About the subject
The fourth Big Six Questions of Strategic Management question explores how competitive advantage increasingly comes from alliances, platforms and ecosystems, where firms combine capabilities to create value none could produce alone, but the firms that help create value aren't always the ones that capture it. As a result, the ability to choose partners, coordinate activities, align incentives and balance openness with control becomes a key source of advantage, especially as technological, regulatory and geopolitical shifts change how power and value are distributed within these networks.
CORE QUESTION
- When should firms build or orchestrate proprietary ecosystems, and when should they participate in platforms, networks, or ecosystems led by others?
- What capabilities enable firms to select partners, coordinate interdependent activities, manage interfaces, and adapt as networks evolve at increasing speed?
- How can firms balance the openness needed to attract partners and complementary resources with the control required to protect strategic interests and capture value?
- When value is created collectively, particularly in platform economics, what governance and incentive mechanisms shape how value is captured and distributed among independent participants?
- How do differences in bargaining power, dependence, and strategic position determine which organizations capture the greatest value within a network, platforms, or an entire ecosystem?
- How do interoperability standards, data-sharing arrangements, and platform governance affect competition, collaboration, and value capture?
- How do geopolitical, regulatory, and institutional divisions affect the scale, structure, and viability of networks and ecosystems?
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The big six questions
of strategic management
This is one question in a series, the Big Six Questions of Strategic Management, aimed at bridging the worlds of scholarship and practice. These questions serve as an inspiration to guide the development of actionable insights, frameworks, tools, and resources for the SMS community.