Creating value in ecosystems: Crossing the chasm between knowledge and business ecosystems

Bart Clarysse, Mike Wright, Johan Bruneel and Aarti Mahajan

Research Policy, 2014, vol. 43, issue 7, 1164-1176

Abstract: Policy makers take initiatives to stimulate knowledge ecosystems in technology hotspots. It is implicitly assumed that these ecosystems will lead to value networks through which the participating companies can realize a competitive advantage. Value networks refer to business ecosystems where the value proposition is offered by a group of companies which are mutually complementary. The strategy literature suggests that business ecosystems lead to competitive advantages for each of the partners in the ecosystem. Based on a unique hand-collected database of 138 innovative start-ups in the region of Flanders, we analyze the knowledge and business ecosystem and the financial support network. We find that the knowledge ecosystem is well structured and concentrated around a number of central actors while the business ecosystem is almost non-existent at the local level. Further, we find that the financial support network is almost 100% publicly backed and fails to bridge the knowledge and business ecosystem. The implications for policy makers who tend to focus on the development of local ecosystems are discussed.

Keywords: Ecosystems; Value networks; Innovation systems; University spin-off; Innovative start-ups; Public sector funding schemes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (180)

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Working Paper: Creating Value in Ecosystems: Crossing the chasm between knowledge and business ecosystems (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:43:y:2014:i:7:p:1164-1176

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2014.04.014

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