%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2017 %T The Core Interaction of Platforms: How Startups Connect Users and Producers %A Heidi M. E. Korhonen %A Kaisa Still %A Marko Seppänen %A Miika Kumpulainen %A Arho Suominen %A Katri Valkokari %K core interaction %K digital platforms %K multisided markets %K platform business %K platform canvas %K slush event %K startups %K value creation %X The platform economy is disrupting innovation while presenting both opportunities and challenges for startups. Platforms support value creation between multiple participant groups, and this operationalization of an ecosystem’s value co-creation represents the “core interaction” of a platform. This article focuses on that core interaction and studies how startups connect producers and users in value-creating core interaction through digital platforms. The study is based on an analysis of 29 cases of platform startups interviewed at a leading European startup event. The studied startups were envisioning even millions of users and hundreds or thousands of producers co-creating value on their platforms. In such platform businesses, our results highlight the importance of attracting a large user pool, providing novel services to those users, offering a new market for producers, supporting the core interaction in various ways, and utilizing elements of the platform canvas – an adaptation of the business model canvas, which we have accommodated for platform-based business models – to accomplish these goals. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 7 %P 17-29 %8 09/2017 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1103 %N 9 %1 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Heidi M. E. Korhonen, PhD, works as a Senior Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, in the Business, Innovation, and Foresight research area. She is a professional in business development and research with a long experience of industrial and technology companies. Dr. Korhonen has a Doctor of Science (Tech.) degree from Aalto University School of Science, Finland. Her doctoral dissertation covers customer orientation in industrial service innovation and highlights ecosystems interaction and value co-creation in innovation. The recent work of Dr. Korhonen focuses on digitalization and supporting innovation and ecosystems development in the platform economy. Dr. Korhonen has published her research widely in international peer-reviewed journals, books, and conferences. %2 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Kaisa Still is a Senior Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. She has extensive experience of innovation management gained within a research organization, a university, a business incubator, as well as in a startup and in a growth company. Supporting collaboration, co-creation, and innovation with technology continues to be at the core of her interests. Her current work concentrates on platforms and innovation ecosystems, accelerating innovation activities, and digital opportunities. Combined with the policy perspective, her work extends to private and public organizations in regional and global contexts. %3 Tampere University of Technology Marko Seppänen, PhD, is a Full Professor in the field of Industrial Management at Tampere University of Technology, Finland. Prof. Seppänen is an expert in managing value creation in business ecosystems, business concept development, and innovation management. In his latest research, he has examined, for example, platform-based competition in business ecosystems and innovation management in business networks. His research has appeared in high-quality peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, the Journal of Systems and Software, and the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. %4 Tampere University of Technology Miika Kumpulainen, MSc (Tech), is a doctoral candidate at Tampere University of Technology in Finland. His thesis will cover business relationships and digitalization, and his research interests are in interorganizational relationships and platform ecosystems. Kumpulainen has ten years’ work experience in purchasing functions in industry. %# VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Arho Suominen, PhD, is Senior Scientist in the Innovations, Economy, and Policy unit at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and he also lectures at the Department of Information Technology at the University of Turku. Suominen is also the chairman of the board and co-founder of Teqmine Analytics Ltd, a patent and technology intelligence company. Dr. Suominen’s research focuses on qualitative and quantitative assessment of innovation systems. His research has been funded by the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology, and the Fulbright Center Finland. Dr. Suominen has published work in several journals, including Technological Forecasting and Social Change, the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Science and Public Policy, Scientometrics, the Journal of Systems and Software, and Foresight. Dr. Suominen has a Doctor of Science (Tech.) degree from the University of Turku and holds an Officer’s basic degree from the National Defence University of Finland. %$ VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Katri Valkokari works as a Research Manager at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in the Business, Innovation and Foresight research area. Over the past 15 years, she has carried out several development projects concerning different networked business arrangements (ecosystems, networks, partnerships, and firms). In 2009, Katri completed her doctoral thesis on business network development. She has published several international and national articles in the research areas of business network management, collaboration, organizational knowledge, and innovation management. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1103 %0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2017 %T Editorial: Platforms and Ecosystems (September 2017) %A Chris McPhee %A Ozgur Dedehayir %A Marko Seppänen %K digital transformation %K ecosystems %K innovation %K orchestrators %K platform economy %K platforms %K stakeholders %K startups %K strategy %K technology %K value creation %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 7 %P 3-5 %8 09/2017 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1101 %N 9 %1 Technology Innovation Management Review Chris McPhee is Editor-in-Chief of the Technology Innovation Management Review. Chris holds an MASc degree in Technology Innovation Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and BScH and MSc degrees in Biology from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. He has nearly 20 years of management, design, and content-development experience in Canada and Scotland, primarily in the science, health, and education sectors. As an advisor and editor, he helps entrepreneurs, executives, and researchers develop and express their ideas. %2 Queensland University of Technology Ozgur Dedehayir is the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. Dr. Dedehayir received his PhD in Technology Strategy from the Tampere University of Technology (TUT), Finland. His research focuses on the creation and the dynamics of change in innovation ecosystems. He has published in various journals in the technology and innovation management field, including Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Technovation. %3 Tampere University of Technology Marko Seppänen, PhD, is a Full Professor in the field of Industrial Management at Tampere University of Technology, Finland. Prof. Seppänen is an expert in managing value creation in business ecosystems, business concept development, and innovation management. In his latest research, he has examined, for example, platform-based competition in business ecosystems and innovation management in business networks. His research has appeared in high-quality peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, the Journal of Systems and Software, and the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1101 %0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2017 %T Orchestrating Innovation Ecosystems: A Qualitative Analysis of Ecosystem Positioning Strategies %A Katri Valkokari %A Marko Seppänen %A Maria Mäntylä %A Simo Jylhä-Ollila %K actors %K collaboration %K ecosystems %K innovation %K orchestration %K positioning %K roles %K strategy %X This article explores how firms can orchestrate innovation ecosystems to enhance collaboration for innovation among different actors. Most previous research on ecosystems has focused on firm-level strategies to operate in an ecosystem rather than the composition or orchestration of an ecosystem as a whole. However, finding the balance between the self-interests of involved actors is critical in order to create collaborative settings that induce different parties to jointly develop and put their best efforts into a joint endeavour. Thus, we undertook a qualitative study with 35 case companies from the metal and engineering industries, each of whom was interested in developing their position in ecosystems and improving their relational business practices. The findings suggest that there is an essential ecosystem competence that is needed by all actors in an ecosystem, regardless of their position, and that is the ability to manage dynamic strategic interactions related to innovation. This competence enables them to ensure the future vitality of the ecosystem and their own business. These results highlight the need for managers to profile their own company’s role in an ecosystem in relation to the type of ecosystems, while simultaneously evaluating the ecosystem’s ability and potential to survive. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 7 %P 12-24 %8 03/2017 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1061 %N 3 %1 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Katri Valkokari is a Research Manager at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in the Business, Innovation and Foresight research area. Over the past 15 years, she has carried out several development projects concerning different networked business arrangements (ecosystems, networks, partnerships, and firms). In 2009, Katri completed her doctoral thesis on business network development. She has published several international and national articles in the research areas of business network management, collaboration, organizational knowledge, and innovation management. %2 Tampere University of Technology Marko Seppänen, PhD, is Vice Dean for Education at the Faculty of Business and Built Environment, and is a Full Professor in the field of industrial management at Tampere University of Technology, Finland. He is an expert in managing value creation in business ecosystems, business concept development, and innovation management. In his latest research, he has examined platform-based competition in business ecosystems and innovation management in business networks. His research has appeared in high-quality peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, the Journal of Systems and Software, and the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. %3 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Maria Mäntylä (MSc Admin) is a Research Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in the Innovations, Economy & Policy team. She obtained her master’s degree in Local and Regional Governance from the University of Tampere, Finland, in 2015. She also studied Social Sciences of Sport in the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Maria has been involved in various national and international research projects regarding innovation research, especially in the area of regional innovation systems. She is currently writing her doctoral thesis on sports technologies and innovation ecosystems at the University of Tampere. %4 Elisa Corporation Simo Jylhä-Ollila (MSc Tech) is an Analyst in Elisa Corporation’s Industrial IoT department. He holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Tampere University of Technology, Finland. Previously, he worked as a research assistant in Tampere University of Technology and worked in Elisa’s research team before moving into his current position in the company. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1061