Exploring the Role of Boundary Spanning towards Service Ecosystem Expansion: A Case of Careem in Pakistan

Abstract

The sharing economy has the potential to innovate new markets by making the reuse of idle resources globally. The practices of sharing culture vary among developed and developing countries because of the un-stabilized economic situation and bad infrastructure. (1) This research is based on a case study of transportation network company (TNC) that has the capability to change the conventional transportation system because of its agile nature; (2) the study analyzes the data conducted from Careem (TNC) in Pakistan by using a qualitative approach; (3) the results show that to find a solution for scarcity of products/services in developing countries caused by limited and scattered resources, a learning climate is created by Careem which enables Careem to understand social issues in Pakistan and to use these insights to further develop its business model. Under learning climate, Careem promotes the culture of respect towards collaboration; (4) overall, Careem plays a facilitative leadership role and brings together different stakeholders on one platform for contributing to a common goal to achieve sustainability. Further, with the joint efforts of all stakeholders, an extended service ecosystem has been formed through boundary-spanning activities. Careem acts as a core boundary spanner and supports other organizations to become a second level boundary spanner. Finally, Careem has made a substantial contribution to resolve the problem of unsustainability in Pakistan.