Line of research: Operations Management and Sustainability

Competitive pressures are increasingly forcing companies to look for new models for accessing knowledge and capabilities from customers and network partners located around the world in order to increase their competitiveness. In this context, ecosystems are gaining importance. 
Ecosystems are arrangements with several independent and complementary organizations that act with a common goal, but without a predefined hierarchy.

Unlike supply chains where the focus is on inter-organizational relationships aimed at serving customers, the concept of ecosystems is dynamic, emerging and operating for specific purposes. There are different types of ecosystems, such as business, innovation, entrepreneurship or knowledge ecosystems. These ecosystems differ in their competitive focus, geographical scope, temporal scope, participating actors, orchestration models and value creation and appropriation.

The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of the ecosystem literature in order to promote an understanding of the theoretical lenses that underpin the study of this phenomenon and the differentiation of this concept from other relevant constructs, such as networks and supply chain management. To this end, we will explore definitions, differences between concepts, and assess the state of the art of this literature.