Classroom Companion: Business

Box 4.1 Illustration of the Vulnerability of a Biological Ecosystem
The vulnerability of a biological eco-
system is illustrated by a small but 
well- 
documented ecosystem in the 
salt marches in Southern California 
(Lafferty & Morris, 
1996
). The ecosys-
tem consists primarily of four species: 
the parasite Euhaplorchis californiensis, 
horn snails, killifish, and seabirds. The 
horn snail and the killifish are interme-
diate hosts for the parasite. The bird 
is the final host in which the parasite 
matures sexually and produces eggs 
 
Chapter 4 · Digital Economy Ecosystem

---

47
4
The biological metaphor is a fruitful analogy since the complexity and unpre-
dictability of the evolution of the information technology is a result of visible 
and hidden as well as planned and unplanned interactions within a business 
ecosystem consisting of entrepreneurs, researchers and developers, software and 
hardware platform providers, system integrators, network providers, govern-
ment authorities, and communities of individuals participating directly or indi-
rectly in the evolution (Muegge, 
2013
). Examples of systems resulting from such 
complex and unpredictable interactions are the Internet itself and the smart-
phone technology consisting of an intricate hierarchy of devices, services, and 
applications. Peer-production, crowdsourcing, and the use of free and open soft-
ware make the ecosystem even more multifaceted and unpredictably complex 
(see 
7
Chap. 
7
).
The digital economy depends intimately on the information and communica-
tion technology (ICT) and consists of elements such as the Internet, smartphones, 
data storage, and processing. Put differently, digital services require ICT to manage 
and propagate its value proposition to the consumers. The interplay between digi-
tal services, information and communication technologies, providers of digital ser-
vices, competitors, digital marketplaces, consumers, and society at large is the core 
feature shaping the digital economy. This interplay is called the digital economy 
ecosystem.
that are spread by the bird’s feces that 
are eaten by the snails. This completes 
the life cycle of the parasite as shown in 
.
Fig.
4.1
.
The parasite alters the behavior of the 
intermediate hosts: the snails search for 
water where they are eaten by the killi-
fish; the infected fish is no longer afraid 
of birds and becomes an easy prey. In 
one area, the authorities decided to 
remove the parasite to make the beach 
healthier. This caused a complete col-
lapse of the ecosystem: the snails no 
longer searched for water, the killifish 
disappeared since there was no more 
easily accessible food close to the shore, 
and so did the birds because easy prey 
was no longer available.
. Fig. 4.1 Biological ecosystem. (Authors’ own figure)