INFOMATION

SPEAKER：Prof. Sali LI (University of South Carolina)

TIME/DATE：2025.3.6  10:00

CLASSROOM: A402

ABSTRACT

Ecosystem architectural innovations reshape the interdependencies between lead firms, suppliers, and complementors, influencing their innovation strategies and performance. This project examines how ecosystem members respond to these disruptions. First, complementors face performance shortfalls when architectural innovations alter technological interactions, but alignment with the ecosystem leader—through technological and flow synchronization—helps mitigate these effects. Second, suppliers’ specialization toward the lead firm’s technology is conditioned by their network positions, with brokers face adaptation challenges. Furthermore, supplier-complementor alliances provide critical downstream knowledge that moderates both complementor adaptation and supplier specialization. Using empirical insights from Apple’s ecosystem, this synthesis highlights how architectural innovations drive ecosystem evolution, shaping strategic decisions and value creation across multiple interdependent actors.

GUEST BIO

Sali Li is a professor at the Darla Moore School of Business, specializing in multinational strategy, the resource-based view, and international entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Previously, he was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a member of the Academy of International Business, Academy of Management, and Strategic Management Society, and has served on the editorial boards of several top journals, including the Journal of International Management and Journal of Management. His research has been published in leading journals such as Academy of Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management.