How Do Focal Firms'Digitalization Capabilities Influ-ence Value Co-creation and Ecosystem-specific Advan-tages?An Embedded Case Study of Geely Group
In the context of the digital economy,"digitalization"and"ecosystemization"are becoming strategic pathways for an increasing number of firms seeking sustainable development.The application of digital technologies,including industrial internet,digital platforms,etc.can significantly enhance the value creation capabilities of firms across various industries.Simultaneously,many firms aim to integrate resources and reshape their competitiveness by constructing business ecosystems.Practical experience demonstrates a close relationship between a firm's digitalization and its ecosystem strategy.Thus,clari-fying this relationship and exploring their interaction in bringing com-petitive advantages to firms has become a crucial research topic.Recent studies have started to focus on the role of focal firms'digitali-zation capabilities in the successful implementation of ecosystem strat-egies and the attainment of unique competitive advantages,offering valuable insights into the intricate relationship between digitalization and ecosystemization.However,such research is still in its infancy.There are significant discrepancies in the conceptual understanding of focal firms'digitalization capabilities among different studies,and there is a lack of in-depth exploration of the essence and specific com-ponents of ecosystem-specific competitive advantage.In the limited lit-erature examining the mechanisms by which digitalization capabilities affect ecosystem-specific advantage,the concept of"value co-creation"is occasionally referenced.However,different research streams exhibit noticeable fragmentation and fail to thoroughly analyze the underlying logic.Moreover,existing literatures often focus on single business modules,neglecting the complexity and nested nature of ecosystems that encompass multiple business modules.To address this,this study centers on the core issue of"how do focal firms'digitalization capabilities promote ecosystem value co-creation and thereby form ecosystem-specific advantages,"selecting Geely Group's mobility ecosystem for an embedded case study.The research findings reveal that:(1)Focal firms can effectively underpin their eco-system strategies by harnessing digitalization capabilities,comprising digital connectivity,data processing,and digital innovation.(2)Focal firms'digitalization capabilities drive value co-creation among all eco-system participants,thereby facilitating ecosystem-specific advantag-es,including user experience advantage,business evolution advantage,and business symbiosis advantage,which maintain a competitive level consistently higher than that of external competitors.(3)The mecha-nisms by which focal firms'digitalization capabilities influence eco-system-specific advantages operate on two levels through three path-ways.At the sub-ecosystem level,digitalization capabilities promote user experience advantage through value co-creation focused on user participation,and promote business evolution advantage through value co-creation focused on collaborative value production.At the nested ecosystem level,digitalization capabilities facilitate business symbiosis advantage through the collaborative co-creation of participants across business modules.The main theoretical contributions of this study are as follows:First,it advances the integration of research on digital transformation and eco-system strategies.This study integrates three theoretical perspectives:ecosystem-as-structure,service-dominant logic,and digital affordance.On the basis of defining the concept of focal firms'digitalization ca-pabilities and analyzing the characteristics of value con-creation in the context of"digitalization plus ecosystemization,"it constructs a con-ceptual model of the influence mechanism of"focal firms'digitaliza-tion capabilities-value co-creation-ecosystem-specific advantages",providing a comprehensive theoretical framework for explaining the impact of firms'digital capabilities on ecosystem-specific advantages.Second,it develops the concept of ecosystem-specific advantage and its constituent dimensions.This study clearly defines the connotation of ecosystem-specific advantage and identifies three intrinsic dimensions at the performance level:user experience advantage,business evolution advantage,and business symbiosis advantage,thereby enhancing the understanding of the strategic performance of business ecosystems.Third,it advances research on nested ecosystems encompassing multi-ple business modules.This study reveals that focal firms'digitalization capabilities,value co-creation,and ecosystem-specific advantages,along with their associated mechanisms,not only replicate and iterate within sub-ecosystems but also exhibit higher-order characteristics at the overall ecosystem level,forming high-order business symbiosis advantages not present in single-business ecosystems.This finding en-riches the understanding of ecosystem complexity and diversity.The findings of this study provide important insights for Chinese firms exploring integrated strategies for digital transformation and ecosystem construction and offer valuable references for the strategic implementa-tion and key layout processes.
Business EcosystemFocal FirmDigitalization Capa-bilitiesEcosystem-specific AdvantagesValue Co-creation
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