Value Co-creation in Service Ecosystems—Investigating the Role of Mediating Modalities Between Structure and Agency in Business-to-business Relations

Research in the field of service ecosystems (SE) in the business-to-business (B2B) context is still in its infancy, especially lacking consideration of social dynamics that shape collaboration among firms. This study focuses on this topic and investigates how companies interact, coordinate, and co-create value within in an industrial SE. Applying structuration theory as the theoretical foundation for analyzing the dynamics and relationships between actors in an industrial SE, we conduct a single case study focusing on the ecosystem revolving around an Industrial Internet of Things software startup as the focal firm, its business partners, and customers. The investigated ecosystem consisted of 17 firms, with 29 interviews building the foundation for analysis. We generate insights on the underlying mechanisms that enable cooperation, knowledge exchange, and joint value creation. Based on our findings, we derive six interrelated modalities that explain how firms align interests, distribute responsibilities, and build shared understanding within the ecosystem. We synthesize these findings into three core dynamics that are integrated into a recursive loop that builds a self-containing system providing both structure and flexibility for change. By providing empirical insights into these dynamics, the study enhances our understanding of how SEs function as complex socio-technical systems. The study contributes to both research and practice by explaining how firms can strengthen collaboration and manage interdependencies to achieve collective value creation.