Abstract
Innovation ecosystems are a contemporary phenomenon whose complex dynamics of on-going multi-lateral co-construction challenge our understanding of strategic control. We present the qualitative analysis of four embedded case studies of ecosystem creation by two global technology-based companies. We uncover the mechanisms used by actors to co-construct a vision of the future with other stakeholders while at the same time exercising dynamic control over the emergence dynamics by using three concurrent capabilities: influencing, monitoring, and updating. Our process model theorizes the emergence of novel ecosystems and contributes to the literature on this novel phenomenon. Our focus on the temporality of value extends the theory of future-oriented strategies. Finally, our results also provide practical guidance to managers on the mechanisms to leverage to play the ecosystem game.