Business Ecosystems - Partnership of equals for corporates, SMEs and startups

Digitalization is more than just a technological revolution, it's a revolution in transaction costs within and between companies. Sharp boundaries between industries and companies are disappearing in its wake. What are emerging are business ecosystems that can respond to customer needs in a brand new way. New customer needs are no longer satisfied by innovations from within a company's own value chain but by a network of partnerships. Business ecosystems cut the Gordian knot that binds many a failed innovation project. They make it possible to overcome the barriers and obstacles of internally driven innovation projects by developing the value proposition for the customer not from within the supply chain alone but by establishing a partnership of equals within the framework of an ecosystem. And transforming a company's value chain into a value network of multiple partners. In this situation it is vital to understand exactly what it is that makes a business ecosystem a success. In a bid to understand in detail (a) how a business ecosystem works and (b) what prerequisites and conditions the success of a business ecosystem depends on, Roland Berger has been working as a strategic partner to Helvetia Innovation Lab at the Institute of Technology Management at the University of St. Gallen. Their shared experience in this context forms the foundation for the arguments made in this study.