Whilst research in innovation ecosystems has focused on the connectivity, interdependence, and coevolution of actors, technologies, and institutions, there has been a gap in the study of these relationships between actors, with little explanation given on how mutually interdependent parties adapt. In this paper, we draw further on the ecological metaphor to present a view of innovation ecosystems as complex adaptive systems, where patterns of change emerge from microlevel coevolutionary interactions between actors. Drawing on this view, we explore related implications for our understanding of ecosystem boundaries, coevolutionary rules of interaction, and how ecosystems are energized through innovation. Specifically, we contribute to the literature by developing a novel account of innovation ecosystems where actors are bound together through changing modes of coevolution. Drawing on this account, we explore key theoretical and practical implications for our understanding of ecosystem actors, rules of interaction, and the wider innovation ecosystem. We conclude that innovation both maintains and drives change within the innovation ecosystem, by altering the microlevel rules of interaction and coevolutionary relationships between actors.

虽然创新生态系统的研究侧重于参与者、技术和机构的连通性、相互依赖和共同进化，但在研究参与者之间的这些关系方面存在差距，几乎没有解释相互依赖的各方如何适应。在本文中，我们进一步利用生态隐喻，将创新生态系统视为复杂的适应系统，其中变化模式来自参与者之间微观层面的共同进化相互作用。基于这一观点，我们探讨了对我们理解生态系统边界、相互作用的共同进化规则以及生态系统如何通过创新激发活力的相关影响. 具体来说，我们通过对创新生态系统的新颖描述来为文献做出贡献，在该生态系统中，参与者通过不断变化的共同进化模式联系在一起。基于这一点，我们探索了对我们理解生态系统参与者、互动规则和更广泛的创新生态系统的关键理论和实践意义。我们得出的结论是，通过改变参与者之间相互作用和共同进化关系的微观规则，创新既维持又推动了创新生态系统内的变化。