Leadership Cognition as A Driver of Ecosystem Strategies in Sustainable Business Ecosystems

Eva Niesten; Ludmila Striukova; Eliane Bacha

doi:10.37725/mgmt.2025.11468

Eva Niesten SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Suresnes, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9497-7263
Ludmila Striukova SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Suresnes, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7399-6545
Eliane Bacha SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Suresnes, France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9172-6015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37725/mgmt.2025.11468

Keywords: Cognitive capabilities, Ecosystem strategies, Autonomous electric vehicles, Sustainable business ecosystems

Abstract

This paper identifies the cognitive capabilities of leaders that enable them to implement ecosystem strategies in sustainable business ecosystems. We analyze the relation between three concepts – cognitive capabilities, ecosystem strategies, and sustainable business ecosystems – in the empirical context of autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs). We used Factiva and online video material to analyze data on the ecosystem strategies of Tesla and General Motors (GM) and their leaders’ cognitive capabilities from 2020 until 2024. Our results show that GM applies a component strategy, collaborating with other firms in the ecosystem, whereas Tesla implements a system strategy, developing most of its technologies in-house with a focus on competition over collaboration. Tesla takes on the role of ecosystem orchestrator, setting the standard for electric vehicle charging and autonomous technology. While cognitive empathy – which includes stakeholder cooperation, building trust, and encouraging others’ initiative – supports a component strategy, a system strategy is driven by a future orientation that involves foreseeing novel AEV technologies, advancing an ecosystem vision, and persuading others to embrace that vision. Our study makes a novel contribution by linking specific cognitive capabilities to distinct ecosystem strategies in sustainable business ecosystems. By grounding this relationship in the dynamic managerial capabilities’ framework, we highlight the microfoundations through which leaders shape ecosystem strategies in sustainability contexts.

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Author Biographies

Eva Niesten, SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Suresnes, France

Eva Niesten is professor of strategy and sustainability at SKEMA Business School and the director of the SKEMA Centre for Sustainability Studies. In her research, she analyses inter-firm collaboration and business models for sustainability with a focus on renewable energy technologies. Her work appeared in journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics, Industrial and Corporate Change, Long Range Planning, International Journal of Management Reviews, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Business Strategy and the Environment.

Ludmila Striukova, SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Suresnes, France

Ludmila Striukova is professor of innovation at SKEMA Business School, France. Her research focuses on innovation strategy, intellectual property, business model innovation, and the role of emerging technologies in shaping organizational capabilities. She has also co-edited several special issues on topics related to innovation, intellectual property, and emerging technologies. She works closely with startups and policymakers, bridging academic research with practice in order to support entrepreneurial growth and inform innovation policy.

Eliane Bacha, SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur, Suresnes, France

Eliane Bacha is associate professor of organizational behaviour at SKEMA Business School, France. Her research focuses on leadership (charismatic, transformational, and moral), the role of women in companies, the reactions of companies in turbulent environments, and climate change.