution has posed challenges to traditional business models, forcing them to reimagine their business models (Culot et al., 2020). Research from the past has shown that value creation is interactive and iterative (Edvardsson et al., 2011; Vargo et al., 2008, Vargo, 2019). The development of a sharing economy is facilitated by technological advancements that make it possible to connect individuals, groups and resources through an interactive ecosystem that enables value creation through collaboration, creativity and trade activities (Ruiz-Alba et al., 2016). When a lone corporation is unable to create and spread value on its own, an inter-organisational network of value constellations emerges. They are especially valued for creating business logic. Value networks are company ecosystems where a collection of complementary businesses provide the value proposition. The May 2024 issue of the journal presents a collection of articles that delve into diverse aspects of value creation within business ecosystems. This issue aligns well with the call for papers that emphasise value dynamics in business ecosystems and the importance of collaborative networks and innovation in shaping these ecosystems.

The article by Borchardt et al. explores ‘Uncaptured Value in the Business Model: Analysing its Modes in Social Enterprises in the Sustainable Fashion Industry’. This study uses a qualitative approach to dissect how micro and small social enterprises manage uncaptured value in their business models within the sustainable fashion sector. The article contributes a novel framework to understand these dynamics, providing significant insights into how enterprises can optimise value capture and enhance their economic and social contributions.

Second, De Tienne et al. offer an insightful examination of ‘Creating Value Through Leveraging Gender Norms’. This article discusses how blending masculine and feminine traits within organisational cultures can enhance value creation. The third article, by Santos and Zen, titled ‘Creating and Capturing Value in Innovation Ecosystems: A Systematic Literature Review Between 2010 and 2021’, systematically analyses contributions from platform and territorial perspectives on innovation ecosystems. Their findings highlight different strategies, mechanisms and critical factors essential for success in these ecosystems, providing a thorough academic contribution to the field of value creation and capture in business ecosystems.

Additionally, Williams and Caulfield’s article, ‘Deriving Value-in Digital Disposal: Exploring Closet Cleaning on Instagram’, investigates how digital platforms facilitate new forms of consumer disposal and value creation. This article enriches our understanding of digital consumer behaviour, particularly focusing on Instagram as a conduit for ‘closet cleaning’ and the resale of personal goods. These articles collectively highlight the relevance of the call for papers that emphasise the importance of exploring business ecosystems and the dynamic processes of value creation and capture within them. Their adherence to academic rigour is matched by their practical utility, offering deep insights for practitioners who navigate these complex terrains. These studies align closely with both current and future trends in value creation, echoing themes from foundational works like Moore (1993) and more recent analyses that view ecosystems through the lens of digital transformation and sustainability (Appio et al., 2021; Bresciani et al., 2021).

The comprehensive review provided by these articles makes it clear that understanding and enhancing value within business ecosystems is a complex, multifaceted endeavour requiring collaboration across various domains. Such collaboration often involves a blend of competitive and cooperative dynamics that examine the interplay between firms within ecosystems (Ritala & Almpanopoulou, 2017). This issue of the Journal of Creating Value captures this complexity and offers substantial contributions to both academia and industry. It promotes a deeper understanding of the intricate dynamics of value within business ecosystems, illustrating the shift from linear value chains to interconnected systems where value co-creation with stakeholders is crucial.

Reflecting on these contributions, we see the strategic importance of adaptability and continuous learning within ecosystems, as highlighted by the dynamic capability theory (Teece, 2007). The dialogue between these articles encourages a richer comprehension of how businesses can not only respond to environmental changes but also proactively shape the ecosystems in which they operate. This special issue of the journal, therefore, not only charts the current state of research but also sets the stage for ongoing inquiries into how ecosystems evolve and how they can be designed and managed for sustainable value creation.