Dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation in ecosystems

Open sources and digital platforms offer significant opportunities for knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) firms to participate on the platforms of existing firms while enabling the existing firms to develop dynamic capabilities (DC). However, the processes through which KIE and existing firms co-create and co-capture value from each other in ecosystems remain less understood. Synthesizing the diverse streams of literature on DC development in ecosystems, entrepreneurial ecosystems development by KIE firms, and service-centred views of value co-creation, we develop what we refer to as a ‘dynamic exchange capabilities (DEC) framework’ to delineate the processes through which firms co-create and co-capture value in ecosystems. Emphasizing the transience and potential trajectory of exchanges in ecosystems, we highlight how potential benefits of exchanges in ecosystems may affect the relationships and resource integration of both existing and KIE firms. The implications for the theory and practice of dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation are outlined.