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Rapid advancements in blockchain technology transform various sectors, attracting the attention of industrialists, practitioners, policymakers and academics, and profoundly affect construction businesses through smart contracts and crypto-economics. This paper explores the blockchain innovation ecosystem in construction.

Through a qualitative study of 23 diverse interviewees, the study explores how open or closed the blockchain innovation ecosystem in construction is and who its emerging orchestrators are.

The data showed that construction aims towards an open innovation blockchain ecosystem, although there are elements of hybridisation and closedness, each system pointing out to different orchestrators.

The study has implications for governments and large companies in construction, showing that open innovation initiatives need to be encouraged by policymakers through rules, regulations and government-sponsored demonstrator projects.

The data showed that there is lack of readiness for business model change to support open innovation blockchain ecosystems in construction.

This is the first study applying the open innovation theory in the construction industry and sheds light into the phenomenon of blockchain, suggesting routes for further democratisation of the technology for policymakers and practitioners.

Disruptive technologies in the global logistics industry are often regarded as a threat to the existing business models of incumbents’ companies. Existing research, however, focuses mainly on whether technologies have disruptive potential, thereby neglecting when such disruptive transitions occur. To understand the timing of potential disruptive technological change, this paper aims to investigate the elements of the underlying ecosystem shaping these transitions.

Building on the established ecosystem framework from Adner and Kapoor (2016a), this paper constructs four categories of technology substitution to assess how quickly disruptive change may occur in the global logistics industry and defines key technology substitution determinants in logistics to emphasize the role of ecosystems for further consideration into disruptive innovation theory.

Based on the key determinants, this paper proposes first definitions of distinctive ecosystems elements linked to the three types of innovations, namely, sustaining innovations, low-end disruptions and new-market disruptions, thereby integrating ecosystems into Christensen’s (1997) disruptive innovation theory.

By developing a framework that conceptualizes the pace of technology substitution, this paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how logistics managers and academics can better predict disruptive transitions and develop strategies to allocate resources.

In a context where the process of creation of technology and innovation for agriculture is being disrupted at a fast pace, the authors proposed to study one of the most prominent agtech innovation ecosystems. Therefore, this paper aims to identify key characteristics that make California’s agtech innovation ecosystem remarkable.

The paper is an exploratory and descriptive research carried out in a twofold. First, data were collected through documental research focusing on actors such as universities, R&D centers and programs, business accelerators and venture capital platforms, agtechs, as well as multinational companies. Second, structured interviews were carried out to complement the secondary data collected and to obtain experts’ perception on the relationships between actors of the ecosystem and on the characteristics that make this ecosystem remarkable.

The paper provides empirical insights about the relevance of California's agtech innovation ecosystem to creation of radical innovations in agriculture. It has a differentiated environment, where educational and research institutions play a key role in developing new knowledge. It also shows how important funding is to allow new business to succeed. Additionally, it shows that actors interact in a complex network, with multiple roles. All these key characteristics allow this agtech innovation ecosystem to be so remarkable.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to survey a larger number of actors of this and other agtech innovation ecosystems to test the identified key characteristics further.

The paper includes indication of characteristics necessary to develop a prominent agtech innovation ecosystem, which may contribute to decision makers to develop policies aiming to promote this type of ecosystem.

This paper fulfils an identified need to open the “black-box” of agtech innovation ecosystems, which may then allow radical innovations within the sector to be developed and taken to the market.

Discussion regarding systems that promote innovation, aptly named innovation ecosystems, has been intensifying both in academia and business. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the activity theory as a theoretical framework for conceptualising and studying innovation ecosystems. Using the activity theory, it investigates elements that affect the success and viability of innovation ecosystems formed between startups and incumbent firms, collaborating with an established firm within the context of an open innovation programme.

This study uses an exploratory case research approach and proposes the activity theory as a theoretical background to be used in innovation ecosystem research. Based on this approach, this study draws from interviews and research observations in an innovation ecosystem formed between an established firm and various startups that aim to co-develop innovative offerings.

By applying the activity theory tools, this study identifies several contradictions between interacting actors of this innovation ecosystem that can adversely affect the innovation process. Furthermore, it proposes the use of the activity theory as a fitting theoretical lens to study innovation ecosystems.

The novelty of this study is related to the focus on the incumbent–startup context for extending the innovation ecosystem literature. Using the activity theory as a viable methodological tool allows us to conceptualise firms as social constructs and hence pinpoint inner characteristics that can affect and shape their interactions and the broader ecosystem. This process is further enhanced by the use of primary data that give unique insights into the inner workings of innovation ecosystems by identifying underlying contradictions.

Innovation ecosystems can emerge and grow organically, but the process can also be managed through conscious intervention. Therefore, this study observes different motivations and expectations for each group of actors. The lack of alignment between actors could have a negative influence on the development of innovation ecosystems. This study aims to analyze the coordination strategies of the actors throughout the life cycle of innovation ecosystems.

This study develops and proposes a model for coordinating innovation ecosystems based on the theoretical backgrounds of the ecosystem life cycle and ecosystem coordination.

This study argues that each stage of an innovation ecosystem’s life cycle – inception, launching, growth and maturity – demands different coordination strategies. Initially, networks are simpler and thus the coordination issues are less difficult. However, as the ecosystem evolves and the complexity of the networks increases, a more sophisticated strategy, such as orchestration or choreography, is needed.

This is a theoretical study that recommends further research to test this model.

The understanding of coordination and stages of the life cycle of an innovation ecosystem can guide actors in the design of strategies for developing of ecosystems.

The proposed framework could support strategies to engage civil society in actions to develop innovation ecosystems.

This study presents a framework to understand the coordination strategies better, considering the stages of an innovation ecosystem’s life cycle.

The ongoing business dynamics show two aspects for generating innovation: first, high-impact innovations are developed jointly by several actors, such as universities, enterprises, and governments. Second, startups are better suited to develop innovation during crises or periods of low growth as experienced at the moment. Based on these aspects and drawing on the constructs of the triple helix, this study analyzes the influence between the characteristics of the actors on the quality of the startup ecosystem from a global view.

The study examines the cross-section data of 35 countries between 2017 and 2018 and applies the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for assessing the relationships between the triple helix on the quality of the startup ecosystem on a country-level.

The findings suggest that each actor of the triple helix individually does not positively affect the quality of the startup ecosystem. Yet, when analyzing the actors jointly by creating a second-order latent variable (i.e. triple helix), the study found out that in this way, the triple helix construct has a positive effect on the quality of the startup ecosystem.

Although a large body of prior literature indicates the importance of generating interrelationships among the different entities involved in ecosystems, few studies provide empirical evidence from a global perspective of the need for these entities to act in an overlapping manner. The present study supports previous research and reinforces the importance of the triple helix for a more innovative environment.

The rapid adoption of the ecosystem concept in innovation contexts has led to a proliferation of differing uses. Scholars need to be crystal clear which concept of the ecosystem they are using to facilitate communication between scholars and allow for cumulativeness and creativity. This paper aims to introduce some clarity into the conceptual mist that surrounds the notion of “ecosystems” in innovation contexts.

A review of the extant literature on ecosystems in innovation contexts to derive an integrated approach to understanding the variety of constructs in use.

This paper introduces clarity into the conceptual mist that surrounds the term “innovation ecosystem”, showing there are three basic types of ecosystems, all of which have a common focus on the collective production of a coherent system-level output.

Contributes through a comprehensive overview of the differing ecosystem types in innovation contexts and with a heuristic to disambiguate types of innovation ecosystems.

Digitalization accelerates the need of tourism and hospitality ecosystems to reframe business models in line with a data-driven orientation that can foster value creation and innovation. Since the question of data-driven business models (DDBMs) in hospitality remains underexplored, this paper aims at (1) revealing the key dimensions of the data-driven redefinition of business models in smart hospitality ecosystems and (2) conceptualizing the key drivers underlying the emergence of innovation in these ecosystems.

The empirical research is based on semi-structured interviews collected from a sample of hospitality managers, employed in three different accommodation services, i.e. hotels, bed and breakfast (B&Bs) and guesthouses, to explore data-driven strategies and practices employed on site.

The findings allow to devise a conceptual framework that classifies the enabling dimensions of DDBMs in smart hospitality ecosystems. Here, the centrality of strategy conducive to the development of data-driven innovation is stressed.

The study thus developed a conceptual framework that will serve as a tool to examine the impact of digitalization in other service industries. This study will also be useful for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) managers, who seek to understand the possibilities data-driven management strategies offer in view of stimulating innovation in the managers' companies.

The paper reinterprets value creation practices in business models through the lens of data-driven approaches. In this way, this paper offers a new (conceptual and empirical) perspective to investigate how the hospitality sector at large can use the massive amounts of data available to foster innovation in the sector.

This study aims to explore the effect of innovation ecosystem stability (IES) on innovation performance of enterprises through the mediating role of knowledge acquisition (KA), and to study how these effects are moderated by unabsorbed slack.

This study draws on data from 327 Chinese enterprises and adopts the multiple linear regression method and bootstrapping method to explore the mediating effect of KA and its moderated mediating effect.

The results demonstrate that IES is positively associated with innovation performance of enterprises, and KA plays a partially mediating role. Moreover, unabsorbed slack negatively moderates the relationship between IES and KA as well as the mediating effect of KA.

This study investigates the relationship between IES and innovation performance, and the mechanism of influence, which has not been previously studied in the field of innovation ecosystem. This study also examines the interaction between unabsorbed slack and IES and further clarifies the mechanism and boundary conditions of the impact of IES on innovation performance.

This article investigates the practical implementation of the ecosystem approach in different branches of public management within an urban context. It explores how ecosystem thinking is introduced, disseminated and applied in a local government organization.

We utilize a qualitative case study methodology, relying on official documents and expert interviews. Our study focuses on the city of Espoo, Finland, which has actively embraced ecosystem thinking as a fundamental framework for its organizational development for almost a decade.

The case of Espoo highlights elements that have not been commonly attributed to the ecosystem approach in the public sector. These elements include (1) the significance of complementary services, (2) the existence of both collaborative and competitive relationships among actors in public service ecosystems and (3) the utilization of digital platforms for resource orchestration. Our study also emphasizes the need for an incremental adoption of ecosystem thinking in organizational contexts to enable its successful implementation.

The study provides valuable insights into the introduction and dissemination of ecosystem thinking in public management. It also further develops previously developed hypotheses regarding public service ecosystems.