Strategic Patterns to Foster the Evolution of Emerging Software Ecosystems

Platform owners like SAP, Eclipse Foundation, and Microsoft have developed partnership models to expand their software ecosystems. These models govern the cluster of complementors, enabling the attraction and maintenance of partners and consumers. Companies aiming to define new partnership models when moving from a software product approach to an ecosystem face challenges that may limit their growth. When establishing an emerging ecosystem, platform providers (i.e., keystones) must perform several activities, such as attracting and retaining partners, defining rules of participation, managing risks, and maintaining the quality of the platform. This paper proposes three strategic patterns to assist companies in structuring their partnership models. The patterns provide actionable guidance to companies establishing new ecosystems. We adopted the Design Science Research (DSR) method to conduct the study. Following the DSR cycle, the strategic patterns were defined using a Multivocal Literature Review. The strategies described in the proposed patterns were validated by the industry professionals with experience in emerging software ecosystems. The proposed patterns help keystone companies adopt suitable strategies to address the following challenges: selecting partners, attracting and retaining consumers, technically structuring the platform while maintaining the robustness of the ecosystem, managing risks and conflicts, and assisting complementors in developing, selling, and distributing solutions in the ecosystem.