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Elective - Designing and Building Digital Partnerships and Ecosystems - Lead the Future Onboarding

Faculty

Andrew Shipilov
Andrew Shipilov

Professor of Strategy

The John H. Loudon Chaired Professor of International Management

Syllabus

Designing and Building Digital Partnerships and Ecosystems  will introduce how to navigate the shifting landscape of digital technologies, help you understand which partnerships, platforms and ecosystems your business needs to win in the era of digitisation.

Starting with an introduction into basics of strategy, the programme will then give you a thorough understanding of partnerships, platforms and ecosystems.

Introduction

You will find guidance on how to make the most of the module, information on completion requirements, and an overview of the upcoming week’s journey.

Week 1: Alliances and Partnerships

In week 1, we will look at selecting partners for forming alliances, and various strategies for building alliance portfolios. We will then explore how to drive innovation across alliance partners.

Learning Objectives:

  • Review the basics of strategy and competitive advantage.
  • Define what an alliance is.
  • Examine how to build a successful alliance.
  • Learn how companies achieve competitive advantage by moving from alliances to managing alliance networks.
  • Learn an alliance jigsaw tool that helps to think about innovation opportunities across partners.

Week 2: Platforms

In week 2, we will dive deep into platforms. We will analyse why they are so attractive and what their competitive advantage is typically based on. We will close the module by playing the game in which you will have to design a platform. 

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand what a platform is.
  • Explore the sources of value for platforms.
  • Learn how to design platforms. 

Week 3: Ecosystems

In week 3, we will shift from studying alliances to studying ecosystems. We shall look at how adaptive ecosystems can be drivers of digital transformation. We will further analyse how companies organise internally to manage ecosystems. We will also build on the alliance jigsaw to discover opportunities across partners. 

Learning Objectives

  • Understand different types of ecosystems.
  • Learn how to build adaptive ecosystems.
  • Explore the process of generating innovative ideas with partners.

Learning Journey

Please take a moment to review the Learning Journey as it covers important steps of the module.

LTF BSPE learning journey

Reflection Assignment

This reflection requires you to develop a Digital Transformation Execution Plan by applying course concepts on alliances, platforms, and ecosystems to a real professional or personal context. You will define a clear digital challenge, assess how strategic alliances and partner portfolios can drive innovation and competitive advantage, evaluate the role of platform strategies in value creation, and identify opportunities to build adaptive ecosystems. Your 1–2 page submission should synthesise these insights into a structured execution plan that outlines key strategic choices, priority actions, and expected outcomes for delivering digital transformation.