TY - JOUR T1 - Predicting Ecosystem Alliances Using Landscape Theory JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2012 A1 - Shruti Satsangi KW - alliance formation KW - business ecosystems KW - coalition forming games KW - coalition prediction KW - landscape theory AB - Previous articles in the TIM Review have covered various aspects of the concept of business ecosystems, from the types of ecosystems to keystone strategy, to different member roles and value co-creation. While there is no dearth of suggested best practices that organizations should follow as ecosystem members, it can be difficult to apply these insights into actionable steps for them to take. This is especially true when the ecosystem members already have a prior history of cooperation or competition with each other, as opposed to where a new ecosystem is created. Landscape theory, a political science approach to predicting coalition formation and strategic alliances, can be a useful complement to ecosystems studies by providing a tool to evaluate the best possible alliance options for an organization, given information about itself and the other companies in the system. As shown in the case study of mobile device manufacturers choosing platform providers in the mobile ecosystem, this tool is highly flexible and customizable, with more data providing a more accurate view of the alliances in the ecosystem. At the same time, with even basic parameters, companies can glean significant information about which coalitions will best serve their interest and overall standing within the ecosystem. This article shows the synergies between landscape theory and an ecosystems approach and offers a practical, actionable way in which to analyze individual member benefits. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 2 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/597 IS - 8 U1 - Carleton University Shruti Satsangi is a recent graduate of the Technology Innovation Management program at Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada, where she researched coalition and competition within business ecosystems. Her Master’s thesis focused on implementing landscape theory to better explain coalition formation within the mobile ecosystem. Ms. Satsangi received a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo with specializations in Management Science and Telecommunications. She has extensive experience in the development of large, carrier-grade 4G mobile communication systems. Shruti is currently serving as a committee member for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship track at the Grace Hopper Conference 2012. She is also a member of CU-Women in Science and Engineering, IEEE WiE, and the IEEE Communications Society and an occasional guest blogger for the Anita Borg Institute. ER -