**3.2 Case selection**

Elaborating on the tentative framework, the author adopted a theoretical sampling strategy [31, 32] and selected cases according to the following criteria:


For the first criterion, the author selected Brazil, a notable emerging market suggested for further investigation [33, 34]. In Brazil, large ecosystems and SoS were found in the defense industry [35], as military systems usually have hundreds of suppliers and several innovative complementors. Furthermore, cases in the defense domain are also worthy of study as they pose particular challenges not seen in other sectors [36, 37]. Accordingly, the author selected three ecosystems from the Brazilian armored vehicle sector to support the multiple case study. First, during the 1970s, Engesa built the Cascavel ecosystem to develop and produce wheeled armored vehicles for the Brazilian armed forces. Second, Engesa also initiated the Osorio ecosystem in 1982 by designing main battle tanks. Finally, Iveco Defense Vehicles became part of the Guarani ecosystem in 2007 to develop a new family of wheeled armored vehicles. The goal was to substitute Engesa's armored vehicles, which are still in use by some Brazilian military units after more than 40 years.
