The innovation effects of engaged actors in Open Platform Ecosystems

Abstract

This chapter explores how innovation emerges within open platform ecosystems, using the Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) as a theoretical foundation and focusing on rewards-based crowdfunding as a practical case. Open platforms democratize innovation by enabling diverse actors to interact and integrate resources beyond firm boundaries. Innovation is no longer seen as serendipitous but rather as the outcome of deliberate engagement and resource exchange.

The chapter introduces the “Crowdfunding Ecosystem Resource-Density Management Model,” which links actor engagement and resource density to ecosystem innovation capacity. Actor engagement—understood as both the willingness and activity of integrating resources—drives the system’s potential for emergence and transformation. The model presents four strategic scenarios based on combinations of high or low engagement and resource density: increase resources, maintain innovation, pivot the business model, or enhance engagement.

The work contributes to theory by clarifying how ecosystems self-adjust and evolve through recursive interactions. It also offers practical guidance for designing strategies in dynamic, digital, multi-actor environments. Future research is encouraged to further explore actor engagement, resource liquefaction, and innovation processes in open and complex contexts like crowdfunding platforms.