Business ecosystem dynamics in the Chinese electric vehicle market: co-evolution of capabilities and dynamics

ABSTRACT

Business Ecosystems (BEs) are, fundamentally, interaction systems of independent yet mutually dependent actors, but few studies have investigated the dynamic capabilities among the ecosystem stakeholders that drive the co-evolution process. To address this research gap, this paper explores the ecosystem stakeholder dynamics that influence firms in the automotive technology business ecosystem of Hefei, China. Guided by a proposed BE framework and using an exploratory abductive approach, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were collected and analysed. After data collection and analysis of three Chinese electric vehicle case studies, the main findings of this paper are as follows. We introduce a Business Ecosystem Capabilities Framework (BECF) consisting of the Business Ecosystem Capabilities (BECs) at each phase of ecosystem development and the Business Ecosystem Dynamic Capabilities (BEDCs) that enable the ecosystem to transform to the next phase. Business Ecosystem Capabilities have four dimensions – Ecosystem Fertility, Ecosystem Enrichment, Ecosystem Strengthening, and Ecosystem Connectivity – with 12 subdimensions. The study provides valuable contributions to academics, consultants, and managers interested in BEs while also extending the literature on the emerging electric vehicle market currently disrupting the established automotive ecosystem.

KEYWORDS:

• Business ecosystem
• dynamics
• capabilities
• co-evolution
• electric vehicles
• China

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Project Number: 71921001], and the New Era Education Quality Project of Anhui Province, China in 2022 (postgraduate education) [Project Number: 2022zyxwjxalk003], and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (YD2160004004).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Timothy David Dixon

Timothy David Dixon is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Management at the University of Science and Technology of China. Timothy Dixon is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Jiuchang Wei

Dr. Jiuchang Wei is a professor at the School of Management at the University of Science and Technology of China. He is also a visiting scholar at the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University and Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University of Technology.