Leadership Cognition as A Driver of Ecosystem Strategies in Sustainable Business Ecosystems

This paper identifies the cognitive capabilities of leaders that enable them to implement ecosystem strategies in sustainable business ecosystems. We analyze the relation between three concepts – cognitive capabilities, ecosystem strategies, and sustainable business ecosystems – in the empirical context of autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs). We used Factiva and online video material to analyze data on the ecosystem strategies of Tesla and General Motors (GM) and their leaders’ cognitive capabilities from 2020 until 2024. Our results show that GM applies a component strategy, collaborating with other firms in the ecosystem, whereas Tesla implements a system strategy, developing most of its technologies in-house with a focus on competition over collaboration. Tesla takes on the role of ecosystem orchestrator, setting the standard for electric vehicle charging and autonomous technology. While cognitive empathy – which includes stakeholder cooperation, building trust, and encouraging others’ initiative – supports a component strategy, a system strategy is driven by a future orientation that involves foreseeing novel AEV technologies, advancing an ecosystem vision, and persuading others to embrace that vision. Our study makes a novel contribution by linking specific cognitive capabilities to distinct ecosystem strategies in sustainable business ecosystems. By grounding this relationship in the dynamic managerial capabilities’ framework, we highlight the microfoundations through which leaders shape ecosystem strategies in sustainability contexts.