Value Creation Through ProductService Systems in Business Ecosystems  Identification of Key Challenges for Mechanical Engineering Companies The spread of information and communication technologies (ICT) triggers the emergence of innovative business models in mechanical engineering. These are often based on integrated offerings, combining services and products to one productservice system (PSS), which satisfies customer needs to a higher extent. Manufacturers integrate complementary competences and technologies from diverse actors into their own offering to sustain success at the market and enhance their innovativeness by interacting in business ecosystems. Although academic literature investigated value creation through developing and operating PSS and value creation in business ecosystems individually, a conjoint approach has yet been poorly examined. Aim of this paper is to identify arising challenges and derive requirements for management in creating value through PSS in business ecosystems. To unify these two concepts, first, a literature review has been performed. Second, 28 partly structured expert interviews have been conducted and analyzed according to a qualitative content analysis to identify key fields of action. Third, prerequisites for successful executive management were elaborated by performing a causeanalysis. The results contribute to superiorly understand challenges and upcoming requirements that management faces to sustain innovativeness.

Towards the Management of the Development of ProductService Systems in Business Ecosystems  StateoftheArt The mechanical engineering industry faces major challenges due to digital transformation. Business model innovation is needed to uncover new sales potential and sustain a competitive advantage. A trend towards servitization is gaining traction  products and services are merging into integrated ProductService Systems (PSS), providing a higher added value to customers. By cooperating with companies of different sizes and branches that bring novel competencies, resources and market channels, a holistic development over the entire PSS lifecycle is enabled. Business ecosystems emerge if this defined value proposition materializes through the interaction of its actors. The increased organizational and technological interdependencies within this system calls for adequate management. The aim of this paper is to present a stateoftheart literature research related to the management of the development of a PSS within business ecosystems. Literature from six databases and one search engine was reviewed systematically. The result of the paper is the derivation of 18 fields of action formulating the basis for the design of a management concept.