Software Ecosystem Orchestration: The Perspective of Complementors

Software ecosystems (SECOs) driven by platform business models have changed how consumer software is produced and marketed. Also in the enterprise software segment, value networks in the form of SECOs are replacing traditional business models and linear value chains. These SECOs involve three main types of actors: platform sponsor, complementors, and customers. Platform sponsor strategies have been researched broadly, but not the view of complementors. Further, there are few studies of real-world SECOs. In our research, we have investigated the complementor’s perspective on SECOs and their partnership with the platform sponsor. Through exploratory qualitative research using a practical case from the enterprise software industry, we have developed a partner management framework comprising the complementors ’ value creation process, goals, enablers, and instruments. The model can be used generally to gain a better understanding of complementors, and by platform sponsors to improve their partner management processes

THE INTERPLAY OF POWER AND TRUST IN PLATFORM ECOSYSTEMS OF THE ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

In recent years, the formerly oligopolistic Enterprise Application Software (EAS) industry began to disintegrate into focal inter-firm networks with one huge, powerful, and multi-national plat-form vendor as the center, surrounded by hundreds or even thousands of small, niche players that act as complementors. From a theoretical point of view, these platform ecosystems may be governed by two organizing principles - trust and power. However, it is neither from a practical nor from a theoretical perspective clear, how trust and power relate to each other, i.e. whether they act as complements or substitutes. This study tries to elaborate our understanding of the relationship of trust and power by exploring their interplay using multi-dimensional conceptual-izations of trust and power, and by investigating potential dynamics in this interplay over the course of a partnership. Based on an exploratory multiple-case study of seven dyadic partner-ships between four platform vendors, and seven complementors, we find six different patterns of how trust and power interact over time. These patterns bear important implications for the suc-cessful management of partnerships between platform vendors and complementors, and clarify the theoretical debate surrounding the relationship of trust and power

Tasapainoilu ekosysteemien välillä ja onnistuminen ekosysteemeissä – Tapaustutkimus komplementtituottajien strategioista alustakeskeisissä ekosysteemeissä

The ecosystem concept enables and demands expanding the focus of strategy making from individual companies to value systems in a novel way. Ecosystems are characterized by nongeneric complementarity and a lack of full hierarchical control. The construct has attracted growing interest in both academics and practitioners, but the focus of interest has mainly been directed to companies in leading positions of the ecosystems with the ability and responsibility to orchestrate the ecosystems. This thesis is an effort to not only present the most important characteristics of ecosystems, but to provide insight about the players that represent a majority in ecosystems, but have not been thoroughly understood previously, i.e. the complementors. The thesis builds on literature in strategy, but also on information systems literature to provide a summary of the most important themes for complementors. Specialization and multihoming enable companies to succeed in ecosystems, but they also come with some costs. Furthermore, there seems to be a tradeoff between them, which has not been widely explored or explicitly studied in prior literature, although early indications exist. The empirical case study of this thesis is inductive and exploratory in nature. Based on interviews from eight case companies that provide services to business customers in the software industry, and comprehensive analysis of the interview data, insights on complementor strategies regarding ecosystems are provided. The main theoretical contribution of this thesis is the identification of a divergence in the approach the complementors take to participating in ecosystems or platforms. The case companies either focus on a single platform or remain independent of platforms while participating in multiple platforms. The decision regarding platform participation is strategic in nature as platform-focused complementors and platform independent complementors differ in their key success drivers and the way their offerings relate to platforms. The organizations have aligned themselves to succeed with their platform participation decision. Furthermore, the way they are responding to changes in the operating environment, mainly driven by technology development and customer needs, differ. All in all, it seems that the way the case companies approach platform participation seems to be fundamentally interrelated with many characteristics of the companies. In addition to theoretical contributions, the thesis provides practical implications as advice to complementors. As the findings are context-specific to some degree, some limitations in applicability to other contexts are discussed. However, complementors in other industries where platforms are emerging and complementarity is nongeneric in a manner that requires continuous development of specialized capabilities that relate to platforms, may also find the advice useful.Ekosysteemin käsite mahdollistaa ja vaatii strategian tarkastelun painopisteen siirtymistä yksittäisistä yrityksistä arvoa tuottaviin systeemeihin. Käsitteen tärkeimpiä ominaispiirteitä ovat epägeneerinen komplementaarisuus sekä täyden hierarkkisen kontrollin puute. Ekosysteemit ovat herättäneet kiinnostusta niin tutkijoissa kuin ammatinharjoittajissakin, mutta kiinnostus on kohdistunut lähinnä ekosysteemejä hallitseviin yrityksiin. Sen sijaan komplementtien tuottajia, jotka edustavat suurinta osaa ekosysteemien yrityksiä, ei ole aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa perusteellisesti tarkasteltu. Tämän diplomityön pyrkimyksenä onkin esitellä ekosysteemien tärkeimpiä ominaispiirteitä sekä luoda syvempää ymmärrystä komplementtien tuottajista. Tämä työ rakentuu niin strategisen kuin tietojärjestelmätieteenkin kirjallisuuden varaan, ja tarjoaa yhteenvedon komplementtituottajien kannalta tärkeimmistä teemoista. Erikoistuminen ja useampaan alustaan kuuluminen mahdollistavat komplementtituottajien menestymisen ekosysteemeissä, mutta näihin liittyy myös kustannuksia. Lisäksi, näillä vaikuttaa olevan vaihtoehtoinen suhde, jota ei ole aiemmassa kirjallisuudessa käsitelty syvällisesti, mutta josta on jo aikaisia merkkejä viimeaikaisissa artikkeleissa. Työn empiirinen tapaustutkimus on luonteeltaan induktiivinen ja eksploratiivinen. Löydökset perustuvat haastatteludataan, joka on kerätty kahdeksasta yrityksestä, jotka tuottavat palveluita yritysasiakkaille ohjelmistoalalla. Haastatteludatan perusteellisen analyysin perusteella tässä työssä esitetään löydöksiä komplementtituottajien strategioista ekosysteemeissä. Työn tärkein ja tieteellisesti arvokkain havainto on se, komplementtituottajat lähestyvät osallistumista ekosysteemeihin tai alustoihin kahdella erilaisella tavalla. Tapausyritykset joko keskittyvät yhteen alustaan tai pysyttelevät riippumattomina alustoista osallistuen useampaan alustaan samanaikaisesti. Päätös alustoihin osallistumisesta on luonteeltaan strateginen, sillä alustakeskittyneet ja alustariippumattomat komplementtituottajat eroavat toisistaan tärkeimmissä menestystekijöissään sekä tavassa, jolla niiden tarjonta suhtautuu alustoihin. Organisaatioiden sopeutuminen osallistumispäätökseen mahdollistaa niiden menestyksen. Lisäksi nämä erityyppiset yritykset eroavat kyvyssään vastata muutoksiin toimintaympäristössä, jonka kehitystä ajaa teknologian kehitys ja muutokset asiakkaiden tarpeissa. Kaiken kaikkiaan vaikuttaakin siltä, että tapausyritysten tapa lähestyä alustoihin osallistumista on perustavalla tavalla yhteydessä niiden ominaispiirteisiin. Tieteellisen arvon lisäksi diplomityön johtopäätökset tarjoavat käytännön ohjeita komplementtituottajille. Löydökset ovat kuitenkin kontekstisidonnaisia, minkä vuoksi työssä käsitellään rajoituksia löydösten soveltamisesta muihin konteksteihin. Rajoitukset huomioon ottaen myös muiden alojen komplementtituottajat voivat hyödyntää työn löydöksiä ja ohjeita. Ohjeet ovat erityisesti hyödyllisiä aloilla, joissa alustat kasvattavat merkitystään, ja joissa komplementit ovat epägeneerisiä niin, että komplementtituottajien on jatkuvasti kehitettävä alustoihin erikoistunutta osaamistaan

From Vendors to Customers

Enterprise Systems (ES) are generally considered the price of entry for running a business. With the increased scope of ESs to encompass nearly every function or business process of a modern organization, an increasing number of different users are adopting and using the systems. These users occupy a number of different organizational roles which include a wide variety of different tasks in organizations and have very different requirements for ESs. To ensure a better fit between users and ESs, a number of ES vendors have begun to focus on reflecting the concept of organizational roles of users in their systems. Limited research has, however, addressed these “role-oriented” ESs; this dissertation attempts to provide a better understanding of them by studying their design, implementation, and use. The research design for this dissertation is based on Case Studies and the Grounded Theory Method with qualitative empirical data collected across three types of actors in an ES ecosystem: Vendors; partner companies; and customers. The findings are primarily presented in six appended research papers that are aimed at both researchers and practitioners. The main contribution of the dissertation is an improved understanding of: Representation of organizational roles in the deep and surface structures of ESs; the mapping, configuration, and tailoring of predefined systems roles to fit actual roles of users in organizations; and the potential benefits and role-related misfits of role-oriented ESs. Through discussion of the findings, the dissertation also illustrates how the design of role-oriented ESs is influenced by the different actors in an ecosystem. The dissertation also illustrates how systems, organizations, processes, and roles can be aligned during implementation by shifting basis and conceptual focus in the requirements analysis. Finally, the dissertation explains the impact of roleoriented technology on organizational performance and how this technology may influence the existing perception of the role taking process in organizations