Governing a Digital Business Ecosystem : Lessons from One.Motoring Portal

While the IT innovation topic has gathered significant research interests, the existing discourse on IT innovation is centered on internal organizational processes such as IT capability development and organizational learning rather than IT innovation networks as the primary means for achieving superior enterprise performance. This is an important topic because a networked perspective of IT-enabled innovation is a critical dimension for the dynamics of collaborative innovation in today’s networked economy. In particular, the development and implementation of a digital business ecosystem (DBE); a specific type of business ecosystem defined as an IT-enabled business network of entities with differing interests bound together in a collective whole, may hold the key to attaining superior enterprise performance in the context of organizations operating in complex business networks. Using a case study of ONE.MOTORING portal and adopting the theory of business ecosystems as an analytical lens, the objective of this study is to examine how are DBEs developed and governed? Our analysis identified three important lessons learnt that were instrumental in developing a DBE: institutionalizing ONE.MOTORING concept within business ecosystem; establishing connectivity and attaining network density and emphasizing value creation. We conclude with research and practice implications