Developing and implementing business ecosystem strategies in the legal sector: current situation and prospects in France
Résumé
Since the beginning of the 2000s, the concept of business ecosystem (BE), which was introduced by James F Moore in the early 1990s, has become a major topic in management (strategy, management of innovation) and economics (Daidj, 2011). BE is now a concept widely used by both the economic press and the academic world to explain why successful companies are those that collaborate with other organizations to significantly improve their performance and competitiveness (Iansiti & Levien, 2004). The application of this concept to the law thus appears promising for understanding how companies collaborate with other geographically close actors in order to develop legal ecosystems that they can, if necessary, mobilise not only to defend their own interests, but also to provide them with the information and legal know-how they need to carry out their national and international activities. From a conceptual and theoretical perspective, the interpretations of BEs may differ according to various scholars providing their own definitions and representations. Moreover, BEs also vary according to the context and the continuous changes in the business environment with digital transformation, the development and adoption of new technologies (such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, data analytics etc.) and the emergence of new players that have a significant impact on value chain and business models. As the notion of BE has been used in various and sometimes competing ways, we have made the choice here to refer mainly to Moore’s academic work in strategic management. This chapter aims at providing some theoretical insights into BEs drawing mainly from Moore’s publications in order to understand the main features and the evolution of this organizational/network form and to attempt to explain its relevance for the legal sector in France. This chapter includes a description of this sector and its main challenges today with the intensification of uberization and the competition between new entrants (technological platforms) and the various incumbent operators.