The loudest voice in a room: a program for ecosystem strategy and coordination through rationality

Purpose This article considers how organizations can become central coordinating stakeholders in innovation ecosystems without relying on direct control over key resources, technologies or partners. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's systems theory, attention is shifted from ecosystem-level control mechanisms to a decision program of expectation management internal to organizations that allows them to cultivate rationality and legitimacy in becoming central to an ecosystem while preserving other stakeholders' autonomy. Design/methodology/approach Secondary analysis is applied to an established qualitative case study of Carlsberg's development of the Green Fiber Bottle using Luhmannian systems theory, causally relating expectations, complexity, rationality, legitimacy and coordination, and developing a causal loop diagram. This causal loop diagram is applied to the case and illustrates how Luhmann's concepts can be traced through concrete organizational decisions and interactions. Findings The analysis suggests that a decision program for expectation management can serve as the internal engine that increases rationality for organizations. When combined, rationality and legitimacy reinforce one another and enable organizations to coordinate with autonomous stakeholders, while establishing them as reference points within an innovation ecosystem, allowing them to attain keystone-member centrality. Originality/value This article contributes by explaining ecosystem centrality as an outcome of internal organizational processes rather than direct control over key technologies, resources or partners. It introduces expectation management as a program that links organizational rationality and legitimacy, and offers a causal loop diagram that explains how organizations can become central ecosystem stakeholders while preserving other stakeholders' autonomy.