Value creation by knowledge-based ecosystems : evidence from a case study

The network theory literature suggests firms work together to bring products and services to the market. However, firms increasingly organize themselves around knowledge and R&D processes in particular geographical areas ("hotspots"), in which interfirm collaborative processes facilitate the product innovation and commercialization process. This raises the question whether these knowledge-based ecosystems can be understood as a self-sustaining business activity. More particularly, we explore how such ecosystems create value for the technology firms and other organizations that participate, drawing on a model that distinguishes between four value sources: efficiency, novelty, complementarities, and lock-in. The empirical part of this paper draws on a case study of a high-tech campus created by a technology firm in the Netherlands. Our findings suggest lock-in is the most important value source for the residents, particularly in terms of the growing reputation of the campus. The lock-in effect appears to be strong enough to compensate for the perceived inefficiency of campus facilities. The high inefficiency, however, does lock out smaller firms that are not willing to incur high costs. As such, knowledge-based ecosystems do appear to have a life of their own and may indeed be viable as a self-sustaining business.