Embracing Ecosystems: Issue #22

Authors: Damien Cuny and Jochen Koetzle

The way companies create value is changing; as businesses become more specialized, they also become more interconnected. No company thrives in isolation anymore. Instead, they operate in business ecosystems, where collaboration, orchestration, and strategic decision-making define success.

That’s exactly what Business Ecosystems: Strategizing in a Connected World, co-authored by Dr. Pia Kerstin Neudert , explores. This first part of our book review breaks down its key insights, why it’s relevant today, and what businesses can learn from it.

1. Why This Book?

Business ecosystems are often misunderstood, but this book provides clarity by combining academic foundations with real-world relevance. It offers structured frameworks and practical guidance to help businesses navigate key trade-offs like competition vs. cooperation and openness vs. closed systems.

As companies become more interconnected, understanding business ecosystems is crucial for success. This book is particularly valuable for business strategists, executives, and entrepreneurs looking to build or expand ecosystem-based businesses. It provides tools and insights for structuring relationships, setting strategic priorities, and ensuring long-term sustainability in a connected world.

2. Key Themes & Concepts

The book defines different types of business ecosystems, from innovation to platform-driven models, and explores:

• Core elements → How modularity, complementarity, and orchestration shape an ecosystem.
• Challenges & opportunities → The balance between trust, control, and collaboration in building an ecosystem that lasts.

3. Practical Insights for Businesses

This book excels in translating the conceptual understanding of business ecosystems into actionable strategies. It suggests starting with a Minimum Viable Ecosystem (MVE), involving a few trusted partners, a clear mission, and easy-to-connect interfaces. Ecosystems should be open to new players while ensuring reliability and strategic alignment.

Trust is crucial in ecosystems, however, often difficult to obtain in the early stages of an ecosystem since complementors are often unknown. Early-stage trust is thus built through clear agreements on standards, monetization models, and revenue-sharing mechanisms, reducing risk and encouraging commitment.

A real-world example is Strava, which evolved from a fitness tracking app to an ecosystem with over 125 million athletes. By integrating third-party apps, device manufacturers, and e-commerce, Strava demonstrates how businesses can scale from niche solutions to full ecosystem players through partnerships and technology.?

4. Strengths of the Book

What makes this book stand out?

Clear, structured approach → It moves from foundational economics to practical ecosystem strategies.

Tools & frameworks → The book introduces practical frameworks and checklists like the Ecosystem Risk Assessment Framework and Ecosystem Performance Indicator Cockpit (EPIC)—useful tools for managers navigating ecosystem challenges.

A major strength is translating abstract concepts into practical applications. The Ecosystem Risk Assessment Framework helps companies evaluate performance, relational, and complementor risks, ensuring a structured risk management approach. The EPIC framework measures ecosystem success over time, using quantitative and qualitative KPIs for each stage of development.

5. Conclusion & Final Thoughts

This book is essential for understanding modern business collaboration. It breaks down complex strategies into digestible frameworks and actionable insights, making it accessible to both seasoned professionals and newcomers. Hence, the book serves as tangible source of knowledge and tools for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and policymakers.

Next up in our newsletter series: A deeper dive into ecosystem strategies and leadership insights from the book. Stay tuned!

Have you worked within a business ecosystem? What challenges have you faced? Drop your thoughts in the comments!

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