An evolutionary economics approach to ecosystem dynamics

Biology and evolution lie at the heart of the ecosystem metaphor that is recurrently applied in the digital era. Although the evolution and analogy with evolutionary biology is acknowledged within the research domains of business ecosystems and digital ecosystems, several key definitions and self-organizing properties of ecosystems have not been fully explored. In addition, the diffusion process of radical innovations altering the structure of an ecosystem remains elusive. This paper addresses this deficiency through a cross-fertilization of multiple research domains, by introducing evolutionary economics concepts based on insights from biology. The research synthesis presented serves for the introduction of a novel perspective on ecosystem analysis. Practitioners will gain insight in how to apply concepts from evolutionary economics when determining their position in an ecosystem. Trade-offs can then be considered and balanced to positively impact firm performance as well as the ecosystem in which the firm operates

A survey of associate models used within large software ecosystems

Associate models are powerful tools for large software ecosystem orchestrators to manage clusters within its ecosystem. At present, however, it remains unclear how these associate models are used in practice and of what elements such models consist. Without an overview of what associate models consist of, the concept of software ecosystem orchestration will remain elusive. In this paper, a conceptual overview is presented that describes the structure of an ecosystem associate model. The conceptual overview consists of the roles fulfilled by the participant within the associate commitment, including the dimension of the role as well as resulting benefits, requirements and costs. Furthermore, the conceptual overview enables a categorization into different forms of associate model governance, entry barriers and goals for the three respective models. With the conceptual overview, software ecosystem orchestrators can develop their own associate models and attain insight into the forces that are at play in their own software ecosystem

Relationship Intimacy in Software Ecosystems: A Survey of the Dutch Software Industry

Software vendors depend on suppliers to provide the underlying technology for domain specific solutions. As a consequence, software vendors cooperate with suppliers to deliver a product. This cooperation results in supplier dependence, but also leads to opportunities. We present the results of an exploratory research based on twenty-seven case studies, identifying supplier strategies and resulting trade-offs. Strategies range from fully depending on large software ecosystem orchestrators to a minimal dependency strategy. Furthermore, we identify factors at play when selecting suppliers for different components. These factors include; ecosystem health indicators, product and license type and intensive support and maintenance flows. The results presented in this paper can be used by software vendors to assess their software supply network to review supplier relationships, but also for future research

Combining free and paid: Revenue models in the Apple app store

Value propositions in the mobile app industry tend to converge. In such a leveled playing field, apps tap into the configuration of their revenue model as a way to distinguish themselves. App developers face intricate decisions concerning what to charge for and what not, and if charged, what configuration of the revenue model to use. They increasingly resort to revenue model configurations that involve perpetually free app distribution, either subsidized with the intention of enticing future customer expenditure on additional app functionalities, or by third-party-generated revenue from advertisement placings or affiliation. Using a weekly panel dataset on 808,866 mobile apps from the U.S. Apple App Store, we study how such revenue model configurations impact the number of downloads - a prerequisite for successful value appropriation. Our results account for endogeneity and show that apps with a revenue model generate more downloads as opposed to apps without a revenue model. Downloads further increase with a revenue model based on free app distribution, such that both third-party and customer-based revenue models favorably affect the number of downloads. On the contrary, downloads decrease when apps combine customer and third-party-based sources of revenue in their revenue model