BEST ARTICLE AWARD 2023

How to Compete When Industries Digitize and Collide

We are pleased to announce that "How to Compete When Industries Digitize and Collide: An Ecosystem Development Framework" by Michael G. Jacobides is the winner of the 2023 Best Article Award.

Each year, California Management Review recognizes the article published during the preceding year that has made the most important contribution to management practice. This article was selected as a finalist based on its performance and distribution, and the final selection was made by members of the California Management Review Editorial Board in April 2023.

How should firms best understand, engage in, and build business ecosystems? As industry boundaries dissolve and digitalization grows apace, ecosystems are becoming increasingly important. Yet for all the excitement and Big-Tech envy, there is little guidance for how to create ecosystems. Drawing on recent research and projects with leading firms, this article offers a framework for understanding, engaging in, and building business ecosystems.

This article is rich both conceptually and empirically. It offers very clear conceptualization of ecosystems (e.g., multi-product vs. multi-actor, and as distinct from platforms) and provides many helpful illustrations... It is empirically strong, and is also written in a highly accessible way for a wider managerial audience. In addition, it walks through a series of choices that any firm/team must make in deciding whether and how to engage in ecosystem-level integration.

How to Compete When Industries Digitize and Collide: An Ecosystem Development Framework
How should firms best understand, engage in, and build business ecosystems?