The need for ecosystem building in the digital age
Cooperation or competition?

Mehrdad Fakher


One of the most critical debates on the economy in the early months of the coronavirus outbreak was the need for change in business models and transition from traditional to digital. With the daily spread of the virus, the supply chains of many companies' inefficiency changed, which led industry owners to monitor and revise their business models. Those who hesitated to believe in change suffered irreparable damage, and some even were on the brink of extinction.
In a way, the Coronavirus confirmed the undeniable impact of digital technologies on our daily lives and guidance method businesses. Corona accelerated a revolution that had been underway for years.
Although digital technologies in Iranian businesses do not have a long history, and we are still going with the trial and error method in many areas, developed countries' experience shows that change is no longer limited to unstructured innovations.
Suppose we implement the same innovation in our businesses. In that case, we will take a step to improve our performance, but the question is whether the world's economic giants use simple and basic methods of digital technologies?
Generally, the answer is no because, in a new age, one can no longer expect to make more money by owning, buying, or even selling a competitive advantage. Under these circumstances, organizations have gone beyond competition and opened new doors in economics and business by creating new ideas and ignoring existing business practices; this method ultimately produces new services and products and makes fundamental changes in how they sell and monetize. Such a revolutionary re-creation will affect not only the business but also the industry. 
One of these creative ways to transform the business model is to create an active ecosystem of industry owners who make value for the customer in the form of a network of actors. As its concept implies, this approach is far removed from current and old business strategies and seems to have challenged the familiar notions of value acquisition to compete.
From 1979 competitive strategies dominated the business environment; but now, the world's economic leaders have realized that it is time to prefer cooperation to competition and define different business rules for businesses, which we can name Coopetition (cooperating plus competition).
This peaceful coexistence of competitors changes competition's etiquette and creates new values through relationships and networks without creating high barriers for others. With such an approach, the old term of positioning in a competitive advantage will be questioned.

Although we have had many examples of business ecosystems throughout history (such as the large markets of medieval cities where merchants traded goods on certain days), the ecosystems are less than ten years old and proposed by the world's largest companies to expand.
Some businesses recently joined together to increase and create double value for our country's customers by creating a synergy. And they have abandoned the traditional competitive environment and are working together in an ecosystem.
But there is a question, do these ecosystem orchestrators have a more sustainable advantage than others? And what is the organizational maturity to form a sustainable ecosystem in their various units to develop (synchronize) and grow their business in this way? How are administrative processes redefined as an ecosystem?
Companies that chose this new model want as many actors to enter their ecosystem and interact with them according to their established rules. So the more significant ecosystem, the more prosperous their work will be. One way to achieve this is to give people a reason to be more present and use the ecosystem as often as possible, which can only provide customers with an unforgettable experience.
On the other hand, one of the most significant advantages of ecosystem orchestration is that you can access all companies' databases in the ecosystem and monitor market developments, sales, and audience taste. This approach to digital data-driven can be a smarter approach that sets your ecosystem apart from other businesses.