Ecosystem Collaboration Capability on Business Resilience: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Co-Creation
Keywords:
Business Resilience; Ecosystem Collaboration Capability; Knowledge Co-Creation; SMEs; Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS).Abstract
Purpose This study investigates how ecosystem collaboration capability contributes to business resilience among Indonesian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and examines the mediating role of knowledge co-creation in explaining this relationship. Although prior studies increasingly acknowledge the importance of business ecosystems in supporting organizational adaptability, existing literature remains fragmented in clarifying the mechanism through which collaborative capability is translated into resilient business outcomes. This study addresses this gap by positioning knowledge co-creation as the intermediate process connecting ecosystem collaboration capability and business resilience.
Methods A quantitative explanatory research design was employed using a cross-sectional survey approach. Data were collected from 362 Indonesian SMEs selected through purposive sampling based on business experience and ecosystem participation criteria. The proposed model was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS 4. The analysis involved measurement model evaluation, structural model testing, and mediation analysis through bootstrapping procedures.
Findings The results demonstrate that ecosystem collaboration capability has a positive and significant effect on business resilience (β = 0.328; t = 5.412; p < 0.001) and knowledge co-creation (β = 0.694; t = 14.928; p < 0.001). Knowledge co-creation also significantly influences business resilience (β = 0.512; t = 8.361; p < 0.001). Mediation analysis confirms that knowledge co-creation partially mediates the relationship between ecosystem collaboration capability and business resilience (indirect effect = 0.355; t = 7.108; p < 0.001). The structural model explains 48.2% of the variance in knowledge co-creation and 62.1% of the variance in business resilience, indicating substantial predictive capability.
Research Implications This study extends business administration literature by integrating business ecosystem theory, the knowledge-based view, and dynamic capability perspectives into a unified framework explaining resilience formation. Practically, the findings suggest that SMEs and policymakers should prioritize collaborative infrastructures and shared knowledge mechanisms to strengthen adaptive capacity and long-term organizational sustainability.
Originality This study offers a novel ecosystem-based explanation of business resilience by conceptualizing ecosystem collaboration capability as a strategic organizational capability and identifying knowledge co-creation as the underlying mechanism that transforms collaborative engagement into resilient outcomes. Unlike prior firm-centric approaches, this study advances resilience research through an ecosystem-oriented and mediation-based analytical model in the context of Indonesian SMEs.
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