Reimagining Extended Reality (XR) Innovation: A Critical Study of the Finnish Ecosystem

Extended Reality (XR) ecosystems globally face persistent fragmentation and adoption challenges despite significant technological advances and investment. Finland, with demonstrated strengths in XR-enabling technologies, presents a compelling case of ecosystem development within a small innovation economy context. Through 15 semi-structured interviews with 18 ecosystem actors across public, private, and cultural sectors, analyzed using thematic analysis guided by innovation ecosystem theory and interpretive institutionalism, this study identifies six ecosystem archetypes and five key structural dimensions. Findings reveal two critical tensions: the gap between piloting and sustained implementation, and the conflict between scalability pressures and local value creation. The study shows that ecosystem survival depends heavily on informal "Ecosystem Connector"roles and "Invisible Intermediary"functions that compensate for structural deficiencies. This critical analysis contributes to innovation ecosystem theory by demonstrating how small innovation economies rely on relationship-based coordination and multi-archetype individuals rather than formal platform orchestration.