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Ecosystems of actors that need to interact to create value for end users are becoming an integral part of firms' strategic realities as they reach new markets. However, the phenomenon of ecosystem internationalisation has not been explored in comparison to its practical prevalence. We conceptualise this phenomenon as agent-led structuration on new markets. We build on the structural ecosystem literature and literature on internationalisation challenges to create our recursive process model of ecosystem creation on foreign markets. Creating ecosystems on foreign markets necessitates new ecosystem structures that are adjusted to value propositions by orchestrators through interaction with foreign market actors. The model explains how ecosystem orchestrators drive the international expansion of ecosystems through blueprinting and aligning mechanisms and how these mechanisms help manage liabilities of foreignness. The model accounts for the agency of involved actors, and with the help of the bottleneckconcept bridges international business and ecosystem literatures.

This dissertation builds on a jointly phenomenological and theoretical approach to investigate how traditional industries face challenges related to ecosystem innovation. Phenomenologically, it investigates how innovation within the shipbuilding industry affects the activities performed by firms that have traditionally filled the role of suppliers to shipyards. Innovations in digitalisation threaten to upend long-standing relationships and, as a result, have a substantial impact on the structure of the industry, which has a long history of intense competition, long industry cycles, stable products and services, and dependence on global trade. Theoretically, this dissertation is positioned in the growing literature on ecosystems, which takes a particular interest in how innovation creates new interdependencies between actors, interdependencies that need to be aligned for value to materialise. Through this literature, we have an understanding of how innovation can enable new forms of value to reach end users, how firms can orchestrate such activities, and how new entrants can draw on innovation to threaten established industries. However, we have yet to fully consider how ecosystems emerge and are orchestrated in industries characterised by preexisting interdependencies and latent ecosystem structures and the role of complementors in this process.

These issues are examined through four research papers that build on each other to investigate different aspects of the emergence and orchestration of ecosystems in traditional industries. This research follows an abductive approach, meaning that through iteration between data and theory, new results have been generated. The data for the studies are drawn from two case studies within the shipbuilding industry. The papers present four main findings: first, the emergence of ecosystems is significantly impacted by preexisting interdependencies, particularly incentives to innovate and regulatory dependence. Second, these preexisting interdependencies lead to complementors taking a leading role in innovation that spur the emergence of new ecosystems. Third, this is carried out through market and nonmarket strategies as firms must engage with each other and international organisations. Fourth, the preexisting interdependencies also lead to collective orchestration which requires significant internal coordination to successfully perform but allows for market actors to have greater influence in regulatory matters. I arrive at these results by drawing on insights from resource dependence theory, collective action theory, and corporate political activities. 

This paper analyses the collective orchestration of an emerging ecosystem within the maritime industry. Orchestration is typically conceptualised as a process driven by a single focal firm that does so by controlling a platform, technology, resource or knowledge. This paper analyses a case of collective orchestration, where a group of firms jointly establish an ecosystem vision and implement activities towards its realisation. This paper contributes to the literature on ecosystem orchestration with a process model on collective orchestration that explains how a collective orchestrates an emerging ecosystem and simultaneously coordinates its internal activities to maintain cohesion. Thus, the paper complements current understandings of ecosystem orchestration and leadership. The process model was developed through the longitudinal analysis of a case using an abductive approach, iteratively moving between data analysis and drawing on prior literature on ecosystem orchestration and collective action theory.

This paper examines the role of complementors in leading ecosystem transformation. With a focus on the shipbuilding ecosystem as a case study, we explore how complementors navigate the digitalization process within latent ecosystems. While the shipbuilding ecosystem comprises autonomous actors fulfilling complementary roles in ship production, the ongoing digitalization efforts present opportunities for transformative change. Drawing on the emergent nature of the case, we investigate the leadership and complementor dynamics shaping ecosystem transformation. By delving into these dynamics, we aim to offer insights into the leadership strategies employed by complementors and their impact on ecosystem evolution. Our study contributes to the broader discourse on ecosystem studies by addressing the overreliance on materialized ecosystems and retrospective studies, while also shedding light on the role of complementors as drivers of ecosystem transformation.

The development and implementation of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) promises to positively impact the maritime transportation industry through increased safety, efficiency, and sustainability. A large stake in this innovation lies with technology suppliers that are driving the transformation towards MASS. However, the creation of markets for MASS is not possible without regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that determine standards for safety, interoperability, and performance. The focus of this paper is on how market actors manage regulatory uncertainty for MASS. To analyze these interactions, we develop a framework based on corporate political activity (CPA) and resource dependence theory (RDT). We conduct thematic analysis on the qualitative data from a single case of a group of international firms attempting to influence the regulatory development for MASS. The results suggest that both the characteristics of the regulator and performer of CPA play an important role in affecting both choice and outcomes of CPA. We also analyze the tactics employed by the group and find self reinforcing and proactive synergies between the tactics employed. Furthermore, we identify a new pathway for influencing international organizations through distributed targeting, where CPA directed at other institutions contributed to the synergistic effect between tactics.