FORMING AN ECOSYSTEM OF INNOVATION

The paper deals with modern changes concerning competition and participating in the field of innovations. A controversial nature of the interaction among participants of innovation process in the form of competition and cooperation in competitive environment is reasoned. The modern market is a complicated system with complex interactions between companies and customers, suppliers, competitors, distributors affecting individual and group businesses and also partners that benefit from one another.The author uses the term "innovation ecosystem" having in mind such forms of cooperation when organizations combine their individual proposals into integrated solutions ready for use in the consumer market. In the consumer ecosystem market activities (investments, joint development of products, market communication, logistics and transactions) are conducted and controlled by consumers rather than suppliers. An innovation ecosystem is usually formed for the development of innovations. This process involves different members of the market that are often a part of a sectoral supply chain connecting all the production stages, from purchasing raw material, its processing and assembling to selling goods to customers. Within the innovation ecosystem firms while solving different tasks can both compete and cooperate at the same time. In foreign publications this phenomenon is called "co-opetition". The author has systemized the examples of the co-opetition strategy application by leading foreign enterprises, in particular, in machine-building and pharmacy fields. In functioning of the ecosystem the issue of synchronizing the efforts of its main participants that are involved in the process of creating and introducing the innovation into the market rises there. The article reasons the importance of solving the problem concerning the coordination of all ecosystem participants’ efforts and in particular the organization should assume the role of a coordinator. The innovation ecosystem formation was investigated by the example of the Apple Company. This company managed not only to create new electronic appliances but also by establishing the standards of quality in the market of computer industry to form the ecosystem – markets of new products such as IPod, iPhone and IPad. The particular example of Apple Company experience allowed the author to find out the key "supports" of the company-leader successive innovative activities and to present them graphically.