Addressing Conceptual Randomness in IoT-Driven Business Ecosystem Research

Abstract

During the almost 27 years of its existence, the business ecosystem research has developed a substantial level of ambiguity and multifacetedness. Because to the technological advancements that promote interconnectedness and value co-creation, the field has consequently spun off into more domain-specific branches, such as the arena of digital business ecosystems that are driven by Internet of Things (IoT). Nonetheless, despite the efforts to mend the theoretical foundations and to close the gap between academia and empirical practice, the absolute majority of IoT-driven digital business ecosystem literature follows the trend of conceptual randomness while expanding the volume of publications exponentially. Therefore, in order to address this unfavourable increase in random adoption of distinct concepts that ultimately refer to the same subject matter, the author encourages other scholars involved in the research field of IoT-driven digital business ecosystems to make extended efforts and support the external validity of their research (as well as the relevance of the research stream as a whole) by bounding the IoT-driven digital business ecosystems on a rigorous basis through deploying the extant theory in a careful and appropriate manner. Via a thorough examination of the theoretical fundaments that underpin the concept of IoT-driven digital business ecosystem, and based on a concise thematic review of corresponding literature published until September 2020, this article articulates logic for viewing the conceptual hierarchy within the business ecosystem research and proposes six literature-based recommendations for developing further IoT-driven digital business ecosystem (DBE) research in a rigorous way.

The effect of business ecosystem and government regulation toward business agility: the role mediating of business model innovation in SMEs

“…A business or company must be able to develop its own business ecosystem in order to survive in a fairly competitive business competition (Ramezani & Camarinha-Matos, 2020). The importance of building a business ecosystem is the key to success in a business or organization (Rezac, 2020). The business ecosystem creates relationships between business executants; and it is in accordance with the concept of a social network which is useful for knowing the relationships of each executant.…”

What Are the Topics That Business Ecosystems Navigate? Updating of Scientific Activity and Future Research Agenda

“…Germany (n = 12) ranks fourth [56][57][58][59][60]. Denmark (n = 10) ranks fifth [27,30,33,61,62] France (n = 9) ranks sixth in the figure [12,63,64]. Portugal (n = 7) and South Korea (n = 7 rank seventh and eighth [65,66].…”

“…Consequently, a document can be registered by Germany (n = 12) ranks fourth [56][57][58][59][60]. Denmark (n = 10) ranks fifth [27,30,33,61,62]. France (n = 9) ranks sixth in the figure [12,63,64].…”

“…Digital business ecosystem: In Table 2, this is considered a basic theme with publications that refer to the adaptations of a company and the collaborative network established to provide improved products or services (via the internet). Therefore, online collaboration is achieved by companies, their associates, and consumers, causing benefits for all [4,6,29,30,80].…”

“…There are numerous study topics linked to business ecosystems, such as digital business ecosystems [4,29,30], sustainability [11,31,32], business development [33][34][35], business models [7,36,37], benchmarking [38], electronic commerce [7,39], supply-chain management [8,9], and blockchain [40,41], among others.…”