Ecosystems have been present in the fields of economics and management for decades, and in recent years they have experienced rapid development. However, there is still no consensus on the definition of an innovation ecosystem. Using concrete examples, The Innovation Ecosystem as a Source of Value Creation proposes a unique model in order to refine the understanding, functions, advantages and disadvantages of innovation ecosystems. This model is based on both the iterative network and integrated value chain. The network supports the collaboration between actors and favors asset transfers articulated around the innovation process. This book highlights the transfer processes at work in the innovation ecosystem, as well as the roles of the actors in this integrated value chain. It presents how value creation is articulated around knowledge to generate value shared by all of the actors in the innovation ecosystem.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xi Chapter 1 Innovation Ecosystem: Definitions 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Definitions of innovation 1 1.3 Innovation clusters, business ecosystems, innovation ecosystems: what are the differences? 3 1.3.1 The innovation cluster: in favor of continuous innovation 3 1.3.2 The business ecosystem: an anchor in the value proposition 4 1.3.3 The innovation ecosystem: co-creation for innovation 6 1.4 Towards an understanding of the innovation ecosystem through four concrete examples 9 1.4.1 The university innovation ecosystem 9 1.4.2 The university–industrialist innovation ecosystem 12 1.4.3. The university–industrialist–commercial innovation ecosystem 14 1.4.4 The start-up–industry–financier innovation ecosystem 17 1.4.5. Towards a non-universal definition of the innovation ecosystem 20 1.5 Strengths, drawbacks and boundaries of the innovation ecosystem 22 1.5.1 The strengths of the innovation ecosystem 22 1.5.2 The drawbacks of the innovation ecosystem 22 1.5.3 The porous boundaries of the innovation ecosystem 23 1.6 Conclusion 24 Chapter 2 Innovation Ecosystem and Innovation Processes 27 2.1 Introduction 27 2.2 A tangle of concepts in the innovation ecosystem 28 2.2.1 Ecology as the origin of the innovation ecosystem 28 2.2.2 The commercial ecosystem 32 2.2.3 The innovation ecosystem 34 2.2.4 The knowledge ecosystem 36 2.2.5 The roles of Valkokari’s three ecosystems in innovation 36 2.3 The innovation process: from discovery to innovation 40 2.3.1 Discovery, invention, innovation: what are the differences? 40 2.3.2 Definition of the innovation process 42 2.3.3 The innovation process in the innovation ecosystem 43 2.4 Ecosystems and innovation processes 44 2.4.1 Certain phases of the innovation process forgotten in ecosystems 44 2.4.2 Example 1: “graphene” innovation process 46 2.4.3 Example 2: “carbyne” innovation process 47 2.4.4 The links between innovation ecosystems and innovation processes 49 2.5 Conclusion 51 Chapter 3 Modeling: Combination of Three Ecosystems 53 3.1 Introduction 53 3.2 The roles of the actors and their activities: examples 54 3.2.1 Example 1: from the atom to the graphene bulb 54 3.2.2 Example 2: from carbon atoms to carbyne material 56 3.3 The roles of the three ecosystems of the innovation ecosystem 57 3.3.1 Roles of scientific ecosystems 57 3.3.2 Roles of technological ecosystems 58 3.3.3 Roles of commercial ecosystems 58 3.4 Foundations of innovation ecosystem modeling 58 3.4.1 The basis of the modeling: the combination of the three ecosystems 58 3.4.2 Affiliation: birth of the iterative network 60 3.4.3 Transfers: the birth of the integrated value chain 61 3.5 Modeling the “graphene” innovation ecosystem 62 3.5.1 “Graphene” innovation ecosystem, its iterative network and its integrated value chain 62 3.5.2 The roles of the iterative network and the integrated value chain 64 3.6 Modeling the “carbyne” innovation ecosystem 65 3.6.1 “Carbyne” innovation ecosystem, its iterative network and its integrated value chain 65 3.6.2 The roles of the iterative network and the integrated value chain 66 3.7 Modeling the innovation ecosystem 67 3.7.1 Modeling anchored on the iterative network and the integrated value chain 67 3.7.2 Modeling the innovation ecosystem 69 3.8 Conclusion 70 Chapter 4 The Actors of the Innovation Ecosystem 73 4.1 Introduction 73 4.2 The actors of the ecosystems 73 4.2.1 Four profiles of actors: the “contrib-actors” 73 4.2.2 Logics beyond technological standards 76 4.2.3 The roles of the actors within the innovation ecosystem 77 4.3 Activities of actors in the innovation ecosystem 80 4.3.1 Communities of actors 80 4.3.2 Innovation activities 81 4.3.3 Coordination through digital platforms 82 4.3.4 Towards hub and spoke ecosystems 82 4.4 Coexistence of multiple dependencies 83 4.4.1 Co-specialization 83 4.4.2 Coordination 86 4.4.3 Co-evolution 89 4.5 Conclusion 90 Chapter 5 Coherence and Interdependencies 91 5.1 Introduction 91 5.2 Towards a search for coherence between design situations and capabilities 92 5.2.1 Design situations and capabilities 92 5.2.2 From capabilities held to capabilities to be acquired 92 5.2.3 Complementary capacities: relational capacities 94 5.3 Pool and reciprocal interdependencies 95 5.3.1 The perception of interdependence 95 5.3.2 Creation of pool interdependence 96 5.3.3 Creation of reciprocal interdependencies 100 5.3.4 A combination of pool and reciprocal interdependencies 104 5.4 Towards a search for coherence 105 5.5 Conclusion 106 Chapter 6 The Iterative Network: Collaboration and Typology 107 6.1 Introduction 107 6.2 Networks and ecosystems: a brief overview 108 6.3 The network: an anchor for collaboration 109 6.3.1 Definition of collaboration 109 6.3.2 Expectations of collaboration 110 6.3.3 Barriers to collaboration 111 6.4 “Small worlds” and interdependencies 114 6.4.1 The emergence of “small worlds” 114 6.4.2 Interdependencies and collaboration 116 6.5 Typology of collaborations 117 6.5.1 The three types of collaborations 117 6.5.2 Strong collaboration: pool and reciprocal combination 118 6.5.3 Medium collaboration: pool and reciprocal articulation 119 6.5.4 Weak collaboration: asymmetry between pool and reciprocal 120 6.6 The innovation ecosystem network: definition and criteria 121 6.6.1 Definition of the iterative network of the innovation ecosystem 121 6.6.2 The “small-world” actors of the network 122 6.6.3 Dimensions of the iterative network 124 6.6.4 The evolution of the iterative network 125 6.7 Conclusion 126 Chapter 7 Asset and Knowledge Transfers: The Integrated Value Chain 129 7.1 Introduction 129 7.2 Traditional value chain, focal actor, limits 130 7.2.1 The traditional value chain 130 7.2.2 The value chain anchored on the focal actor and niches 131 7.3 Integrated value chain: an anchoring in knowledge 132 7.3.1 Definitions of the knowledge value chain 132 7.3.2 The KVC: a sequence of cognitive tasks 133 7.3.3 The KVC: a chain of processes 134 7.3.4 Identification of the knowledge processes of the innovation ecosystem 136 7.4 Transfer processes 136 7.4.1 Definition of the knowledge transfer process 136 7.4.2 Content transfer processes 137 7.4.3 Transfer processes in context 139 7.5 The integrated value chain of the innovation ecosystem 140 7.5.1 A combination of assets and knowledge 140 7.5.2 The objectives of transfers in the integrated value chain 143 7.5.3 The roles of the actors in the integrated value chain 147 7.5.4 Towards an integrated value chain modeling 150 7.5.5 Transfers via interdependencies 152 7.6 Conclusion 154 Chapter 8 Ecosystems and Strategies 157 8.1 Introduction 157 8.2 Innovation creates value 158 8.2.1 Open innovation at the heart of innovation strategies 158 8.2.2 The challenges of innovation 158 8.3 Profound strategic changes 159 8.3.1 The evolution of strategies 159 8.3.2 A strategic foundation rooted in collaboration 162 8.4 Collaborative strategies 163 8.4.1 Two main collaborative strategies 163 8.4.2 Experience-based strategy 164 8.4.3 Strategy based on exploration and reflection 165 8.5 Conclusion 167 Chapter 9 Ecosystems and Value Creation 169 9.1 Introduction 169 9.2 A search for a balance between opportunism and reciprocity 169 9.2.1 The production of value 169 9.2.2 The limits of the focal firm 170 9.2.3 Between opportunism and reciprocity 172 9.3 Creating value through collaboration 174 9.3.1 Value creation through value constellations 174 9.3.2 Value creation through the network and value chain 174 9.4 Value creation through net value 175 9.4.1 Definition of net value 175 9.4.2 Evolution of the value chain towards net value 176 9.4.3 Net value characteristics 177 9.5 A combination of decontextualization and recontextualization of knowledge 179 9.5.1 Decontextualization of value-creating knowledge 179 9.5.2 Recontextualization of value-creating knowledge 179 9.6 Conclusion 180 References 183 Index 207