Abstract
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 historical 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.
Keywords
industrial design, product ecosystem theory, innovation theory, internet of things.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.295
Citation
Williams, T., and Chamorro-Koc, M. (2016) Future Product Ecosystems: discovering the value of connections, in Lloyd, P. and Bohemia, E. (eds.), Future Focused Thinking - DRS International Conference 2016, 27 - 30 June, Brighton, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.295
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Future Product Ecosystems: discovering the value of connections
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 historical 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.