Failures in Software Ecosystems: A Systematic Literature Review

Companies aim to build successful software ecosystems (SECOs) to co-create value and offer a broader range of products that better meet customers' needs. However, most SECOs fail in their early years. To investigate the factors contributing to these failures, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) and identified ten relevant studies (n = 10) for analysis. Our findings show that various factors impact the failure of SECOs, which we categorized as follows: 1) governance and leadership, 2) actors' collaboration, 3) competition and innovation, 4) product-related issues, and 5) customer satisfaction. For instance, wrong strategic decisions and lack of governance or leadership cause failure regardless of the ecosystem's size or type. SECO-specific factors include product-related issues, such as missing or incorrect features and poor software architecture. This study provides a comprehensive view of the factors leading to the failure of SECOs. The factors are related to essential activities in the planning phase of the software ecosystem, and failure may occur due to the absence of these activities. Thus, the study highlights the importance of carefully planning the SECO. The results can help the actors of the SECO avoid mistakes when they are planning and operating a software ecosystem.