Future Product Ecosystems: discovering the value of connections

Tim Williams, Marianella Chamorro-Koc
2016 DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking   unpublished
Product Ecosystem Theory is an emerging approach to help understand the value networks that exist between products within a system. As products become increasingly interconnected, understanding the value that is gained from those connections becomes ever more important. This paper explores the concept of product ecosystems and how this concept can be employed in mapping current products' evolution as well as that of new product conceptual development. Case studies using both hindsight from
more » ... rical design and foresight from new product propositions reveal the different connections that take place or need to be considered in the emerging landscape of product ecosystems. This paper seeks to contribute to Product Ecosystem Theory through a discussion of the literature and analysis of emerging connections within a product ecosystem revealed in selected examples, as well as by proposing a conceptual tool to help map out products' value networks.
doi:10.21606/drs.2016.295 fatcat:xv3tjjg5hjh2lmojcnhxan3p34