Reducing software ecosystem failure : planning activities, conceptualizing digital services, and understanding failure factors
Saarni, Kati (2025-11-07)
Väitöskirja
07.11.2025
Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT
Acta Universitatis Lappeenrantaensis
School of Engineering Science
School of Engineering Science, Tietotekniikka
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In reference to IEEE copyrighted material which is used with permission in this thesis, the IEEE does not endorse any of Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. If interested in reprinting/republishing IEEE copyrighted material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution, please go to http://www.ieee.org/publications_ standards/publications/rights/rights_link.html to learn how to obtain a License from RightsLink.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-412-317-4
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-412-317-4
Kuvaus
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Tiivistelmä
Companies are increasingly interested in building business ecosystems, as they have realized that this type of collaboration can generate more value than they could achieve on their own. A software ecosystem can be seen as a subset of a business ecosystem.
If companies do not get value from ecosystem participation, they will lose commitment and leave the ecosystem, possibly leading to the death of the whole ecosystem, which can be considered an ecosystem failure. Prior research has indicated that 85% of business ecosystems fail in their early stages, often due to issues such as poor value distribution, challenges with rapid scaling, weak strategic direction, or insufficient leadership. Additionally, the role of the product offering has also been identified as a contributing factor in ecosystem failure.
The main objective of this dissertation is to investigate how to reduce software ecosystem failure, focusing on planning phase activities, the conceptualization of digital services, and understanding the factors that might lead to software ecosystem failure. The research methods include a longitudinal study of a Finnish software ecosystem over five years and a systematic literature review of ten studies on software ecosystem failures.
This dissertation contributes to the understanding of how to design software ecosystems in ways that reduce the risk of failure and offers a list of key activities that participating actors should undertake during the planning phase. Additionally, it introduces a conceptualization process that actors can follow when defining digital services for end-users within the ecosystem. The findings highlight the complexity of building software ecosystems, which involve numerous tasks, and that failure can result from a variety of factors. This underscores the importance of strong leadership throughout the software ecosystem’s planning. By applying the activities and conceptualization process identified in this dissertation, along with awareness of potential failure factors, the software ecosystem participants can increase their awareness to reduce the risk of software ecosystem failure.
If companies do not get value from ecosystem participation, they will lose commitment and leave the ecosystem, possibly leading to the death of the whole ecosystem, which can be considered an ecosystem failure. Prior research has indicated that 85% of business ecosystems fail in their early stages, often due to issues such as poor value distribution, challenges with rapid scaling, weak strategic direction, or insufficient leadership. Additionally, the role of the product offering has also been identified as a contributing factor in ecosystem failure.
The main objective of this dissertation is to investigate how to reduce software ecosystem failure, focusing on planning phase activities, the conceptualization of digital services, and understanding the factors that might lead to software ecosystem failure. The research methods include a longitudinal study of a Finnish software ecosystem over five years and a systematic literature review of ten studies on software ecosystem failures.
This dissertation contributes to the understanding of how to design software ecosystems in ways that reduce the risk of failure and offers a list of key activities that participating actors should undertake during the planning phase. Additionally, it introduces a conceptualization process that actors can follow when defining digital services for end-users within the ecosystem. The findings highlight the complexity of building software ecosystems, which involve numerous tasks, and that failure can result from a variety of factors. This underscores the importance of strong leadership throughout the software ecosystem’s planning. By applying the activities and conceptualization process identified in this dissertation, along with awareness of potential failure factors, the software ecosystem participants can increase their awareness to reduce the risk of software ecosystem failure.
Kokoelmat
- Väitöskirjat [1212]