ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces the rise of Chinese business ecosystems and what this book is about: how leading Chinese companies adopt a business ecosystem approach to not only lead but also create and disrupt markets. In particular, we introduce the five cases: Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi and LeEco, and the drivers of their business ecosystems in China. Further, the chapter introduces the solid research foundation of the book, i.e. our four strands of research, including an extensive empirical research, our proprietary investment database, assessment of Chinese material and extensive discussion with international executives.
