What is it? A business ecosystem is an environment in which market players closely interact. A striking example of such cooperation is marketplaces. They can be built within a single company; this type of development is typical of IT giants.
How does it work? Any ecosystem is not based on competition, but on working together to improve the user and buyer experience. The degree of mutual integration depends on the business area and the specifics of the markets.
The article explains:
What is a business direct marketing with fantuan database ecosystem?
Differences between business ecosystems and other management models
Benefits of Business Ecosystems
Main types of business ecosystems
The Role of IT in Forming Business Ecosystems
Examples of foreign business ecosystems
3 Large Russian Business Ecosystems
10 Forecasts for the Development of Business Ecosystems
5 Scenarios for Using Neural Networks to Increase Website Conversion by 40%
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What is a business ecosystem?
McKinsey, an international consulting company specializing in solving problems related to strategic management, has predicted the expansion of opportunities for digital business ecosystems in the near future. Research has shown that in the next 3-5 years, this environment will generate approximately 30% of corporate profits worldwide. Of course, these are impressive figures.
The term “business ecosystem” is quite popular in the management sphere at the moment. According to calculations by scientists from the BCG Henderson Institute, it appears in documentation 13 times more often than in 2010-2012.
In management circles, it is considered an honor to become part of a business ecosystem or to create one. However, desire alone is not enough. It is necessary to do long and hard work to understand what an ecosystem in business really is. First, it is necessary to determine an accurate and understandable interpretation of this term among many erroneous ones.
What is a business ecosystem?
Everyone is familiar with the term "ecosystem" from biology lessons. It was introduced into circulation in the 1930s by the British botanist Arthur Tansley. The scientist designated this term for any set of organisms living together and their environment - a group of different species of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms that interact with each other and with others in such a way that it can be preserved for a long time due to the exchange of substances, energy and information.
In 1993, successful business strategist James Moore introduced the concept of a business ecosystem, which he understood as a network consisting of organizations and individuals in the business community that, together, not only form a system of mutual support, but also evolve together.
This interpretation is not clear to everyone. Many people ask questions about the formation of a business ecosystem, about its differences from other forms of organization.
To simplify understanding, we can say that it represents a certain dynamic community, whose independent representatives are engaged in the production or provision of goods and services, the totality of which forms a single product.
It is believed that any ecosystem has a specific value proposition and a specific set of people who play key roles, whether they are producers, suppliers, organizers, etc.
This explanation excludes vague notions of such structures without a clear connection to a specific business problem, describing simple affiliation with industry clusters (Silicon Valley or the Boston biotech cluster) or partner networks of companies (Ford Motor Company with its suppliers or Yahoo! with its extensive partner network).
The definition of business ecosystems given earlier, as it became clear, is too broad. It includes such different structures as:
Marketplaces , with their huge number of manufacturers, suppliers and buyers. For example, in the trade sector these are Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, in the hotel business – Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Booking, in the transportation sector – Uber, Lyft.
IT systems with their complex on one platform of many application providers and active users of these same programs. For example, Microsoft Windows, Apple iOS, Android.
Proposals to combine components from various market players on a single platform: video games, e-books, smart home systems, 3D printing.
Initiatives to concentrate services from several providers on one platform: credit card systems, smart farming or mining solutions.