Evaluating the Governance Model of Hardware-Dependent Software Ecosystems – A Case Study of the Axis Ecosystem

Ecosystem governance becomes gradually more relevant for a set of companies or actors characterized by symbiotic relations evolved on the top of a technological platform, i.e. a software ecosystem. In this study, we focus on the governance of a hardware-dependent software ecosystem. More specifically, we evaluate the governance model applied by Axis, a network video and surveillance camera producer, that is the platform owner and orchestrator of the Application Development Partner (ADP) software ecosystem. We conduct an exploratory case study col- lecting data from observations and interviews and apply the governance model for prevention and improvement of the software ecosystem health proposed by Jansen and Cusumano. Our results reveal that although the governance actions do not address the majority of their governance model, the ADP ecosystem is considered a growing ecosystem provid- ing opportunities for its actors. This can be explained by the fact that Axis, as the orchestrator and the platform owner, does not address the productivity and robustness of the ecosystem adequately, but has a net- work of vendors and resellers to support it and some of the governance activities (e.g. communication) are achieved by non-formal means. The current governance model does not take into consideration.