Leveraging Embedded Factors of Business Ecosystems. A Potential Driver for Business Model Innovations

Master's Thesis from the year 2020 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,00, Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, language: English, abstract: This thesis aims to identify business ecosystem's embedded factors as potential drivers for business model innovations, and thus to contribute to an expansion of innovation opportunities. In the context of the consideration of different ecosystem concepts, first, their characteristics and roles are presented, to make a precise distinction related and traditional structures (e.g. value network, supply chain). Innovation ecosystems, business ecosystems, and platform ecosystems are considered in this study and empirically examined employing a multiple case study. To ensure the value of the study, only companies that have implemented a business model innovation within one of the defined ecosystems were included. Innovations within the value chain of a single company can no longer fully satisfy new and dynamic customer needs. It is, therefore, appropriate to intensify the network of relationships outside the company. This is remedied by the value contribution resulting from the companies' ecosystems, which is higher than that of individual companies. However, in the ecosystem's environment, the success of a company is strongly dependent on the success of its diverse and changing collaborations with other companies of different sizes and types. Due to the embedding in different ecosystems, the understanding of a company as an independent strategic actor is no longer appropriate in every case.