Apr 29
We’re in an Ecosystem economy, not in a Digital economy.
Each post, we bring you a roundup of the best thought pieces at the intersection of strategy and ecosystems.
Along with some perspectives designed to spark creative ideas.. 💡
Where did ecosystems actually come from? How did they come about?
De-regulation that used to protect firms who had the privilege to serve a market exclusively, a blurring of separation between products/services due to regulation and digitization, followed by technology which has affected how we consume, and how organisations serve customers.
Michael also expands on ecosystems being a somewhat natural progression from the traditional strategist’s playbook of partnerships, strategic alliances, joint ventures and M&A.
Watch until the end as Michael provides his opinion on the outlook for ecosystems over the next few years.
💡 Perspective 💡
Ecosystems are less tangible and can be difficult to see. With continued advancements in tech and digitization, it seems that ecosystems are here to stay.
Look around your environment, personally or professionally — where do you see ecosystems coming to life?
“Ecosystems should not be used as a panacea for everything”
When is it best to use an ecosystem approach ? Fundamentally, there needs to be a problem that fits an ecosystem approach, a value proposition that can be served collectively.
Martin Reeves, expert on dynamic strategy and making strategic choices, explains the different choices people need to ask in deciding on an ecosystem strategy.
💡 Perspective 💡
The main strategic choices in most strategies is typically ‘Where to Play’ and ‘How to ‘Win’. These are typically simple choices, such as the geographic market you want to serve and the product’s differentiating features.
An ecosystem approach requires a nuanced set of questions which incorporates an understanding of ecosystem dynamics. Questions such as the role you’ll play and whether you’d like to be a part of more closed or open ecosystems.
99% of traditional strategy playbooks, frameworks, models (whatever you want to call it!) will teach you that competitive advantage and value creation is created by differentiating a product or service. A shift is underway, whereby now the value is in the interactions that many platforms and ecosystems create.
The ecosystem economy has been driving, and is driven by, this shift in value from products to interactions/experiences.
💡 Perspective 💡
Product and service differentiation can be easily copied in an age with lower barriers to entry and universal ease of access to resources and capabilities. There’s a reason the most popular business models and products are community-based. They serve the ecosystem first and foremost by facilitating interactions that create value.
This has also given rise to business model innovation, where advantage is created in the system as a whole, not just 1 singular element of the business, such as its scalable process or a fancy app.
