This paper synthesizes extant theoretical works and reviews on ecosystems in innovation and management literature. Through an integrative review, the ecosystem as affiliation perspective is further developed. Upon which, a process of critical systems thinking is applied to conceptualize an ecosystem encompassing several ecosystem types. Illustrating different conceptual boundaries of different types of ecosystems, their interconnections, and layered characteristics as a generic model to support research in ecosystems context and orchestration of such systems. Findings show the previous discrepancy of the concepts of innovation and business ecosystem, and how they have undergone a transposition of meaning; defines the hierarchical relationship between these ecosystem types, and their relation to other types; and proposes future research in evolutionary dynamics, more systematic development, and empirical mapping.