Uncertainty management in global innovation ecosystems

Firms face the challenge of creating and managing global innovation ecosystems (GIEs) to develop radical innovation. In such a situation, focal firms and their partners may deal with global and local uncertainties requiring unique managerial approaches and strategies. Consequently, uncertainty management becomes central to explaining why some ecosystems successfully develop more radical innovations while others fail in a global landscape. Prior research lacks insight into how focal firms orchestrate GIEs to cope with uncertainty. By studying four focal firms and their ecosystems, we propose a new framework for uncertainty management—global uncertainty management in GIEs framework. This study provides theoretical insights into the focal firms' governance logic to manage local and global uncertainties and the GIE strategies they employ. We hope that this study will reinvigorate the literature on uncertainty management and ecosystem management.