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This study aims to answer the question of how business models (BMs) maintain stability while coping with environmental uncertainties. This study proposes a dynamic co-evolution of knowledge management and business model transformation based on a comparative analysis of the focal firms’ BMs and their main partners in two e-commerce ecosystems in China.

The open data of listed companies regarding the introduction of emerging topics on the transformation tendency of BMs in the post-COVID-19 business world is qualitatively analysed. The theoretical foundation is based on a critical review of the literature.

Three aspects of the co-evolution between knowledge management and business model transformation are introduced. These three aspects are as follows: knowledge integration helps with multi-system business integration and decision-making collaborations; knowledge sharing helps to enhance cognitive ability and network value based on businesses; and the creation of new knowledge helps enrich the knowledge base and promote the transformation of BMs.

Solely attributing a firm’s ability to cope with environmental uncertainties to its business model weakens the importance of its knowledge management. This study argues that the co-evolution between knowledge management and business model transformation also plays a key role in a firm’s response to issues post-COVID-19.

This study calls for the development of a normative theory of co-evolution between knowledge management and business model transformation, implying uncharted territories of knowledge management based on interaction with business model designs in e-business ecosystems.

This paper examines the socio-ecological co-evolution and transformation of organic pioneers and the organic food market from a politically structuring actor perspective. It aims to identify strategies and activities used to contribute to the change of structures in the organic market and how the companies, in turn, reacted to the structural influence of the changing environment to position their company successfully in the market.

This study is based on interviews with four managing directors who were responsible over several decades for the strategic corporate management of the pioneer companies they founded as (or converted to) organic. Content analysis was used to analyse the data.

Strategic challenges regarding building up, maintaining and using resources, shaping actor constellations, and professionalising management are explained. The analysis demonstrates that also small pioneers have the possibilities and scope to influence and change markets and structures.

The results are significant for developing sustainable transformation strategies for markets, considering the interaction of the micro and meso-levels over time and the role of small businesses that might be struggling with growth and loss of values. The study answers recent calls in the literature to empirically investigate sustainability transformations from a practice perspective and gain insights into the roles of corporate actors.

Purpose – To trace the rationale, features, development and application of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) over the past ten years, to provide a critical review of its key problematic effects, and to suggest a future direction. Design/methodology/approach – The shift from the industrial to the innovation economy provides a background to identifying five major problem areas of the BSC which are then discussed with reference to selected case examples. An alternative systemic scorecard is then proposed. Findings – The tyranny of the BSC as a measurement “straightjacket” is beginning to jeopardize the survival of firms, hinders much‐needed business ecosystem innovation, thereby negatively affecting customer value rejuvenation, shareholders' benefits, other stakeholders as well as societal benefits in general. A more systemic alternative is proposed. Research limitations/implications – Future research might focus on further development of the systemic scorecard in different industries and organisational settings with detailed systemic measurement techniques. Practical implications – Rather than relying on the static BSC, it would be more effective to adopt a systemic perspective in measuring/managing intangible assets. Originality/value – An alternative to the BSC is proposed that involves radical change in its underlying assumptions by moving to a more systemic, dynamic framework – a systemic management system, including a systemic scorecard.

This study aims to understand how the coevolution of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and emerging economy institutions affects social and economic (in)equality in an ambiguous, emerging economy context from a political actor perspective.

Qualitative in nature, the study builds on conversations with 20 political actors involved in the peacebuilding process in Myanmar/Burma. It analyzes their perceptions of interaction of MNEs and host economy institutions from a social constructionist viewpoint.

The study identifies four coevolution patterns which portray the evolving interaction between MNE activities and different elements of their host institutional environment as well as their consequences for social and economic (in)equality.

This study contributes to critical international business research on emerging economies by emphasizing the different and partly conflicting host institutions of various stakeholder groups involved in the coevolution of MNEs and host institutional environments. The more nuanced conceptualization of the complex institutional environment enables the analysis of inequality as a direct and indirect outcome of MNE–institution interaction. Thus, the study connects to the business and human rights discussion and provides insight into the consequences of MNEs’ adoption of social and environment standards.

The main purpose of this research is to construct a generalized set of innovation processes that occur at the ecosystem level based on the academic research. The study analyzes the cultural and creativity-driven over-the-top (OTT) platform that encompasses diverse network of ecosystem members by utilizing the four cooperation practices.

This study begins with the literature review that discusses various topics related to ecosystem (e.g. service innovation, innovative ecosystem). Then, this study introduces a new conceptual framework that describes how cooperations occur in the ecosystem. Finally, a qualitative and explorative case study of the OTT platforms in the global context is conducted.

The application of the framework reveals how co-innovative business ecosystems demonstrate co-evolution through different structures and directions. An ecosystem can evolve by incorporating other industries (i.e. horizontal growth or broadening strategy) to deepen and broaden the industry integration.

As an explorative approach that opens the discussion on how co-innovation and co-evolution occur at the ecosystem level, particularly in the culture and creativity-driven industry, the value of this research extends to other similar industries where diverse actors such as technology firms, Internet firms, direct consumers, government and even the society impact the type of product and service and shape the evolution of the entire ecosystem.

The purpose of this study is to explore the conceptualisation of co-evolution using a corporate history research approach. While the application of the co-evolutionary perspective to the organisational-environmental relationships has uncovered significant evidences, little is understood about how the co-evolutionary process occurs over time between organisations and their institutional environment.

A co-evolutionary corporate history approach in used, as the authors investigated Sainsbury’s historical trajectory, exploring the role specific family members played in the evolution of the firm and the co-evolution of Sainsbury’s with its environment. This research design framework encompasses longitudinal archival analysis which incorporates both external and internal engagement which fostered Sainsbury’s joint evolution.

The findings from this study clearly suggest that certain organisations can and do co-evolve with their environment. However, organisations need to build legitimate cases for co-evolution to occur. In addition, they need to acquire certain resources that can be used to stimulate changes within their institutional environment.

Through a corporate history archival analysis, this study presents a UK company’s evolutionary narrative. The authors contribute to the growing literature on co-evolution in management studies by presenting a detailed historical narrative and interpretation of Sainsbury’s evolution at different time periods.

This study aims to investigate the impact of an institutionalized market context on platform ecosystem development. It studies how platform ecosystems are set up and evolve in the asset management industry and explores the role of the platform leader and selected core network partners in unleashing value innovation notwithstanding institutional barriers. A problematization lens is used to identify deviations between the management practices in this industry setting and the prescriptions and suggested practices in the extant literature on platform ecosystem development.

The research follows a retrospective longitudinal single-case design focusing on the development of a new platform ecosystem to which several PaaS initiatives are linked. It is based on 13 in-depth interviews over a one-year period triangulated with documentation and member checks. This study identifies the impact of regulations and norms on the early stages of platform ecosystem development.

In this institutionalized market, intensified interactions between carefully selected strategic market players focusing on platform development, lead to growing value innovation initiatives. The collaboration between core actors evolves “under the radar” with select partners and with lots of controls by incumbents. The value innovation process evolves in a non-disruptive way. Initially, the new value initiatives are rather incremental and focus on optimizing the present business models while slowly adding new peripheral services shared as successful signs of value innovation initiatives. This “submerged” direction enables platform actors to gather critical mass and stimulates co-evolution with key players.

This paper outlines one vertical and looks at various principles involved during early stages of platform development. Because the authors have chosen a deep dive into one institutionalized setting, future studies could investigate a broader scope of institutionalized settings/verticals and a broader scope of management stages and related practices to replicate the study and corroborate the findings. The idea raised from hybrid platform ecosystem development also warrants further study.

Practitioners in institutionalized business-to-business markets find suggestions on how to overcome institutional barriers to platform ecosystem development and this study shows which levers can be used by core actors of ecosystems to strengthen established business models and simultaneously unleash value innovation initiatives.

This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges to be faced when setting up and expanding platform ecosystems in a highly institutionalized setting and identifies “levers” to create a smooth flow and snowball effect for platform ecosystem development. It “fine-tunes” the extant literature on platform ecosystem development to institutionalized markets.

This chapter discusses the importance of strategic knowledge creation where new business innovation across different technologies and industries forms dynamic business ecosystems through “co-creation and co-evolution.” To accelerate strategic knowledge creation through high-quality global strategic collaboration that intersects departments and industrial sectors internally and externally, the formation of business communities that originate with the formation of “Ba” and the holistic leadership of practitioners at every management level, which also promotes the ongoing growth of business communities are particularly important management elements.

This paper aims to conceptualize how business and society co-evolve their efforts to maximizing the greatest well-being of the greatest number following a conscious-unconscious, staged, dialectical process.

This study used a conceptual framework linking eight components of well-being (economic, environmental, social, cultural, psychological, spiritual, material and physical), with stages of consciousness and the co-evolution of business and society.

Stages of consciousness – traditionalist, modernist, post-modernist and integral – moderate both the pace and direction with which business and society co-evolve to the greatest well-being of the greatest number across eight components of well-being.

This is a conceptual framework which integrates existing empirical relationships, but the overall framework itself is yet to be empirically tested.

The whole process of maximizing well-being can become more conscious for both business and society. This requires making unconscious components conscious and becoming conscious of the inseparability of the eight components of well-being as a counter-balanced set.

Businesses and societies can maximize well-being across eight inseparable components. But implementing this is a staged process requiring progressing populations through stages of consciousness. Earlier stages lay the platform for a critical mass of people able to integrate the eight components.

Knowledge of well-being is dominated by disciplinary disconnection and bivariate studies; yet, current meta-crises and calls for post-conventional leaders indicate the importance of an integrated multidisciplinary well-being model which explains past efforts of business and society, diagnoses current problems and points towards more viable paths.