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Table 4 Definitions of various ecosystem analogies

From: Ecosystem-driven business opportunity identification method and web-based tool with a case study of the electric vehicle home charging energy ecosystem in Denmark

Term

Definition

Refs.

Digital business ecosystem

‘Constructed when the adoption of internet-based technologies for business is on such a level that business services and the software components are supported by a pervasive software environment, which shows an evolutionary and self-organizing behaviour’

Peltoniemi and Vuori (2004)

IT/ Technology ecosystem

The network of organizations that drives the delivery of information technology products and services

Iansiti and Richards (2006), Adomavicius et al. (2006)

Platform ecosystem

The network of innovation to produce complements that consummate matches among users and facilitate the exchange of goods, services, or social currency, thereby enabling value creation for all participants

Four types: technological platforms within firms, platforms across supply chains, multi-sided markets and industry-wide platforms

Ceccagnoli et al. (2012), Parker et al. (2016), Gawer and Cusumano (2014), Tanev et al. (2010)

Digital ecosystem

A network of digital communities consisting of interconnected, interrelated and interdependent digital species, including stakeholders, institutions and digital devices situated in a digital environment, that interact as a functional unit and are linked together through actions, information and transaction flows

Iyawa et al. (2016)

Innovation ecosystem

The complex relationships that are formed between actors or entities whose functional goal is to enable technology development and innovation

Oh et al. (2016)