A Roadmap for Systematically Identifying Opportunities in Ecosystems Using Scientific Publications Data

Abstract

Managers and policy-makers are increasingly attracted to ecosystems. Actors constantly seek opportunities in knowledge (Jarvi, 2018; Almpanopoulou et al., 2019), innovation (Valkokari, 2015; Valkokari et al., 2017; Ketonen-Oksi & Valkokari, 2019), and entrepreneurial (Autio et al., 2014; Stam, 2015; Thomas & Autio, 2020) ecosystems. However, ambiguities and challenges associated with knowledge exploration (for example, lack of resources) (Jarvi et al., 2018; Almpanopoulou et al., 2019) and exploitation (for example, actor engagement, governance) (Clarysse et al., 2014; Jarvenpaa & Välikangas, 2014, 2016) make opportunity recognition processes time-consuming, resourceintensive, and risky for ecosystem actors (Khademi, 2019). As no systematic way exists for mitigating the effects of these challenges, the present paper develops an analytics-driven roadmap for systematically identifying opportunities in spatially bounded ecosystems. The roadmap enables better decisionmaking with respect to strategic planning (collaboration, investment), promulgating innovation policy instruments, and saving resources (time and budget). Since James Moore used the metaphor “ecosystem” (Moore, 1993) to show similarities between technologydriven networks and natural ecologies in terms of their “co-evolution” process and the symbiotic interrelationships required, thousands of scholarly contributions have extended our understanding of ecosystems. Scholars have identified various types of ecosystems such as business, innovation, knowledge, entrepreneurial, and service ecosystems (see Scaringella & Radziwon, 2017; Valkokari, 2015 for distinctions between ecosystem types). This study mainly deals with knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystems.