The Ecosystems of Organisations

Question 1

What is the definition of a Market?

Answer 1

Consists of all buyers and sellers of a good of service.

Question 2

What is the definition of an Industry?

Answer 2

Industry serves the the needs of a market.

Question 3

What is the definition of competition?

Answer 3

Concerned with rivalry that exists between organisations selling similar products, services and experiences, usually with intention of realising a profit.

Question 4

What is Regulation?

Answer 4

Is exercised by governments and various bodies and agencies operating on their behalf to ensure that markets and organisations operating within those markets comply with relevant legislation.

Question 5

What is a traditional market?

Answer 5

In a business setting they are environments i which commercial dealings take place between different parties such as buyers or sellers.

Question 6

What is Porter’s five forces model concerned with?

Answer 6

It is concerned with the five competitive forces which influence the state of competition in an industry, not a market.

Question 7

According to Porter, what is the effect of Competition and Rivalry on organisations?

Answer 7

As profits in the industry reduce, this lowers the profits that individual firms are able to earn. This in turn leads to increasingly adversarial environments, where organisations are incentivised to compete harder to earn a profit.

Question 8

What is an Ecosystem?

Answer 8

A complex web of interdependent enterprises and relationships aimed at creating and allocating business value. Ecosystems tend to be broad, potentially spanning multiple geographies and industries. Relationships between organisations have become less adversarial and more collaborative.

Question 9

What does the change in ecosystem result in for organisations?

Answer 9

The change forces organisations to:
- engage
- coordinate
- cooperate
- collaborate
more closely with a network of other participants in pursuit of a shared common purpose.

Question 10

Name the participants in an ecosystem

Answer 10

• Suppliers
• Customers
• Distributors
• Competitors
• Government bodies and regulators
• Digital business platform providers

Question 11

Name Government bodies, regulators and others and what they do:

Answer 11

• Trade unions
• Standard-setters
• Policy-makers
• Consumer associations
  ~ These stakeholder groups set governing rules, frameworks and regulations for operation of ecosystems.

Question 12

What is an Orchestrator?

Answer 12

The party driving the co-ordination, arrangement and management of stakeholder interactions and architecture of an ecosystem environment.

Question 13

What role do Producers play in the Ecosystem?

Answer 13

Represent supply-side of the ecosystem by providing goods and services which are exchanged with other ecosystem participants. Rival producers are competitors to a producer’s own offering.

Question 14

What role do Infrastructure Suppliers play in the Ecosystem?

Answer 14

Suppliers of technical infrastructure are needed to support and maintain business platforms which enable ecosystems to thrive.
Provide communication and IT systems, systems development expertise.

Question 15

How has the role of regulators changed in the new ecosystem environment?

Answer 15

They are more focused on co-ordinating and collaborating with participants to help them to meet their obligations to comply with laws and regulations. Moving towards a more Providing Proactive Support.

Question 16

Name the 4 ways that traditional regulatory frameworks are being challenged:

Answer 16

1.) Speed of change- caused by significant data sharing,innovation and collaboration.

2.) Innovators find ‘back doors’ - able to constantly challenge existing regulations.

3.) Ecosystems continually evolve - regulators need to develop rules and regulations which are capable of containing undesirable patterns of behaviour beyond here and now.

4.) Ecosystems are global - Need to develop truly global regulations.

Question 17

What is the definition of Mutuality?

Answer 17

An enhanced level of co-ordination with formally or informally shared ideals, standards or goals. Refers to the extent of closer co-ordination between participants operating in an an environment in pursuit of a common goal.

Question 18

What is the definition of Globalisation?

Answer 18

The co-ordination, arrangement and management of complex environments.

Question 19

What is Orchestration in an Ecosystem?

Answer 19

Can be established in a formal or informal basis among participants.

Question 20

What is a formal orchestrator?

Answer 20

Where activities undertaken by those participants in an ecosystem are formally co-ordinated by anothed participant.

Question 21

What is the intention of Co-operation?

Answer 21

Is intended to facilitate the sharing of ideas.

Question 22

What is the intention of Collaboration?

Answer 22

To fuel creativity and innovation, helping to develop competences, resources, capabilities of participants.

Question 23

Name an argument advocating for ecosystems:

Answer 23

Strong ecosystems help to deter potential new entrants from entering certain industries and markets as they lack the necessary relationships with existing participants to support their entry.

Question 24

What is the Margin?

Answer 24

Represents the excess the customer is prepared to pay over the cost to the firm of obtaining resource inputs and providing value activities. (LEEER PRENTJIE PAGE 12)

Question 25

What is a Value Network?

Answer 25

Involves a product being exchanged between parties in a sequential order. As product passes through each participant undertakes activities which add value to the end of the product.

Question 26

Name 6 characteristics of a Traditional market approach:

Answer 26

1.) Organisation-centricity (inward looking)
2.) Organisation viewed as standalone entity
3.) Likely to use traditional methods of operating
4.) Slower to react to changes in environment with strong internal focus
5.) Stuck in their ways
6.) Driven by self-interest

Question 27

Name 6 characteristics of the Ecosystem approach:

Answer 27

1.) Ecosystem-centricity (outward looking)
2.) Organisation viewed as participant in a wider environment.
3.) Supported by emerging technologies
4.) Fast to react to change with focus on collaboration with various groups
5.) Forward thinking embraces disruption
6.) Focus is on mutual benefit, working with others and value creation.

Question 28

What are the 2 main drivers for emergence of ecosystems?

Answer 28

1.) Customer needs
2.) Advances in technology

Question 29

Name the three roles that customers play in the emergence of new ecosystems:

Answer 29

1.) Customer preferences
2.) Customer expectations
3.) New competitors emerging

Question 30

Name factors driving customer demand in a digital age:

Answer 30

• Contextualised interactions
• Seamless experience across channels
• Anytime, anywhere
• Great service
• Selfservice
• Transparency
• Peerreview and advocacy

Question 31

Name 4 ways to avoid Complacency;

Answer 31

• Design thinking
• Experiential pilots
• Prototyping (get to market quickly)
• Brand Atomisation (need to be designed so they can distributed more widely)

Question 32

What is Crowdsourcing?

Answer 32

Involves obtaining info from large group of people. Info can be used to inform and help other users.

Question 33

What are the components of participants?

Answer 33

• Role within environment
• Reach through environment
• Capability or key value proposition

Question 34

What are the components of Interactions?

Answer 34

• Rules governing environment
  -Connections of elements, information and knowledge
• Course of interactions

Question 35

Name the 4 distinct roles that ecosystem participant might play in pursuit of objectives:

Answer 35

• Experience provides-add value to customer by creating personalised ‘customer-centric’ products and services
  *Asset providers - provide or manage assets and or activities are critical to an ecosystem.
  *Process providers - manage processes undertaken by participants in an ecosystem to improve efficiency.
• Platform providers - Create environments which enable ecosystems to function.