Crisis? What Crisis? Framing Legitimacy of a New Ecosystem During Geopolitical Turbulence

This study examines the leadership role of platform sponsors in framing ecosystem legitimacy amidst crises, focusing on the geopolitical turbulence between the US and China and Huawei’s Harmony OS development. We emphasize how crises, often seen as obstacles, can become catalysts through strategic framing. Analyzing Huawei's strategic communications, public engagements, and internal documentation, we identify three primary forms of framing: nascent ecosystem actualization, fraternization, and incentivization. These strategic actions help construct a shared understanding, establish collaborative mechanisms, and articulate platform sponsor commitments for ecosystem legitimation. Our findings reveal that strategic framing addresses cognitive and normative concerns of potential complementors while integrating performative actions to substantiate these frames. By strategically framing actions and imbuing them with meaning, leaders ensure mutual understanding and maintain trust, transforming external crises into support for legitimacy. This study contributes to the literature on ecosystem development and strategic leadership, showing how leaders accelerate legitimation and growth of nascent ecosystems during crises. Our model highlights the dynamic interplay between micro-level discursive and performative actions for legitimation in turbulent settings, offering theoretical insights and practical implications.