The flexibility offered by collaborative technologies allows multiple actors from diverse industries to collaborate for value co-creation. This study highlights critical collaboration elements and how cognitive biases can be spotted by ecosystem orchestrators and actors to improve effective collaboration for value co-creation. Research shows that, although collaboration in ecosystems for value co-creation results in outcomes that would have been difficult for an individual actor to achieve, only a few such collaborations are undertaken effectively as it requires balancing conflicting personal goals and value with the overall ecosystem health. The study discusses the importance of motivations, shared goals and responsibility, the relationship between cognitive bias awareness, trust, and collaboration among ecosystem actors, and the contradictory role of collaborative technologies. On the one hand, collaborative technologies enhance communication, coordination and resource sharing and multitasking for value co-creation among dispersed knowledge workers. On the other hand, technology contributes to trust deficit, especially when there are concerns of unequal commitment and contributions. We argue that collaborative technologies alone do not guarantee effective collaboration for value co-creation and that there are other critical human elements that together enhance effective multi-actor engagement and collaboration for value co-creation.