This is a quick overview of the concept of business ecosystem applied to the "world of basket-ball". It is done in the context of a doctoral research in Strategic Management.

1. What is a Business
Ecosystem ?
By Morad O. Mouhsine
Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis
Laboratoire GREDEG - CNRS
250 Rue Albert Einstein 06560Valbonne, France
1Monday, July 8, 13

2. • PhD research in strategic management in
Laboratoire GREDEG - CNRS in Sophia
Antipolis, France.
• Research Director: Laurence SAGLIETTO,
Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis
• Theme: Business Ecosystems
Context
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3. Seeking inspiration in Nature
There is a long history of economists and management scholars seeking
inspiration in nature in order to explain the structure of business
networks and their dynamics.
Studies on ants, bees can help identify similarities with human
organization of labor, crowd behavior...
Toyota studied the legs of cockroaches to improve the steering systems
of its recent cars...
A management consultant decided to learn more
about natural ecosystems...
...and draw lessons for the business world.
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4. The concept of BE takes its roots in ecology
It is the systems so formed which,
from the point of view of the
ecologist, are the basic units
of nature on the face of the
earth (...) These ecosystems, as we
may call them, are of the most
various kinds and sizes.
“
”
Arthur G Tansley (1935)
“The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms”
Origins of Business Ecosystems
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5. Natural ecosystems consist of
heterogeneous species sharing and/or
competing for limited resources.
In natural ecosystems members co-evolve
and develop, therefore strengthening the
whole ecosystem.
For instance, if one species is weakened or disappears, it results in
the entire ecosystem being affected: it may be better off or,
inversely, in danger of collapse.
Natural Ecosystems
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6. The Metaphor
There are lessons to be learned from natural ecosystems structure and
dynamics, especially in the field of strategic management.
Natural
ecosystem
Business
ecosystem
analogical thinking
limits of the analogy
Tansley (1935) Moore (1993)
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7. James Moore, “Predators and Preys: A new ecology of
competition”, Harvard Business Review
I suggest that a company be viewed not as a member
of a single industry but as part of a business
ecosystem that crosses a variety of
industries. In a business ecosystem, companies
coevolve capabilities around a new innovation:
they work cooperatively and competitively to
support new products, satisfy customer needs, and
eventually incorporate the next round of innovations.
1993
1996
“
”
Business Ecosystems defined
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8. A BE is an original type
of business network.
With a specific
structure.
And specific dynamics.
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9. Structure of Business Ecosystems
• The main point about the structure of a BE is the diversity
of actors.
• Actors can be organizations, individuals or groups of
individuals, operating on profit or non-profit logics,
governmental or non-governmental, etc.
• A BE is usually organized around one or more leaders.
• The leader(s)’ role is to align the resource & competence
complementarities between the actors of the BE with an
innovation agenda that inspires them all.
• In a BE, different actors play different roles. Businesses
can either be keystones, dominators, or niche players.
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10. Dynamics of BEs include...
• Coopetition: alternative moments of cooperation and competition
between actors within the BE.
• Co-evolution: the dynamics by which different actors evolve
together with other actors thanks to the relationships they foster
with each others.
• Leadership: one or more actors inspire the whole community and
set the direction for the years to come.
• Leaders emerge, they are not appointed.
• Leadership changes overtime. IBM created and led the
PC ecosystem around hardware until Microsoft and Intel
took its leadership and developed it dramatically around
software.
• Leaders could be non-business organizations or
governmental institutions. It depends on the BE...
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11. Dynamics of BEs include...
• Innovation: actors in a BE innovate individually, in small groups or
altogether. Innovations can be products/services, ideas/values,
organizational forms, work processes...
• Shakeouts: such as financial crisis, natural disasters, new players,
radical innovations... Shakeouts survival is a strong indicator of the
health of the BE.
• Creation of niches: such as the electric car in the automotive
industry. It is also an indicator of the health of the BE.
2004
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12. Famous Business Ecosystems
I-tunes platform and its leader,Apple
Amazon Web Services and its leader Amazon
The PC industry and its leaders Microsoft and Intel
but also
Premium quality coffee production, led by IllyCaffé
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13. The bigger the BE the more
complex the relationships
between actors
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14. TTechnology
A
I
C AccessChannel
Interest
Business
Assets
CompaniesHW, devices, gadgets, screens
UI, Usability, accessibility, visualization,
Interface to Interest (I2I)
Down
T
r
e
n
d
Up
T
r
e
n
d
Down
T
r
e
n
d
Up
T
r
e
n
d
Operators
Print media, web media
Communities
Search
Cable
TV
Media
datasort/filterengine,search
provider,walled-garden-door-key
content, people, ideas, literature, music,
films, art, hobbies, culture, civilization,
history, stories, drama
cables,pipelines,
networks,charging&billingservices,
cloud,tie-insales,points-of-sales
Trend DownUp
Market
TAIC SIMO model
Juhani Risku
2011
MIST UI
+
Systemic products
+
TAIC ecosystem
Business
Ideal
Model
2011
Blogs
Mobile phones
Vodafone
Telefonica
Orange
China Mobile
T Mobile
Facebook
Gowalla
Twitter
MySpace
LinkedIn
Google
YouTube
Social
networking
Microblogging
Tablets, e-books
Pads, laptops, PCs, TV
News Corp.
Sony
SonyEricsson
LG
HTC
Samsung
RIM ZTEHuawei
Android
Apple
Nokia+Microsoft
Amazon
Walt Disney
Time Warner
Viacom
CBS
Skype
Mashable
Huffington
TechCrunch
Engadget
Gizmodo
InternetOperator
Screen
Media
Apple ruleshorizontally
SIMO – TAIC models
Entertainment reservoirSoftware reservoir
Black Horse reservoir
Technology – Access – Interest – Channel
TAIC – SIMO business model
Juhani Risku 2011Screen – Internet – Media – Operator
Technology reservoir Screen – Internet – Media – Operator Technology – Access – Interest – ChannelSIMO
business model
TAIC
business model
BEs are usually vast, complex networks
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15. But it depends on the frontiers that
you set to analyze the activity...
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16. Because, yes,“business ecosystem”
is also a perspective...
...powered by a paradigm shift.
We don’t think anymore in terms of
“our organization’s strategy vs our competitors’...”
but rather in terms of
our business ecosystem’s strategy vs
competing business ecosystems’
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17. Many questions arise
• What does each member individually contribute to the survival
and development of the BE ?
• Who are the key actors in the BE and why ?
• What type of innovation does the BE produce ? how ?
• Are the actors of a BE conscious of their belonging to the BE
in question ? does it make any difference in their day-to-day activities ?
• What are the factors that can threaten the BE ?
• How do actors from different “species” work together (for
the good of the BE) ?
• Who is the competition ? for whom ? and how ?
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18. What are the determinants of the
longevity of a business ecosystem?
My doctoral research
in strategic management
More specifically, I am looking at the links between
elements of structure and dynamics of a BE
in order to suggest a “model” of BE longevity.
“
”
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19. I suggest that basket-ball be viewed as an original type of BE
Women professional basket-ball in France
is the field of investigation.
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20. Why basket-ball ?
Because it displays all the characteristics of a Business Ecosystem
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21. Because it seems to be an original case of Business Ecosystem
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22. Because competition is a key element in (and outside) basket-ball...
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23. Qualitative Research
Interviews of more than 20 different actors
of the French Women Basket-Ball Ecosystem
1.Actors of women pro basketball in France
II. Longevity of the French Women BE
Themes
2
months of
interviews6
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24. First Results in September 2013...
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25. Please send your questions and comments to:
Morad-Otmane.Mouhsine@gredeg.cnrs.fr
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