Emergence of Business Ecosystems by Transformation of Platforms Through the Process of Organizational Learning

Innovation of products and services is a key success factor for the manufacturing industry. Development of upgraded and innovative products and services usually takes place in partnerships. In this regard, in the manufacturing industry, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) distribute the development of new and innovative products to many different locations in various countries across the world. Suppliers, especially first-tier suppliers (FTSs), are then involved in the development of new products and services based on strategic firm-specific competences. The OEM–supplier relationship is characterized by a sequential interaction whereby OEMs specify product and production requirements to the suppliers and the suppliers then produce and deliver products or services to OEMs. Tight collaboration between FTSs and OEMs is essential to reduce costs and risks, anticipate potential downstream errors and enable fruitful implementation of FTSs’ knowledge and competencies. The paper presents recent developments in the OEM–FTS supply chain management with particular emphasis on the design of shared platforms which emerge as ecosystems on the basis of the joint organizational learning and stakeholder management. Development of such ecosystems could be viewed as a transdisciplinary process, combining expertise from various fields ranging from engineering, especially IT engineering, to management, especially supply chain, strategic and knowledge management.