The Keystone Advantage

What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability

Business & Finance, Management & Leadership, Planning & Forecasting, Management
Cover of the book The Keystone Advantage by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien, Harvard Business Review Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien ISBN: 9781633697577
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press Publication: August 25, 2004
Imprint: Harvard Business Review Press Language: English
Author: Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
ISBN: 9781633697577
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Publication: August 25, 2004
Imprint: Harvard Business Review Press
Language: English

Leveraging the power of business networks for success. Whether it sells computers, clothing, or cars, your firm's fate is increasingly linked to that of many other firms, all of which must collaborate effectively in order for each to thrive. This phenomenon has changed the basis of competition from battle between firms to battles between networks of firms--and more than ever before, success depends on managing assets your company doesn't own.

In The Keystone Advantage, Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien offer a new lens for understanding how these ubiquitous and complex business networks behave and explore the implications for strategy formulation, innovation, and operations management. Iansiti and Levien argue that biological ecosystems provide a powerful analogy to the functioning of business networks. Just as "keystone species" in nature play central roles in their ecosystems, companies such as Walmart, Microsoft, and Li & Fung deploy "keystone strategies" to actively shape and regulate the workings of their business ecosystems--dramatically improving their own performance in the process. Iansiti and Levien argue that the best keystones simplify the challenge of connecting a very large and distributed network of companies to their customers and provide "platforms" that other firms can leverage to increase productivity, enhance stability, and spur innovation.

Drawing from more than ten years of research and practical experience across a range of industries, the authors identify three specific roles that firms play within business ecosystems: keystone, dominator, and niche. The book lays out a framework any firm can use to assess the characteristics of its own ecosystem, reevaluate its technology and operations strategy, and formulate specific tactics for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.

Practical and insightful, The Keystone Advantage will help leaders, managers, and policy makers to understand, analyze, and successful execute strategy in today’s networked environments.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Leveraging the power of business networks for success. Whether it sells computers, clothing, or cars, your firm's fate is increasingly linked to that of many other firms, all of which must collaborate effectively in order for each to thrive. This phenomenon has changed the basis of competition from battle between firms to battles between networks of firms--and more than ever before, success depends on managing assets your company doesn't own.

In The Keystone Advantage, Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien offer a new lens for understanding how these ubiquitous and complex business networks behave and explore the implications for strategy formulation, innovation, and operations management. Iansiti and Levien argue that biological ecosystems provide a powerful analogy to the functioning of business networks. Just as "keystone species" in nature play central roles in their ecosystems, companies such as Walmart, Microsoft, and Li & Fung deploy "keystone strategies" to actively shape and regulate the workings of their business ecosystems--dramatically improving their own performance in the process. Iansiti and Levien argue that the best keystones simplify the challenge of connecting a very large and distributed network of companies to their customers and provide "platforms" that other firms can leverage to increase productivity, enhance stability, and spur innovation.

Drawing from more than ten years of research and practical experience across a range of industries, the authors identify three specific roles that firms play within business ecosystems: keystone, dominator, and niche. The book lays out a framework any firm can use to assess the characteristics of its own ecosystem, reevaluate its technology and operations strategy, and formulate specific tactics for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.

Practical and insightful, The Keystone Advantage will help leaders, managers, and policy makers to understand, analyze, and successful execute strategy in today’s networked environments.

More books from Harvard Business Review Press

Cover of the book HBR Guide to Your Professional Growth by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book True Story by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself (with bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen) by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Rethinking the MBA by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Mindful Listening (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series) by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Employees First, Customers Second by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Back to the Drawing Board by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Competing for the Future by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Authentic Leadership (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series) by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Fail Better by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Matchmakers by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book HBR's 10 Must Reads on Collaboration (with featured article "Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership," by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis) by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Creating Business Plans (HBR 20-Minute Manager Series) by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
Cover of the book Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use by Marco Iansiti, Roy Levien
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy