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A Humanistic Innovation Business Model for Higher Education: The Case Study of Coursera

from academic and corporate partners and empowering corporate partners to engage as
producers and consumers, Coursera simultaneously nurtures and develops both external
and internal talent for their benefit.

Finally, this study presents a conceptual framework for a humanistic innovation
ecosystem, which suggests that a hub firm can create shared value by employing framing
strategies and the ability to stretch resources and capabilities. This approach results in a

positive dual-flywheel ecosystem effect within the humanistic innovation ecosystem that
accelerates the evolution of a firm’s business model and fosters ecosystem development.
The process model comprises two interdependent pathways. The first pathway focuses
on Coursera’s inception and emphasis on public benefit and involves utilizing humanistic
framing strategies to attract partners to join the ecosystem, offering complimentary

higher education courses, expanding service capabilities through digital technology, and
achieving the societal objective of educational equity. The second pathway involves
providing courses from esteemed universities, establishing credible certifications as a

basis, using digital technology to enhance learning efficiency, and generating economic
value for all ecosystem partners.

4. Research Limitations

This study investigates how a hub firm champions a shared humanistic value and
navigates conflicts arising from diverse institutional logics, thereby overcoming the tension
of conflicting values to develop a new ecosystem. Nonetheless, as a single qualitative

case study, the generalizability of its findings may be limited. We suggest subsequent
studies further explore the antecedents and mechanisms that trigger the development of
different types of ecosystems. Additionally, we recommend future researchers to examine
how different strategies used for constructing an ecosystem identity, such as sensemaking,
positioning, and recognizing, can influence the evolution of an ecosystem characterized by

conflicting institutional logics.

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