Business Models as Enablers of Ecosystemic Interaction

Abstract

A business ecosystem supports relationships between its stakeholders. Although it has been recognized that ecosystem stakeholders neither solely compete, nor collaborate, but rather co-develop their capabilities, empirically-based research evidence on this interactive co-development in ecosystems remains scarce. The interaction among ecosystem stakeholders is approached from the business model perspective. Accordingly, this article builds on business model literature, and on empirical data gathered within an emerging connected health ecosystem. This article conceptualizes business models as dynamic capabilities that enable ecosystemic and symbiotic interaction through opportunity exploration and exploitation, value creation and capture, and, advantage exploration and exploitation. This article argues that co-developing business models through sensing, seizing and transforming is a key enabler for ecosystem's success and sustainability.