Singapore University of Social Sciences

Technological advancement and digitalisation have changed the industry landscape rapidly through market disruptions. Platform-based companies such as Airbnb, Alibaba, Alphabet, Baidu, Coinbase, Microsoft, PayPal, Pinduoduo, Shopify, and Tencent have grown and attained dominant positions. MGT562 Ecosystem Design examines the concept of an ecosystem and how enterprises can design their businesses for high scalability and dominant industry positioning. Students will learn how to apply the power of systems thinking to identify and understand the motivations of the various stakeholders in the ecosystem. The criteria for highly scalable platforms based on network effect (direct and indirect forces) and switching costs are also demonstrated through the use of simulation software. Students will also learn how to design a holistic ecosystem and devise a suitable execution plan for a minimal viable ecosystem (MVE).