SYSTEMATIZATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE FORMATION OF BUSINESS ECOSYSTEMS

СИСТЕМАТИЗАЦИЯ ФАКТОРОВ, ВЛИЯЮЩИХ НА ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ БИЗНЕС ЭКОСИСТЕМ

Научная статья

Кузьмина Т.И. *

ORCID: 0000-0002-1757-5201,

Российский экономический университет им. Г.В.Плеханова, Москва, Россия

* Корреспондирующий автор (tutor007[at]list.ru)

Аннотация

В статье авторами предпринята попытка анализа и систематизации факторов, влияющих на создание и эффективное функционирование бизнес экосистемы. Установлено, что важнейшими условиями для создания бизнес экосистемы являются места, где располагаются признанные в научном и профессиональном сообществе инноваторы-единомышленники, поддерживающие культуру предпринимательства и инноваций, где созданы определенные нормативно-правовые условия для сохранения критической массы девелоперов, дизайнеров, аналитиков данных (data scientists), электронщиков, бизнес-ангелов, венчурных капиталистов, технологов и т.п.

Ключевые слова: бизнес экосистема, факторы формирования бизнес экосистем. 

SYSTEMATIZATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE FORMATION OF BUSINESS ECOSYSTEMS

Research article

Kuzmina T.I. *

ORCID: 0000-0002-1757-5201,

Russian University of Economics G. V. Plekhanova, Moscow, Russia

* Corresponding author (tutor007[at]list.ru)

Abstract

In this work, the authors attempt to analyze and systematize the factors affecting the development and effective functioning of a business ecosystem. It was established that the most important condition for creating a business ecosystem is a place where like-minded innovators recognized in the scientific and professional community are located, supporting a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, where certain regulatory and legal conditions are created to preserve a critical mass of developers, designers, data analysts (data scientists), electronic engineers, business angels, venture capitalists, technologists, etc.

Keywords: business ecosystem, factors of formation of business ecosystems. 

Introduction

Business ecosystems are formed and developed in the certain conditions, under the influence of the unique set of factors, which the author attempted to systematize.

Main part

Many researchers have noted the importance of the place where a business ecosystem can be formed. So, according to R. Rothwell , the influence of exogenous factors or the so-called “happy event” is certainly possible, but the first thing to pay attention to is that business ecosystems do not form anywhere, they need fertile soil, since “you can’t create something out of nothing”. As a rule, the business ecosystems are formed in places where there is  a knowledge-based already  recognized and appreciated , used by significant number of scientists, researchers, engineers and talented students to further enhance the technological potential of the area and increase the number of people who could become future Entrepreneurs and employees. But whether the business ecosystem will bloom in this fertile soil depends on the development of new technology markets [6].

The work of R. Florida in the study of the creative class also shows how important the culture and attractiveness of the city (including its cultural attractions, physical features that provide opportunities for outdoor activities) to create a business ecosystem: “A place is a resonating factor that organically combines economic opportunities and talent, work and people needed to create critical mass and coworking spaces” [7, P.201].

A. Jain adheres to a similar position, which is confident that “to create another Silicon Valley, you need to transfer a critical mass of smart people to one place and convince them to stay there. How to do it? Particular attention is required to urban planning and maintaining the image of each city. Those people who created companies in the Valley belong to a special subgroup of the creative class. They do not like long distances from their place of work to their place of residence or huge shopping centers. They like cultural centers, green libraries and bike paths” [8].

As a rule, business ecosystems arise in places with certain competitive advantages. For example, the formation of the business ecosystem of Oxford, of course, is associated with its strategic position in relation to London and Heathrow Airport; its attractiveness as a place with better living conditions; a unique cluster of UK government laboratories; associate with a global brand [6]. It is worth noting here that universities play an important but not leading role in shaping business ecosystems, as is often attributed to them. Rather, the most important contribution of universities - are students, graduates, which, when they contribute new ideas and increase the intellectual potential of the community.

An important factor is the strong organizational culture of companies, which, as a rule, precedes structural shifts. So, the Australian researchers M. Krueger and I. Kasioppe among the factors contributing to the formation of the ecosystem distinguish:

1. The culture of entrepreneurship and innovation - specific cultural topics that inhibit innovative entrepreneurship include: the tendency to criticize successful people “the tall poppy syndrome”; recognition of the possibility of bankruptcy; risk aversion; male dominance in the technology sector; little understanding of the impact of technology on the economy and culture; little understanding of the global role of technological innovation, etc.
2. A culture of cooperation - increasing the breadth and depth of cooperation along with financial support from the state; Collaboration with international ecosystems, international markets, local universities and large companies.
3. Raising awareness - especially in attracting investment, helping to change the regulatory framework, developing a national culture of fast-growing entrepreneurship. Successful business role models are very important.
4. Education - various forms (accelerator, mentoring, courses, etc.) - is an extremely necessary factor for creating a dynamically developing ecosystem.
5. Regulatory environment aimed at supporting entrepreneurship and innovation.
6. Access to high-quality digital infrastructure, including the Internet.
7. Talent and skills: a key factor in creating an ecosystem is the formation, attraction and retention of talents, leaders. Preservation of a critical mass of developers, designers, data scientists, electronics engineers, business angels, venture capitalists, technologists and others [9].

Some researchers habitually believe that the most important factor initiating the formation of a business ecosystem is government support [1, P.185]. The state is expected to create the necessary conditions, incentives, infrastructure, educational programs that will make its economy become more entrepreneurial. However, the best business ecosystems, according to A. Jain, are those created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Almost every single attempt by the state to create a business ecosystem has been unsuccessful. What the state can ultimately do is create favorable conditions for the “mixing” of like-minded innovators in a certain geographical space, as well as maintains a favorable immigration policy for a healthy “variety of minds and ideas” [8].

Indeed, it is difficult to point to any business ecosystem that has arisen due to direct government intervention. For example, D. Eisenberg questions whether the state has the right to directly intervene and therefore calls for caution, instead recommending that they help create preconditions for the emergence of business ecosystems, for example, through a highly effective domestic investment policy. However, it is doubtful that officials will be able to systematically "create" a business ecosystem.

In turn, D. Eisenberg relies on the human factor. In each business ecosystem, in his opinion, you can find intermediaries and influential people who themselves are not entrepreneurs. For example, while bankers and professors played the role of catalysts in the Boston ecosystem in 1970-1980, 3-4 investors were responsible for most of the initial successes in the Israeli innovation ecosystem. In addition, the business ecosystem is formed by creating a favorable environment from distributors, suppliers, consumers and other business participants. The main lever for maintaining the ecosystem is innovation that is attractive to customers and partners [10].

Separately, it is worth noting the areas of research related to the definition of support, system-forming elements of the business ecosystem. So, T. Power and J. Jerjan [11] draw an analogy with a coral reef, the structure of which is formed by coral polyps. In the same way, according to the deep conviction of scientists, quite often a business ecosystem is formed on the basis of one or several technologically advanced companies, which act as a kind of “magnets” for talented people, recruiting “from the side” a large number of skilled workers, many of whom are yesterday’s graduates . In this case, the importance of “a business that produces the effect of an exploding bomb” (blockbuster entrepreneurship) is emphasized.

For example, Accenture experts believe that the formation of a platform business ecosystem depends on the 5P complex:

- Proposition (differentiated value proposition that will expand the possibilities of transactions);

- Personalization (personalization of services based on customer data and their needs);

- Price (flexible market pricing);

- Protection (effective cyber protection to attract customers and differentiate the platform);

- Partners (advantage from the scale of digital partners - application developers and payment service providers).

Each of the elements of the 5P complex takes on a new meaning when companies move from a traditional “linear” business (success through optimizing activities in value chains, many of which they own or control) to a platform business.

In turn, this complex is influenced by the “five key environmental factors” that are characteristic of the country's economy as a whole:

1) The number and advancement of digital users (Digital user size and savviness) - the scale of the digital user market, the introduction of smart devices, Internet access, digital user behavior.

2) Digital talent and entrepreneurship (Digital talent and entrepreneurship) - the presence and proportion of scientific, engineering, mathematical and technological competencies in the structure of the economy, the quality of their reproduction and growth.

3) Technology and Management (Technology and governance) - the general state of technology and digital resources in the economy, which will allow you to create, develop and scale digital platforms (infrastructure of communications, digital assets, technology services and their competitiveness, technological clusters).

4) Culture of open innovation (Open innovation culture) - the ability of digital collaboration of large companies and entrepreneurs in order to stimulate digital innovation; the number of administrative and legal barriers, the freedom to create innovative hubs that combine universities, laboratories, startups and large companies.

5)Policy and regulation (The Policy and the regulation) - active and proactive policies, support for digital business, digital operations guarantee of security,  in particular, copyright, privacy,  block-chain technology and cybersecurity .

Evaluation of the above factors allowed Accenture experts to develop a Platform Readiness Index (PRI). So, the USA is predictably leading, relying on the resources of the innovation ecosystem - Silicon Valley. At the same time, China and India are also in the top ranks of the rating due to the huge number and “quality” of digital users, especially smartphone owners [2, P.343]. Also among the leaders in digital audiences are the United Kingdom and Germany. In our country, if a user base is not the most distress, then on the legislation and the digital business until there is where to go (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 – Digital Platform Readiness Index (Accenture Research, 2016)

 

An analysis of many foreign sources also showed that various composite indices are used for a comparative assessment of countries, on the basis of which ratings of countries are prepared for their preparedness, for example, to the digital economy, as well as to the development of certain areas - electronic business and electronic government [3, P.58].

The most famous meters are: Networked Readiness Index (NRI),   Digital Opportunity Index (DOI), Digital Evolution Index (DEI), E-Readiness Index (ERI), readiness index for e-business (E - Business readiness index, EBRI), readiness index of e-government (E - government readiness the index, EGRI). In all these indices, it is possible to identify factors that, to one degree or another, take into account the Readiness Index for the transition to digital platforms.

According to N.V. Kulikova, the business ecosystem is formed under the influence of four basic factors: an adequate organizational model, the consistency of support measures, an adaptive and effective strategy, as well as the competent construction of an interaction system in a wide network of beneficiaries [12].

Many experts believe that in order to create an effective business ecosystem; a well-functioning infrastructure is needed that meets the specifics of the economic relations of a particular country, as well as developed support institutions [4, p.102]. For example, in Russia, the problems of developing business ecosystems are mainly the inefficiency of the interconnections between its elements, due to the lack of common standards, a single management institution and an insufficiently regulated legal field [13].

Conclusion

It is important to emphasize that the ecosystem will not function if successful projects are not born in its interior. The more significant success it leads, the stronger it becomes [5, P.1531]. Entrepreneurs who successfully sell or corporate their companies become role models, consultants, and sources of financing. At the sight of their success, the desire for risk arises among entrepreneurs of the next generation [14].

Конфликт интересов Не указан.

Conflict of Interest None declared.

Список литературы / References

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Список литературы на английском языке / References in English

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6. Mason C. Entrepreneurial ecosystems and growth oriented entrepreneurship / Mason, C., Brown, R. – URL: https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/entrepreneurial-ecosystems.pdf (accessed: 01.12.2019)
7. Florida R. Creative Class: People Who Change the Future / Florida R. – Moscow: Classic – XXI, 2011.
8. Jain A. How to create startup ecosystems / Jain, A. – URL: http://techstory.in/create-startup-ecosystems (accessed: 01.12.2019)
9. Startup Ecosystem Report. South East Queensland 2014. – URL: http://www.qld.gov.au/dsiti/assets/documents/startup-ecosystem-mapping-report.pdf (accessed: 01.12.2019)
10. Isenberg D. The big idea: how to start an entrepreneurial revolution / Isenberg D. – URL: https://hbr.org/2010/06/the-big-idea-how-to-start-an-entrepreneurial-revolution (accessed: 01.12.2019)
11. Peltoniemi M. Business ecosystem as the new approach to complex ad active business environments / Peltoniemi M., Vuori E. – URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228985086_Business_Ecosystem_as_ the_New_Approach_to_Complex_Adaptive_Business_Environments (accessed: 01.12.2019)
12. Kulikova N.V. Creation of business ecosystems on the basis of large enterprises / Kulikova N.V. – URL: https://elib.pstu.ru/vufind/EdsRecord/edselr,edselr.26210566 (accessed: 01.12.2019)
13. Boguslavsky I.V. The development of venture ecosystems: the role of organizational culture / Boguslavsky I.V. // Internet journal "Science of Science". – Issue 2. – 2014. – URL: http://naukovedenie.ru/PDF/75EVN214.pdf (accessed: 01.12.2019)
14. Citeladze D.D. The methodology of creating a self-organized Russian ecosystem of innovative business / Citeladze D.D. // Innovations. – 2011. – No. 6 (152). – p. 9-18.