Ecosystem Strategy & Partnerships: Framework Development & Partner Identification for a small enterprise

Forming partnerships between businesses has been in practice from a long time. However, these used to be more unidirectional with a specific objective in mind (ex. buyer-supplier relations). This research focuses on a newer model of business ecosystems that are built on looser relationships between members. Ecosystems comprise of multiple organisations working together towards a common goal. These organisations must be chosen carefully so as to increase the value proposition for the customer. The study looks at a specific company R that has created a health risk assessment app. This app generates a risk score based on inputs from users, helps them to understand how their lifestyle choices affect their health and identifies the areas that need immediate attention. The company intends to expand the usage of the app by increasing the volume and engagement of users that can further provide options for monetisation. One way of doing this is to partner with multiple organisations and build and ecosystem around its product. The research found a large number of parameters that are used evaluate companies for partnership and utilised them develop a structured framework for partner selection. Using the framework, a number of organisations were assessed to identify their impact on the ecosystem. These organisations operate in varied industries and the study shows how each of these companies can be useful in achieving company R’s objectives. The study also identifies some points that company R should adhere to while selecting the companies. The health and wellness industry has been growing at a rapid pace, both due to technological innovations and changes in customer expectations. The organisation studied here has a unique product with a lot of potential to bring about a consolidation in the distributed structure of this industry. It will be interesting to see how things take shape for this organisation in the future as it continues its growth ambitions