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Organizations are increasingly shifting from innovation initiatives centered on internal resources to initiatives centered on sharing resources, knowledge and expertise in ecosystems. In these settings, most innovation efforts have to be designed and accomplished at an interorganizational level to produce outcomes. Drawing on the experience of an applied research center in Italy, we explain why academics are in one of the best positions to orchestrate innovation ecosystems. Two main rationales support this key role. The first is associated with the fact that academics are in an independent position, which is neutral and represents a middle ground between the different organizations that share knowledge to ignite and sustain innovation at an ecosystem level. The second rationale is associated with the levels of compliance and complementarity that academics have with the main purposes for which knowledge within an innovation ecosystem is created and leveraged. Two design choices seem necessary to materialize the potential key orchestrator role of academics: (i) the extensive use of multiple approaches of collaborative research; (ii) the creation and maintenance of a knowledge platform allowing academics to progressively diffuse and leverage the ecosystem-based learning mechanisms underlying each innovation effort.

This paper explores orchestration capability as a concept defining the firm's ability to purposefully build and manage innovation networks. Due to the lack of empirical research on the subject as well as the focus on the organizational level in earlier studies, we approach the issue from a multi-level perspective. By utilizing expert panel discussions and an in-depth case study in an innovation network, we show that orchestration capability consists of both organizational and individual level determinants. Distinct capabilities and skills are identified and illustrated. Furthermore, we identify mechanisms suggesting that the two levels are interconnected in several ways.

The research aims to systematise governance characteristics of innovation ecosystems (IE) through an integrative literature review from SciELO, Scopus, and WOS since there is little research discussing governance applied to IE. The following categories emerged from the content analysis: governance approach; actors and roles; the relationship among actors; coordination mechanisms; common objective and value cocreation; goals and evaluation. The results show that governance is approached from different theoretical lenses, with the predominance of literature on network governance. There is also an emphasis on the orchestration concept. Furthermore, results suggest that IE governance is related to practices that align actors with roles and responsibilities oriented to common objectives, leading to value creation. The involvement of actors who collaboratively develop trust and capabilities, share knowledge and information, and generate innovations, technologies, and solutions, stands out. These collaborations may be organic and self-organised or deliberate and orchestrated.

In this chapter, the authors explain how storytelling as a management tool brings value to the SEAM intervention in theaters and performing arts businesses. This is done through highlighting storytelling incidents and impacts on the actors, methods, tools, performance, and the business in all its aspects. The authors will identify different elements of storytelling in the SEAM interventions and the resulting transformational change and pinpoint generic characteristics in an uncommon research field.

The emergence of digital entrepreneurial ecosystems (DEE) has brought broad economic and social consequences, such as creating jobs, attracting investment capital, and revitalizing digital economy. Thus, many countries nowadays hope to establish DEE to gain a competitive edge in the global business world. However, research on DEE has lagged behind practice and little is known about its underlying orchestration processes. In this study, we apply extant literature on DEE, self-organization, and resource orchestration to analyze the case of Zhongguancun DEE in China. By interviewing 52 participants in Zhongguancun DEE, three orchestration processes (i.e. opportunity appropriability, resource sharing, and ecosystem stability) that are pivotal to the prosperity of self-organizing DEE are proposed. To our knowledge, our research is one of first studies revealing effective orchestration strategies within DEE. Apart from academic significance, our findings could provide insightful references for entrepreneurial and political practitioners as well.