Ecosystems are increasingly gaining in importance in both research and practice. Building on a wave of increasing digitalization and globalization, ecosystems are replacing traditional value chains. Firms are now focusing on a wide variety of partners and ways in which they can collectively create value for their customers. Ecosystems break down formerly existing barriers and create possibilities to integrate global partners to create innovative value propositions. This thesis introduces

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... ized ecosystem as a phenomenon that creates an open and dynamic setting offering great potential for new and innovative value propositions and global business but simultaneously results in complex challenges for the firm management. Firms need to switch to operating in ecosystems, require managers with new skills to manage digital transformation and collaborations across borders, and manage the increasingly digital workforce. Building on eight research articles, this thesis contributes to business research by (1) giving insights on how firms interact and strategically use ecosystems, (2) highlighting the firm-specific challenges of managing diversity and dynamics in digitalized ecosystems, and (3) giving perspectives on coworking spaces as local ecosystem hubs. The thesis is structured in three parts and covers the topics mentioned above at the ecosystem-level in part one and the firm-level in parts two and three. The first part includes one published research article and two conference articles that examine the characteristics of innovation ecosystems in the emerging 3D printing category, shows how a shared digital identity within the industry fuels open knowledge exchange, and introduces different collaboration strategies of ecosystem actors. Part two consists of two research articles investigating the managers' role in driving digital transformation and the complexity of managing an increasingly diverse workforce. Part three includes three published research articles covering coworking spaces as a new form to organize w [...]