Innovation ecosystems are collectives of diverse, yet complementary, actors collaborating to generate system-level outcomes. Despite growing research interest, the role of “innovation” within innovation ecosystems remains unclear. We first distinguish innovation ecosystems from other innovation-oriented collectives such as alliances and networks, distinguish the various types of ecosystems that innovation scholars engage with, and then identify the role of innovation within different ecosystem streams. We also highlight the distinct approaches of innovation-as-outcome, innovation-as-process, and innovation-as-context as alternative ways to study innovation ecosystems, thus offering a comprehensive ecosystem framework for innovation scholars and practitioners.

Pre-print