Understanding platforms and ecosystems as structures for value co-creation

The ecosystem approach to value co-creation represents a significant departure from the extant literature on innovation management regarding collaboration for innovation. Due to the dominant limited focus of analysis on interactions and value transactions, little is known about how value between multi-actor networks of individuals and organisations is initially co-created in practice. This study contributes new empirical understanding of innovation platforms and ecosystems as structures for value cocreation. Firstly, the importance of a composing phase (platform) in which ecosystem actors are introduced to one another and ideas for collaboration are initiated was identified. Secondly, cocreation phases (or a process) in which the focus is transferred to the development of interactions between actors were observed and practices identified