This article is the sixth in a series that offers executives practical guidance on business ecosystems. The modular design of  this installment allows you to read it in its entirety or jump to  the strategic questions that are most relevant to your company. 

F rom media and technology to energy and mining—no  major industry is untouched by the rise of business  ecosystems. These dynamic groups of largely independent economic players working together to deliver solutions that they couldn’t muster on their own come in two  flavors: transaction ecosystems in which a central platform  links two sides of a market, such as buyers and sellers on a  digital marketplace; and solution ecosystems in which a  core firm orchestrates the offerings of several complementors, such as product manufacturers in a smart-home  ecosystem. Both types can quickly generate eye-popping  valuations; since 2015, more than 300 ecosystem startups  have reached unicorn status.

Given the success of this cohort of startups, as well as the  Big Tech ecosystem players now numbered among the  world’s most valuable companies, it’s no surprise that  ecosystems are high on the strategic agendas of incumbent companies. More than half of the S&P Global 100  companies are already engaged in one or more ecosystems, and in a recent BCG survey of 206 executives in  multinational companies, 90% indicated that their companies planned to expand their activities in this field.