Digital business ecosystems and dynamic capabilities

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the role and features of dynamic capabilities in the digital platform-based ecosystems. Digital technologies have revolutionized earning logics and the overall business environment. The developments in the business are leading towards more uncertain and volatile environments where value is created jointly by the members of the ecosystem and the source of value creation is primarily based on positive network externalities and scalability of business models. In the complex platform-based ecosystems, firms and especially the platform owners need strong dynamic capabilities to sense the new business opportunities, to seize them proactively with new business model designs and investments, and to continuously transform their tangible and especially intangible resources to achieve the strategic targets. The managerial challenge is to keep the ecosystems and their members aligned for the focal goal by managing and balancing between competition and collaboration within and outside the ecosystem.