Customers and service providers in business ecosystem front-end - case study of health and well-being campus

摘要

The business ecosystem is a co-evolving, self-organised constellation. By examining the case of a health and well-being campus, we describe how end customers' requirements can be defined based on service preferences. During ecosystem initiation these requirements help to identify a set of core service providers. The research proposes that early customer and service provider involvement during the built environment project's front-end enhances the ecosystem's capability to learn. The resulting five-step model clarifies key customers' profiles and how their preferences help to scope the ecosystem and the project implementing it. The model categorises customers based on their capabilities and motivation. The research provides innovative knowledge on how to orchestrate a built environment project front-end and how to maximise ecosystem value potential. The results emphasise early customer and service provider involvement. The research also indicates a need to increase understanding of an ecosystem's initial value creation. In addition, the findings highlight the central actor's role in ecosystem initiation.