Computer-Supported Strategic Decision Making for Ecosystems Creation

In the corporate strategy arena, the concept of ecosystems has emerged as a transformative
approach to promote competitive advantage, growth, and innovation. Corporate ecosystems enable
companies to benefit from interconnections among diverse partners, products, and services to
deliver enhanced value to customers. However, the process of ecosystem creation represents a
significant challenge for CEOs, as they must analyze a wide number of alternative sectors, partners,
business cases, and other critical elements. Particularly, as it is a strategic decision, it lies beyond the
traditional approach of risk-return by incorporating other factors, e.g.: the feasibility, desirability and
sustainability of each alternative. This paper investigates how computer-supported optimization
algorithms can help to solve the complex problem faced by CEOs when making these factors to create
a successful and sustainable ecosystem. The paper shows how a CEO can make informed strategic
decisions by identifying the best projects to include in the ecosystem portfolio, balancing financial
risk and return with technical feasibility, customer appeal, and technical considerations.