ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the conditions of emergence of Business Ecosystems (BEs) in the 2000s and their main features. It raises several important issues: origin, newness and openness of practices. The chapter describes the competitive process and the logic of networks. It outlines the main governance mechanisms and provides an example. Moore defines the BE as a coalition which brings together actively involved people who belong to different sectors, but share the same interests, values and common goals. Bengtsson and Kock propose a framework for analysing business strategies and identify several modes of relationships between firms among them: competition. The competitive relationships simultaneously include benefits and drawbacks of both cooperation and competition. Moore also emphasizes the phenomenon of competition, which is inherent in ecosystems. 'Members of a business ecosystem work co-operatively and competitively to support new products, satisfy customer needs, and eventually incorporate the next round of innovations'.
