Harvard Business Review LogoJune 30, 2026Illustration by Maarten HuizingWhen executives evaluate acquisition targets, they increasingly recognize the importance of the broader ecosystem of developers, partners and complementary technologies of potential targets. TheTraditionally, potential M&A deals are evaluated based on factors like market power and access to new capabilities. Consider Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion. At the time, the deal was widely viewed as a defensive maneuver against a fast-rising competitor and a way for Facebook to strengthen its position in mobile photo sharing. But nearly 15 years later, the logic of the deal is seen in a different light. As our research suggests, an important and increasingly relevant source of value may have been overlooked: the opportunity to combine two ecosystems and create new value through enhanced connections with developers, partners, and other complementors.
When Evaluating an M&A Opportunity, Consider the Broader Digital Ecosystem
When executives evaluate acquisition targets, they increasingly recognize the importance of the broader ecosystem of developers, partners and complementary technologies of potential targets. The problem is that existing merger and acquisition (M&A) frameworks offer little guidance for executives to systematically evaluate how to take the broader ecosystem into account.
138 words~1 min read
