Embracing digital business ecosystem: transforming traditional marketplaces

Purpose This paper aims to devise a framework for mapping and designing business ecosystems and to demonstrate its effectiveness in crafting digital transformation for traditional marketplaces. Design/methodology/approach A digital business ecosystem framework is developed as a Value Exchange Network (VEN) to analyze both the existing marketplace business ecosystem and a prospective digital marketplace ecosystem. The transformation process is divided into four stages. The first stage begins with describing the case and mapping it onto the framework as a business ecosystem depicted in a Value Exchange Network Diagram (VEND). In the second stage, a future or new business ecosystem is designed and represented using VEND. The third stage involves developing guidelines for the digital transformation. Finally, the fourth stage focuses on creating a management tool to operate and expand the new digital business ecosystem. Findings Traditional marketplaces in Indonesia face significant threats from hypermarkets, supermarkets, minimarkets and the growing preference of the younger generation for digital marketplaces, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our framework (VEN) offers a structured approach to support traditional marketplaces in undergoing digital transformation through four stages. Research limitations/implications This paper showcases the expressive power of our business ecosystem framework. The digital transformation of the traditional marketplace presented here serves as an example application of the framework. However, the framework has yet to be tested in a real-world digital transformation project. Practical implications This paper offers direction and guidelines for the digital transformation journey of traditional marketplaces using the VEN framework. Originality/value This paper uses an innovative framework for mapping, analyzing and constructing business ecosystems, presenting a four-stage method to outline the digital transformation of traditional marketplaces. The adoption of ecosystem thinking in the pursuit of digitally transforming conventional marketplaces is novel, offering a comprehensive approach to this transformation.