IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v135y2021icp572-580.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation lives in ecotones, not ecosystems

Author

Listed:
  • Ghazinoory, Sepehr
  • Phillips, Fred
  • Afshari-Mofrad, Masoud
  • Bigdelou, Nasrin

Abstract

Researchers tend to rely on metaphors to gain initial comprehension of complex systems. However, literature offers little guidance for this strategy. This paper presents criteria for using metaphors responsibly in this arena by applying them to evaluate ecological metaphors related to innovation systems. We develop the idea of innovation ecotone as the boundary between the knowledge ecosystem and the business ecosystem. We demonstrate why this ecotone better meets the criteria for a valuable metaphor for understanding innovation systems than the “innovation ecosystem” metaphor. This novel approach resolves many ambiguities and provides new implications for policymakers, particularly regarding the nature of innovation policy agencies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghazinoory, Sepehr & Phillips, Fred & Afshari-Mofrad, Masoud & Bigdelou, Nasrin, 2021. "Innovation lives in ecotones, not ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 572-580.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:135:y:2021:i:c:p:572-580
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.06.067
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321004781
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.06.067?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bertele, Kerrie & Feiereisen, Stephanie & Storey, Chris & van Laer, Tom, 2020. "It’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it! Effective message styles for promoting innovative new services," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 38-49.
    2. Loet Leydesdorff & Caroline S. Wagner & Igone Porto‐Gomez & Jordan A. Comins & Fred Phillips, 2019. "Synergy in the knowledge base of U.S. innovation systems at national, state, and regional levels: The contributions of high‐tech manufacturing and knowledge‐intensive services," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 70(10), pages 1108-1123, October.
    3. Clarysse, Bart & Wright, Mike & Bruneel, Johan & Mahajan, Aarti, 2014. "Creating value in ecosystems: Crossing the chasm between knowledge and business ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1164-1176.
    4. Prendergast, Gerard & Berthon, Pierre, 2000. "Insights from ecology: an ecotone perspective of marketing," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 223-232, April.
    5. Celuch, Kevin G. & Bantham, John H. & Kasouf, Chickery J., 2006. "An extension of the marriage metaphor in buyer-seller relationships: An exploration of individual level process dynamics," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(5), pages 573-581, May.
    6. May East, 2019. "Maximising the Edges of Natural and Human Systems: The Case for Sociotones," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Ghazinoory, Sepehr & Nasri, Shohreh & Ameri, Fatemeh & Montazer, Gholam Ali & Shayan, Ali, 2020. "Why do we need ‘Problem-oriented Innovation System (PIS)’ for solving macro-level societal problems?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    8. Fred Phillips & Yu-Shan Su, 2013. "Chaos, Strategy, And Action: How Not To Fiddle While Rome Burns," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(06), pages 1-19.
    9. Granstrand, Ove & Holgersson, Marcus, 2020. "Innovation ecosystems: A conceptual review and a new definition," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 90.
    10. Dedehayir, Ozgur & Mäkinen, Saku J. & Roland Ortt, J., 2018. "Roles during innovation ecosystem genesis: A literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 18-29.
    11. Denny, Rita M. & Sunderland, Patricia L., 2005. "Researching cultural metaphors in action: metaphors of computing technology in contemporary U.S. life," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(10), pages 1456-1463, October.
    12. Carliss Baldwin & Eric von Hippel, 2011. "Modeling a Paradigm Shift: From Producer Innovation to User and Open Collaborative Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(6), pages 1399-1417, December.
    13. Phillips, Fred & Linstone, Hal, 2016. "Key ideas from a 25-year collaboration at technological forecasting & social change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 158-166.
    14. Zhang, Jing & Liang, Xiong-Jian, 2011. "Business ecosystem strategies of mobile network operators in the 3G era: The case of China Mobile," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 156-171, March.
    15. Hunt, Shelby D. & Menon, Anil, 1995. "Metaphors and competitive advantage: Evaluating the use of metaphors in theories of competitive strategy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 81-90, June.
    16. Michael G. Jacobides & Carmelo Cennamo & Annabelle Gawer, 2018. "Towards a theory of ecosystems," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(8), pages 2255-2276, August.
    17. Magnus Gulbrandsen, 2011. "Research institutes as hybrid organizations: central challenges to their legitimacy," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 44(3), pages 215-230, September.
    18. Oh, Deog-Seong & Phillips, Fred & Park, Sehee & Lee, Eunghyun, 2016. "Innovation ecosystems: A critical examination," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-6.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fischer, Bruno & Meissner, Dirk & Vonortas, Nicholas & Guerrero, Maribel, 2022. "Spatial features of entrepreneurial ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 27-36.
    2. Ghazinoory, Sepehr & Nasri, Shohreh & Afshari-Mofrad, Masoud & Taghizadeh Moghadam, Negin, 2023. "National Innovation Biome (NIB): A novel conceptualization for innovation development at the national level," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Ilias Krystallis & Sarah Jasim, 2023. "Charting the path towards a long-term knowledge brokerage function: an ecosystems view," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Elahe Hosseini & Alireza Rajabipoor Meybodi, 2023. "Proposing a Model for Sustainable Development of Creative Industries Based on Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-30, July.
    5. Massa, Lorenzo & Ardito, Lorenzo & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2022. "Brokerage dynamics in technology transfer networks: A multi-case study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    6. Gerald Midgley & Erik Lindhult, 2021. "A systems perspective on systemic innovation," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 635-670, October.
    7. Sepehr Ghazinoory & Parvaneh Aghaei, 2024. "Metaphor research as a research strategy in social sciences and humanities," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 227-248, February.
    8. Cobben, Dieudonnee & Ooms, Ward & Roijakkers, Nadine, 2023. "Indicators for innovation ecosystem health: A Delphi study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos & Flechas, Ximena Alejandra & Facin, Ana Lucia Figueiredo & Borini, Felipe Mendes, 2021. "Ecosystem management: Past achievements and future promises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    2. Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos & Fleury, André Leme & Oliveira, Maicon Gouvêa de & Facin, Ana Lucia Figueiredo, 2021. "Ecosystem policy roadmapping," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Pushpananthan, Gouthanan & Elmquist, Maria, 2022. "Joining forces to create value: The emergence of an innovation ecosystem," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Baldwin, Carliss Y. & Bogers, Marcel L.A.M. & Kapoor, Rahul & West, Joel, 2024. "Focusing the ecosystem lens on innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    5. Han, Jin & Zhou, Haibo & Löwik, Sandor & de Weerd-Nederhof, Petra, 2022. "Building and sustaining emerging ecosystems through new focal ventures: Evidence from China's bike-sharing industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    6. Shi, Xianwei & Liang, Xingkun & Luo, Yining, 2023. "Unpacking the intellectual structure of ecosystem research in innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    7. Marzena Kramarz & Lilla Knop & Edyta Przybylska & Katarzyna Dohn, 2021. "Stakeholders of the Multimodal Freight Transport Ecosystem in Polish–Czech–Slovak Cross-Border Area," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-32, April.
    8. Cobben, Dieudonnee & Ooms, Ward & Roijakkers, Nadine & Radziwon, Agnieszka, 2022. "Ecosystem types: A systematic review on boundaries and goals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 138-164.
    9. Silva, Lucas Emmanuel Nascimento & Gomes, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos & Faria, Aline Mariane de & Borini, Felipe Mendes, 2024. "Innovation processes in ecosystem settings: An integrative framework and future directions," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    10. Dedehayir, Ozgur & Mäkinen, Saku J. & Ortt, J. Roland, 2022. "Innovation ecosystems as structures: Actor roles, timing of their entrance, and interactions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    11. Rush, Howard & Marshall, Nick & Bessant, John & Ramalingam, Ben, 2021. "Applying an ecosystems approach to humanitarian innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    12. Lepore, Dominique & Frontoni, Emanuele & Micozzi, Alessandra & Moccia, Sara & Romeo, Luca & Spigarelli, Francesca, 2023. "Uncovering the potential of innovation ecosystems in the healthcare sector after the COVID-19 crisis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 80-86.
    13. Choi, Kwang Hun & Kwon, Gyu Hyun, 2023. "Strategies for sensing innovation opportunities in smart grids: In the perspective of interactive relationships between science, technology, and business," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    14. Trischler, Jakob & Johnson, Mikael & Kristensson, Per, 2020. "A service ecosystem perspective on the diffusion of sustainability-oriented user innovations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 552-560.
    15. Carmelina Bevilacqua & Pasquale Pizzimenti & Yapeng Ou, 2023. "Cities in Transition and Urban Innovation Ecosystems: Place and Innovation Dynamics in the Case of Boston and Cambridge (USA)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-30, September.
    16. Arenal, Alberto & Armuña, Cristina & Feijoo, Claudio & Ramos, Sergio & Xu, Zimu & Moreno, Ana, 2020. "Innovation ecosystems theory revisited: The case of artificial intelligence in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(6).
    17. Hou, Hong & Shi, Yongjiang, 2021. "Ecosystem-as-structure and ecosystem-as-coevolution: A constructive examination," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    18. Gupta, Ranjit & Mejia, Cristian & Kajikawa, Yuya, 2019. "Business, innovation and digital ecosystems landscape survey and knowledge cross sharing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 100-109.
    19. Yanzhang Gu & Longying Hu & Hongjin Zhang & Chenxuan Hou, 2021. "Innovation Ecosystem Research: Emerging Trends and Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-21, October.
    20. Yuan, Ning & Li, Meijuan, 2024. "Research on collaborative innovation behavior of enterprise innovation ecosystem under evolutionary game," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:135:y:2021:i:c:p:572-580. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.