Empowering digital creative ecosystem using problem structuring method and a service science perspective: A case study in Cimahi and Bandung, Indonesia

The digital creative economy in Indonesia has the potential to grow rapidly due to its large and skilled population. Although a goal was set in 2016 to make Indonesia the largest digital economy in ASEAN by 2020, the complexity of stakeholder interactions has become a major obstacle. Fostering a healthy business ecosystem and collaboration among stakeholders has been difficult to achieve due to a lack of funding, talent, and trust. This paper developed “should-be” and “as-is” models of feasible action plans to enhance value co-creation interactions among stakeholders. We investigated how stakeholders perceive their roles and interactions to construct an “as-is” model using a soft operational research method, namely strategic options development and analysis (SODA). Next, we developed a “should-be” model from a service science perspective. By comparing the two models, we derived action plans and recommendations to guide stakeholders in creating digital creative ecosystems (DCEs) in Indonesia. The action plans have been implemented by the government to improve the current strategies and validate our approach.