Innovation Ecosystem Research: Emerging Trends and Future Research

Yanzhang Gu, Longying Hu, Hongjin Zhang and Chenxuan Hou
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Yanzhang Gu: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Longying Hu: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Hongjin Zhang: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Chenxuan Hou: School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-21

Abstract: The innovation ecosystem term has increasingly been attracting the interest of scholars and practitioners for fifteen years. Contrary to the flourishing landscape, knowledge in this field is criticized as being fragmented. While past reviews revealed the conceptual and theoretical connections between innovation ecosystem and other related concepts, there is still a lack of comprehensive appreciation of the intellectual structure of state-of-the-art innovation ecosystem studies, hindering future research in this domain. To fill this void, this study utilized a systematic literature review approach combining bibliographic coupling and content analysis methods. Drawing on 136 studies reflecting the core and latest knowledge of innovation ecosystem literature, this study identifies five streams of the current innovation ecosystem research (i.e., technology innovation, platform innovation ecosystem, regional development, innovation ecosystem conceptualization and theorization, and entrepreneurship and innovation). Suggestions for future research are distilled via systematic analysis and discussion of these streams. Contributions of this study lie in decoding the intellectual structure of current innovation ecosystem research and offering targeted recommendations for future research.

Keywords: innovation ecosystem; sustainable innovation; systematic literature review; platformization and digitalization; regional development; entrepreneurial innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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