Developing a Conceptual Model of Strategic Co-evolution in the Digital Banking Platform Ecosystem: A Systematic Review
Keywords:
adaptive capabilities, co-evolution, digital banking, digital transformation, Platform ecosystem, value co-creationAbstract
This study aimed to identify and integrate the antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes of strategic co-evolution and to develop a conceptual model explaining the dynamics of digital banking platform ecosystems. This applied qualitative study employed a systematic literature review. Studies addressing co-evolution, platform ecosystems, digital banking, fintech, digital transformation, and ecosystem interactions were identified from scientific databases and screened according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following duplicate removal, relevance screening, and eligibility assessment, 32 studies were retained for final synthesis. Extracted data encompassed influential conditions, ecosystem actors, mechanisms of interaction and change, and co-evolutionary outcomes. The evidence was analyzed through thematic analysis and a template-analysis approach, whereby initial concepts were coded, similar concepts were consolidated into higher-order categories, and their relationships were synthesized into an integrated conceptual framework. The conceptual synthesis indicated that strategic co-evolution in digital banking platform ecosystems emerges through dynamic interactions among technological and environmental conditions, institutional and competitive pressures, and the interdependence of ecosystem actors. Adaptation and dynamic capability development, ecosystem governance and orchestration, learning and feedback, innovation, actor interaction, and value co-creation emerged as the principal co-evolutionary mechanisms. These mechanisms were associated with ecosystem transformation and resilience, dynamism and growth, strengthened interaction and value co-creation, learning and innovation, and ecosystem sustainability. Importantly, the relationships among these dimensions were not linear or unidirectional; rather, resulting outcomes recursively influenced environmental conditions, actor behavior, ecosystem capabilities, and subsequent trajectories of transformation through feedback loops. The proposed model conceptualizes strategic co-evolution as a dynamic, interactive, nonlinear, and feedback-driven process in which digital banking ecosystems evolve through reciprocal adaptation among actors, technologies, governance arrangements, and environmental conditions. Shifting the analytical focus from individual organizations to the ecosystem level therefore provides a more integrated framework for understanding and managing digital banking transformation.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Vahid Khashei Varnamkhasti, Shahram Khalilnezhad Azar, Mehdi Haghighi Kafash (Author); Nahid Majidian

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