Systemic Innovation Within Service Ecosystems and Business Models
A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Practice in Social Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 May 2026 | Viewed by 16
Special Issue Editor
Interests: digital ecosystems; digital twin technology; AI; interactive marketing; E-commerce; qualitative research; marketing strategy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Innovation research has historically focused on technological progress, organisational procedures and firm strategies. However, an increasingly connected, digitalised and sustainability-focused world requires a systemic approach. Systemic innovation refers to changes that not only alter products and services but also the relationships between actors, technologies, institutions and social practices. These innovations are transformative, impacting the structures and logics of entire systems rather than offering small improvements within existing boundaries.
Service ecosystems are a particularly rich area for studying systemic innovation. Defined as dynamic arrangements of actors, resources and institutional frameworks that interact to produce and exchange value, service ecosystems emphasise the interconnected and co-evolving nature of innovation. From healthcare and mobility to energy and digital platforms, service ecosystems are experiencing significant shifts driven by sustainability goals, digital technologies and changing societal expectations. These changes challenge traditional organisational roles and call for new approaches to collaboration, governance and value co-creation.
Business models are central to these systemic shifts. They serve as the mediating frameworks through which organisations structure their value creation, delivery and capture mechanisms. In systemic contexts, business models cannot be understood in isolation: they are embedded within ecosystems of complementary and competing logics, often requiring cross-organisational alignment. Platform-based models, circular economy approaches and data-driven services demonstrate how business models evolve in response to systemic change and, in turn, drive new ecosystem configurations.
This Special Issue aims to enhance scholarly understanding of the interaction between systemic innovation, service ecosystems and business models. We invite submissions that explore how systemic innovation develops across various levels—micro (firm, team), meso (ecosystem, industry) and macro (institutional, societal)—and how business models are created, modified or challenged in these environments. Both conceptual and empirical contributions are encouraged, covering a variety of methodological approaches and disciplinary perspectives.
Potential topics encompass, but are not limited to:
- Mechanisms and dynamics of systemic innovation within service ecosystems
- Transforming business models in response to systemic change
- Governance and management of innovation across ecosystems
- Digital platforms, data ecosystems and AI as drivers of systemic innovation
- Circular and sustainable business models within ecosystem transitions
- The influence of institutions, regulations and policies on fostering systemic innovation
- Cross-sectoral cases of ecosystem innovation (e.g., healthcare, mobility, energy, education, finance)
- Methodological approaches to examining complexity and systemic change
Dr. Mana Farshid
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- systemic innovation
- service ecosystems
- business models
- digitalization
- value co-creation
- sustainability
- platform economy
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