How do industrial internet platforms grow alongside their own business ecosystems: the case study of Haier COSMOPlat

Abstract

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, intelligent manufacturing has emerged as a crucial means to enhance national productivity. Concurrently, the industrial Internet platform serves as a vital infrastructure for advancing intelligent manufacturing. Industrial Internet platform is characterized by its data-centric and open nature, providing specialized services that support the personalization, networking, and smart development of manufacturing enterprises. Business ecosystem represents a dynamic structure formed by groups or organizations with shared value interests. Industrial Internet platform can efficiently aggregate and allocate resources of the entire business ecosystem, improving production efficiency. Therefore, industrial Internet platforms do not exist in isolation, they coexist with their business ecosystems. The study how industrial Internet platforms grow alongside their own business ecosystems is a meaningful and important issue.

To study this issue, it selects industrial Internet platform Haier COSMOPlat, where the researcher works, as research object to discuss three important mechanisms: first of all, the mechanisms by which industrial Internet platforms enable the development of their own business ecosystems. Industrial Internet platforms enable enterprises, industries and ecologies through integration. Secondly, the value co-creation mechanisms inherent in industrial Internet platforms and business ecosystems. They efficiently integrate resources through modularization, scenario-based and complementary mechanisms to facilitate value co-creation. Thirdly, the mechanisms in which these platforms and their associated ecosystems achieve sustainable development through innovation diffusion. They are primarily manifested in three key mechanisms: forward-looking search, social replication, and self-reinforcing cycles.

The researcher hopes to propose the universal development process mechanism of industrial Internet platforms and their business ecosystems through this thesis. While further providing more knowledge and empirical contributions to theories such as industrial Internet platforms, business ecosystems, enabling, value co-creation and innovation diffusion, it also provides references and enlightenments for the practice for other industrial Internet platforms in developing their own business ecosystems.