Knowledge Management and Digital Innovation in Business Ecosystems

Business ecosystems encompass networks of interdependent organisations, stakeholders and technologies that co-evolve to create and capture value. Within these ecosystems, knowledge management serves as the systematic practice of acquiring, organising and sharing expertise to foster innovation and responsiveness. Digital innovation leverages emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics and cloud-based platforms—to enhance these processes, enabling more efficient knowledge flows and collaborative decision-making. Together, knowledge management and digital innovation underpin the capacity of firms and networks to adapt to changing markets, navigate complexity and pursue sustainable growth. Practical applications range from green process innovations that align with environmental objectives to social innovation capital in small enterprises. The integration of open innovation practices and digital tools supports reflective knowledge exchange, allowing actors to tap external expertise while co-creating novel solutions. Modelling approaches, including system dynamics enriched by machine intelligence, offer insights into the interdependencies and feedback loops that drive ecosystem resilience. Despite the transformative potential, challenges remain in ensuring data interoperability, governance of shared intellectual assets and equitable benefit distribution. Addressing these concerns will be crucial to realising the global significance of digitally enabled knowledge ecosystems, particularly in contexts demanding rapid, data-driven responses such as sustainability transitions and crisis management.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Knowledge Management and Digital Innovation in Business Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in knowledge management and digital innovation in business ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Business ecosystem: A dynamic network of organisations and actors that collaborate and compete to deliver products and services.

Knowledge management: The systematic process of acquiring, organising, sharing and applying knowledge within and across organisations.

Digital innovation: The deployment of digital technologies to create new or improved products, services and processes.

Open innovation: A practice where firms purposively use external ideas and pathways alongside internal capabilities to advance technology and business models.

System dynamics: A methodological framework for modelling complex systems with feedback loops and time delays.

Big data analytics: Techniques and tools that process large-scale, high-velocity datasets to extract actionable insights.

Reflective knowledge exchange: A collaborative learning mechanism where actors critically reflect on shared information to improve innovation outcomes.

References

1. Harnessing knowledge management for green product competitive advantage with green process innovation as a mediator. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity (2024).
2. Strengthening digital collaboration to enhance social innovation capital: an analysis of Italian small innovative enterprises. Journal of Intellectual Capital (2020).
3. Harvesting reflective knowledge exchange for inbound open innovation in complex collaborative networks: an empirical verification in Europe. Journal of Knowledge Management (2020).
4. Zooming in and out the landscape: Artificial intelligence and system dynamics in business and management. Technological Forecasting and Social Change (2024).