%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2015 %T Who Inhabits a Business Ecosystem? The Technospecies as a Unifying Concept %A Michael L. Weber %A Michael J. Hine %K business ecosystem %K business environment %K complex adaptive systems %K technospecies %X Currently, many terms are used to describe business ecosystems and their inhabitants. These terms have meanings that can cause definitional confusion and an ambiguous level of analysis as to what constitutes a business ecosystem. To understand business ecosystem relationships, an unambiguous understanding of the ecosystem components is required. The importance of standardized terminology and clear definitions of these components has been recognized in the literature. From a managerial perspective, identifying the relationships a firm is situated in is valuable and useful information that can be practically applied. We propose a business ecosystem model anchored around interdependent technospecies similar to the biological model that many of the existing concepts are drawn from. Technospecies are unique entities based on their organizational routines, capabilities, and use of technology. This article will present an alternative formulation of the business ecosystem model with the aim of synthesizing the diverse terminology presently in use into a concise, common language. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 5 %P 31-44 %8 05/2015 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/896 %N 5 %1 Carleton University Michael L. Weber is a PhD candidate in the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and he is the undergraduate lab coordinator in Carleton University's Department of Biology He holds a BScH degree in Biology and an MMS degree in Information Technology, also from Carleton University. His primary research interests are in food supply chain security, business ecosystems, and electronic communication and negotiation. He has published in journals including Group Decision and Negotiation and Electronic Markets. %2 Carleton University Michael J. Hine is an Associate Professor of Information Systems in the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His primary research interests are in online services, online reviews, health informatics and how individual human differences play out in computer-mediated work environments. In addition to BCom and MSc degrees, he holds a PhD in Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University. He has published in journals including but not limited to, the Journal of Management Information Systems, Communications of the ACM, Group Decision and Negotiation, and Electronic Markets. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/896