Ecosystem Strategy for Business Leaders

Programme Overview
Traditional business strategy has often been about differentiating the firm from its competitors within the same industry. To achieve this, firms have often relied on investing in internal resources and building internal capabilities to achieve their competitive advantage. However, such a traditional approach to strategy can no longer guarantee success in the new age filled with ever more complexity and uncertainty. Leaders in this new age need to be able to understand how their organization is embedded within the broader ecosystem and frame and execute their strategies accordingly.

In the first module, we start off with an overview of ecosystems and go on to understand different forms of ecosystems. The term ecosystem refers to a complex network of entities composed of competitors, suppliers, buyers, complementors, as well as regulators, research universities and labs, and capital providers. Scholars and practitioners often refer to different forms of ecosystems to highlight certain important elements concerning such ecosystems.

Platform ecosystems emphasize on the central orchestrating role of the firm owning the platform in connecting the two sides. For example, Uber connects drivers and riders, Amazon Marketplace connects sellers and customers, and Swiggy connects restaurants and diners and so on. Innovation ecosystems often refer to the upstream and downstream parts of the value chain in which the focal firm is embedded. Typical examples include the semiconductor ecosystem and the telecom ecosystem where multiple players upstream and downstream are part of a complex network of relationships to deliver ultimate customer value through their products and services.

In the second module, we focus on the nature of relationships within ecosystems and their consequences for firm strategy. Ecosystems often involve both competition and cooperation among firms. This results in interesting dynamics in relationships and has important implications for leaders formulating and executing their strategies.

In the third module, we look at new technologies such as AI/ ML and Blockchain that have the potential to transform existing ecosystems by removing bottlenecks and improving efficiencies within the ecosystem. We shall discuss the benefits, costs, as well as risks associated with employing such technologies within ecosystems and how leaders can internalize them in formulating the right ecosystem strategy for their organizations.

In the final module, we bring together our learnings by looking at real world case studies on both successful and not so successful ecosystem strategies.

Programme Objective

• Understand the framework of ecosystems and how they relate to tradition notions about the firm and its industry.
• Highlight the elements that are important to different ecosystems and derive a typology of ecosystems.
• Explore the competitive and cooperative dynamics within ecosystems
• Appreciate how new age technologies such as AI/ ML and Blockchain can enable ecosystems.
• Craft an ecosystem strategy that combines traditional strengths of the firm as well as its ability to leverage on its relationships with other partners within the broader ecosystem.
• Walk through the deployment of ecosystem strategies in organizations across varied settings

Programme Content

The programme shall consist of multiple modules that together addresses the following aspects:

• Overview of Ecosystems
• Transition of Firm-Industry Framework to Ecosystem Framework
• Building Blocks and Elements of Ecosystems
• Types of Ecosystems
• AI/ML and Blockchain Technologies in Ecosystems
• Ecosystem Strategy Analysis
• Ecosystem Strategy Formulation
• Ecosystem Strategy Execution

Key Benefits/Takeaways
The programme is expected to benefit the participants in multiple ways. On completion of this programme, the participant will be able to:

• Understand what ecosystems are and how they different from traditional units of analysis.
• Obtain an overview of defining elements of ecosystems as well as different forms of ecosystems.
• Appreciate how competitive and cooperative dynamics play out within ecosystems.
• Develop a process to leverage new technology capabilities to solve problems with the ecosystem.
• Develop and deploy a successful ecosystem strategy to achieve and sustain leadership.

Pedagogy
This programme will be delivered as a 20-session course over four days. The instructors will employ innovative teaching methods including case studies, videos, classroom lectures, group activities, demos, and hands-on simulations to explore the concepts in the course. The participants shall be provided with relevant course materials including book chapters, case studies, and simulation logins.

Top-notch faculty, contemporary content, a great learning environment, and application orientation make the IIMB Exec Ed programmes world-class.