The relationship between organizational interdependence and additionality obtained from innovation ecosystem participation

Despite the increased interest in innovation ecosystems, few studies have assessed the extent to which the proclaimed benefits from participating in such ecosystems also occur, and under which circumstances they do occur. Uniting the literature on organizational interdependence and social exchange theory, we assess the behavioral and output additionality obtained by innovation ecosystem participants. In doing so, we build upon a sample of 473 innovative Finnish companies, of which 312 participated in an innovation ecosystem. We find a significantly positive relationship between organizational interdependence and output additionality, and find that this relationship is mediated by behavioral additionality. Furthermore, we find that the relationship between behavioral additionality and output additionality is particularly strong when firms appoint members from the innovation ecosystem to their board of directors, pointing to the importance of internalizing the ecosystem. We discuss implications for academia and practice.