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The Role of Public and Private Protection in Disruptive Innovation: The Automotive Industry and the Emergence of Low-Emission Vehicles
Abstract
In the automotive industry the need to move towards more sustainable trajectories of
innovation has received much attention. Car manufacturers have started to develop loweremission
alternatives for the internal combustion engine, particularly electric, hybrid and
fuel-cell vehicles. They face the challenge, however, of how to make a potentially disruptive,
systemic, and societally embedded technology such as a low-emission vehicle attractive to
mainstream customers. While literature has suggested that companies can empower the initial
stages of disruptive innovation by creating protected spaces themselves and/or by taking
advantage of such spaces created by public actors, the specific role of these different types of
protection levers – private and/or public – has remained unclear. This article therefore
investigates to what extent and how private and public protection levers affect firm-level
strategies to increase the attractiveness of disruptive and systemic innovations to mainstream
customers. This is explored empirically through a multiple case study of the emergence of
low-emission vehicles within three car manufacturers – Daimler, General Motors and Toyota
– in the context of European, Japanese and US policies. The empirical analysis is conducted
on a dataset consisting of more than 9,000 articles from two trade magazines, a car magazine
and a financial newspaper for the period of 1997 to 2010. As main findings, the article
identifies regulation, tax incentives, and public-private partnerships as the public protection
levers that impose or stimulate ‘new’ performance metrics such as fuel economy and vehicle
emissions. It also finds that resource allocation, niche occupation and collaborationintegration
act as the main private protection levers. Besides, two protection levers emerge
from the data that are rather prominent in this context: the use of regulation imposing largescale
commercialization of low-emission vehicles and dumping of products in the market
below cost price. The article concludes with two different protection trajectories – a public
protection trajectory and a private protection trajectory – which explain how car
manufacturers leverage the various protection levers to deal with disruptive technology. The
main implication of the two trajectories is that while the public protection trajectory stalled
due to the systemic, socially embedded technological impediments of electric vehicles and
fuel-cell vehicles, the private protection trajectory picked up the remains of the public
protection trajectory and has gained momentum, continuing until today.
... On the macro level it impacts the structure of the entire economy by proposing to shift taxation From a firm-level perspective to transformation, marginal product modifications and technological innovations alone are unlikely to be sufficient as complementary infrastructure and value creation induce system-level innovations (Pinkse et al. 2014;Jesus and Mendonça 2018). Strategic product circularity thus can be understood as a complex, ill-defined challenge with societal relevance, uncertainty, conflicting solutions (trade-offs), and extended timeframes ). ...
... A sustainability transition, and CE transition in particular, requires not only technological innovations, but also novel socio-technical patterns with implications for entire value chains (Scholz 2011;EMF 2012). Participatory research can guide such system innovations, as it allows for co-production of knowledge through stakeholder participation in research processes (Pinkse et al. 2014;Schneidewind et al. 2016). Little research has so far investigated participatory living labs with an emphasis on professional economic actors across entire industry sectors. ...
... Participatory research is an approach to guide such system innovations, as it allows for coproduction of knowledge through stakeholder participation in research processes (Pinkse et al., 2014;Schneidewind et al., 2016). As part of transformative science the aim is not only to observe and describe societal transformation processes, but rather initiate and catalyze them (Schneidewind et al., 2016, p. 6). ...
The circular economy (CE) can be understood as a system-level innovation with implications beyond an individual firms value chain. Therefore, a CE transition leads to a dynamic situation concerning actor constellations and rearrangement in the value chain and beyond. This dissertation focuses on complementary circular service operations (CSO), such as repair, reuse, refurbish, and recycling, that contribute to the full functionality of products, components, and materials over their entire lifetime. It thus provides insights into how manufacturers and retailers can increase their competitive advantage while promoting product lifetime extension.
This cumulative dissertation contributes to existing strategic management theory with a con-trasting approach by transferring the organizational boundary decision (make-or-buy) from an upstream production perspective towards recovery processes in the downstream within the CE context. Based on a qualitative case study research design in the context of durable consumer electronics (smartphones), it analyzes coordination mechanisms for product circularity covering socio-technical, product-service, and product-technology levels. Part of the research was the establishment of the Innovation Network aiming at Sustainable Smartphones (INaS) as a circular economy living lab (CELL). It combines participatory research from sustainability science with a business network approach to bring together previously unrelated actors in a cross-value chain setting.
Managing strategic product circularity requires central coordinators to engage with previously unrelated actors in the value chain to develop circular operational skills and safeguard their central positions. Based on multiple case studies, a typology of circular value creation architec-tures (CVCA) is proposed. It distinguishes a continuum between coordinated and uncoordinated architectures. Central coordinators can either vertically integrate CSO, collaborate with loop operators in strategic networks, conduct outsourcing, or do nothing to offer adequate CSO (laissez-faire). A processual perspective demonstrates that slowing resource loops requires a careful combination of repair, reuse, and refurbishing activities as well as their deliberate integration into a firms strategy. While coordinated architectures have considerable incentives to adapt their product design towards circularity, they also face trade-off solutions. Central coordinators engaging in strategic product circularity, can follow either open or closed circularity approaches. While the latter takes maximum advantage of vertical integration but may lead to circular monopolies, open circularity allows for distributed service ecosystems to involve various circular complementors.
Overall, this dissertation strengthens the actor perspective in circular economy research and provides firms with strategic guidance for their positioning within a CE. Further research and societal discourse are required to investigate the balance between autonomy and control rights in circular ecosystems and to further explore the implications of open and closed circularity.
... These investments complement corporate R&D often aimed at applied research and commercial development and in a closed manner that protects intellectual property. Governments use policy instruments such as tax or grant incentives, to subsidise investments and reduce private risks, while adding conditions which necessitate certain social benefits outside of capitalist motivations (Taylor et al., 2005;Pinkse et al., 2014). ...
... The power of government sector spending, both in monetary value and ability to pursue non-profit goals, in effect subsidises earlystage commercialisation and bridges the gap to mainstream market acceptance (Moon and Bretschneider, 1997;Pinkse et al., 2014). Given that governments are highly active in several sectors proposed to be eventual users of AV technology, procurement and service delivery policies are likely to greatly influence innovation activities. ...
While autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is forecast to widely disrupt transport systems, governments' roles in influencing this innovation have not been examined holistically. This empirical study analyses the perceptions of 34 professionals from government and non-government actors in the U.K. and Australia. Our findings identify three main categories of government roles: regulator, facilitator and participator and illustrate how different policy mechanisms align within this framework to shape AV innovation. The paper discusses the implications of the interrelationships between these roles within each context, as well as how governments can apply them to pursue transport policy goals. This research provides an important contribution to understanding how local policy environments around the world might shape the development and eventual implementation of AV technologies.
... More recently, researchers have shown that contextual factors can have an important impact on the emergence and success of DIs (Bergek et al., 2013;Hynes and Elwell, 2016;Klenner et al., 2013;Mahto et al., 2020;Parry and Kawakami, 2017;Pinkse et al., 2014;Uzuegbunam and Geringer, 2021). This makes contextual factors an essential part of DI forecasting, and they might help to resolve the dispute about whether the TDI has predictive value. ...
... Enablers facilitate the emergence of DI. Regulation fosters new performance metrics, by providing a sheltered space for the development of DIs (Ruan et al., 2014) or by providing incentives for developing DIs (Pinkse et al., 2014). Although it was unintended, the Chinese government protected e-bikes from the (sustaining) competition of motorcycles in cities by banning the latter because of environmental concerns (Ruan et al., 2014). ...
Since its inception over two decades ago, the theory of disruptive innovation has sparked heated discussions. Especially because of the increasing importance of societal influences and novel forms of competition and technology, questions about its theoretical value and practical relevance remain. Researchers have focused on firm-internal factors of disruptive innovations to resolve discussions about the validity of the theory. However, the literature lacks an integrated understanding of contextual factors, such as demand, market structure, culture, and regulation, that influence disruptive innovation because of its dispersed, fragmented character across disciplines. Our study addresses this fragmentation and lack of integrated understanding by systematically reviewing 62 articles. The study makes three main contributions. First, we integrate and synthesize the literature on contextual factors of disruptive innovations. Second, we derive a three-phase framework of contextual factors: (1) disruptive susceptibility, (2) emergence and diffusion, and (3) endgame and outcome. Third, we contribute to resolving discussions about the theory's core elements and its predictive value by showing how, depending on the societal, cultural, or market context, the implications of the theory can change. Overall, this article shows how disruptive innovation can start, and be started, by social change. We conclude by suggesting areas for future research.
... Diese einfachen Prozess-und Produktinnovationen wurden priorisiert, da sie autonom, d.h. allein vom fokalen Unternehmen, umgesetzt werden können (Pinkse et al., 2014). In Folge wurden die Lieferanten zu ähnlichen Maßnahmen aufgefordert und über Audits überprüft. ...
Nachhaltigkeitsorientierte Innovation ist ein Innovationskonzept in Forschung und
Praxis, welches auf den Beitrag neuer Produkte, Dienstleistungen und Geschäftsmodelle zur Lösung ökologischer und sozialer Probleme fokussiert (Hansen et al., 2009). Es wird zunehmend als kritisch für die Zukunftsfähigkeit von Unternehmen angesehen. Um erfolgreich in diesem neuen Paradigma innovieren zu können, benötigen Unternehmen neue Fähigkeiten zur Kooperation in der transaktionalen Wertschöpfungskette (z. B. Lieferanten, Abfallwirtschaft), mit neuen Wissenspartnern (z. B. Nichtregierungsorganisationen, Umweltverbände) und mit breiteren gesellschaftlichen und politischen Akteuren (z. B. EU), wie sie in Abb. 009 dargestellt sind.
Die jüngste Entwicklung von Wertschöpfungsketten zu -kreisläufen in der Circular Economy verstärkt diese neuen Entwicklungsbedarfe weiter. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag werden die neuen Informations- und Kooperationsanforderungen auf den Ebenen der Innovationsstrategie und des Produktmanagements skizziert und Best-Practices dargelegt. Abschließend wird die wachsende Rolle von vertikaler Integration für eine nachhaltigkeitsorientierte Transformation, im Kontrast zur angenommenen Vermarktlichung wie sie die „Move-to-Market-Hypothese” suggeriert, hervorgehoben.
... Invariably, the nation's automakers have been rated among the world's biggest producers of HEVs. Toyota has led groundbreaking hybrid technology with its classic Prius model and is extending its HEV portfolio across multiple vehicle divisions (Pinkse et al., 2014). They have been successful in the United States and foreign markets, where their HEVs have grown increasingly popular and helped reduce CO 2 e worldwide (Helmers et al., 2019). ...
Hybrid electric vehicles are increasingly recognized as a promising solution for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector. The current study examines the nexus between innovation in hybrid electric vehicle-related technologies and transportation sector-based carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2019 using a variety of econo-metric techniques such as the structural breaks unit root test, Maki cointegration test, fully modified ordinary least squares, and dynamic ordinary least squares. The results show that innovation in hybrid electric vehicle-related technologies , renewable energy consumption, information and communication technologies, and international collaboration in technology development could help reduce transportation sector-based carbon emissions levels. By contrast, the findings indicate that gross domestic product, trade openness , and financial development have a positive nexus with transportation sector-based carbon emissions. Higher trade openness encourages economic expansion, and foreign trade may lead to more manufacturing, shipping, and transportation sector-based carbon emissions. Similarly, when gross domestic product and financial development rise, the need for highly energy-intensive items and services
... A third stream of research on systemic innovation has expanded the perspectives on innovation. This stream is related to the challenges of sustainability [37,38], the need for eco-innovation and sustainability transition in the face of dominant non-sustainable sociotechnical systems [39,40], or the effort to transform the way social problems are dealt with [41]. In this stream, systemic refers to the transformation of the societal, or even planetary, context of innovation [42]. ...
This chapter outlines the scope and potentials of an emerging landscape of systemic innovation. Systemic innovation has emerged and been predominantly used in the innovation studies and management field, with limited reference to the literature on systems thinking or systems science. Different uses of the concept in five different domains is described to understand and focus on systemic aspects of innovation in various ways; (1) innovations dependent on complementary innovations and adjustment in larger system; (2) national/regional system of innovation supporting/restricting micro level innovation initiatives, (3) transformative change and system transition e.g. in sustainability, (4) collaboration in innovation networks and ecosystems, and (5) processes enabling innovating actors to think and act systemically. In the last, least developed use systems concepts and practices can empower innovation to change thinking, boundaries, relationships, interactions, and actions by creating new synergistic solutions and transformations. The chapter proceeds by identifying opportunities to enhance the theory and practice of systemic innovation by drawing upon the literature and the range of methodologies on systems thinking, e.g. by enabling stakeholder dialogue and value-based boundary reflection. An example is given where soft systems methodology is enabling systemic innovation processes of creation of business models among stakeholders in ecosystems. Furthermore, systems thinking can help to clarify the meaning of innovating systemically; to innovate not only products and services, but also boundaries and identities, relations and interaction dynamics, whole–part organization, and perspectives and framings in processes aimed at enhanced synergistic value creation. At the same time, innovation activity can embed systems thinking into innovation as a leading change and transformation praxis today pointing to fourth wave systems thinking. Systemic innovation can help to further a praxis-oriented development of innovating boundaries, systems, relationships, and perspectives in co-creative, synergistic value-creation processes to democratically transform our interconnected world to the better.
... These investments complement corporate R&D, which tends to focus on applied research and commercial development, often in a closed manner that protects intellectual property. Governments can use policy instruments, such as taxation or grant incentives, to subsidise investments and reduce privacy risks while adding conditions that necessitate certain social benefits outside of capitalist motivations (Taylor, Rubin, and Hounshell 2005;Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk 2014). -Have a consolidated proactive policy view to support technology development as ADRT typically involves a greater focus on marketing and the development of strategic partnerships, compared to conventional bus services (Enoch et al. 2006;Perera, Ho, and Hensher 2020). ...
As cities implement intelligent systems and public transportation users seek flexibility, autonomous demand-responsive transport (ADRT) will play an important role in a region’s broader public transportation system. We have seen this in cities where trials have been conducted. Great efforts and investments are being made in the industrial and academic sectors to make autonomous driving a reality. This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of adopting ADRT in South East Queensland, Australia. This is critical as ADRT can help be an alternative way to provide public transport, especially for first and last-mile service. The adapted methodology is an exploratory qualitative study through interviews with transport experts to provide comprehensive insights regarding the ADRT service concept, potential customer groups in terms of the supply and the demand side, potential use cases, followed by an explanation of the ADRT deployment and adoption challenges in terms of the supply side and the demand side. Accordingly, we offer recommendations mainly contributing to mindset change, education and exposure, subsidies and incentives, liability and insurance that can support policymakers, transport planners, and engineers in making effective policy choices and developing successful transportation systems, while also increasing public recognition and adoption of ADRT technology.
... This type of research focuses on incumbents and explores how these enterprises respond to the challenge of disruptive innovation in terms of managers' inertia, experience, ability, and perception of disruptive innovation (Adner 2002;Bergek et al. 2013;Dewald and Bowen 2010;Gilbert and Bower 2002;Henderson 2006;Osiyevskyy and Dewald 2015;Wan et al. 2015). Some research has discussed from the industrial level or the national economic level (Pinkse et al. 2014;Ruan et al. 2014;Si and Chen 2020;Wan et al. 2015). These analytical perspectives are actually further extensions of Christensen's theory at the macro or micro level. ...
Christensen insightfully proposed disruptive innovation. The theory is growing stronger but is still haunted by vagueness and post hoc definition issues, which signifies the nature of disruptive innovation may remain unveiled. In order to eliminate the controversies and confusion, this study sorts out commonalities and key driving forces for market encroachment of disruptive innovation, and utilizes the interpretative structural model to reorganize the original theoretical framework based on the principle of "Occam's razor". The results show that (1) the value network is the theoretical outset of disruptive innovation and manifests as two different value dimensions at the product or technical level, which endows disruptive innovation with "duality"; (2) the duality makes disruptive innovation have asymmetric advantages and disadvantages compared to existing products or technologies in terms of price and performance; The asymmetry changes enterprises' competition basis and consumers' evaluation matrices, which essentially explains the key to market encroachment of disruptive innovation; (3) the duality is the essence that distinguishes disruptive innovation from other types of innovation.
... So long as the generation facilities can be adjusted without too much effort, fuel switching will be a cost-efficient decarbonisation strategy (Pinkse and Kolk 2009). In the case of electrification and fuel substitution, relatively mature low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, wind farms, and heat pumps can be adopted as modular additions to existing production facilities (Bergek, Hellsmark, and Karltorp 2023;Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk 2014). ...
Transition pathways for net zero encompass seemingly insurmoun-table innovation challenges for the scaling of less mature technological solutions such as hydrogen, materials substitution, and electrification as well as societal challenges to increase the market acceptability of these solutions. In this article, we present a conceptual framework which provides a firm-level perspective on net-zero innovation which has four unique characteristics, i.e. it is complex, systemic, urgent, and directional. The framework shows that the input, process, and output constraints that incumbent firms face in the net-zero transition can be tackled through four firm-level innovation levers-i.e. recombinative, collaborative, integrative, and socio-cognitive capabilities-which, in concert, act as enablers for firms to address these net-zero constraints. We conclude the article by outlining the framework's main insights for firms' innovation strategies for net zero and the policy implications. We also propose avenues for future research on net-zero innovation.
... During this period, the disruptive innovation positions of emerging markets pioneered by latecomer firms are often ignored by incumbents, thus avoiding substantial competition with them. By offering products or services with comparative advantages, latecomers can attract the attention of consumers who are underserved in the mainstream market and consequently gain market space (Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk 2014). The second stage is the transformation stage. ...
Continuous innovation is one of the effective ways to enhance the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While the contribution
of data, a new production factor, to enhance continuous innovation performance is widely recognized, little is known about the mechanisms through
which data empowers continuous innovation in SMEs. This study focuses on
the under-explored issue of how data empowers SMEs to achieve continuous
innovation. It applies the theoretical lens of empowerment to explain the
process by which SMEs transform data resources into continuous innovation
capabilities. Drawing on a multiple case study of four Chinese SMEs (including
15 semi-structured interviews, archival materials, and observations) through
theoretical sampling, our materials were coded and analyzed based on the
Gioia methodology. The results show that (1) SMEs can build digital platforms
to break down organizational boundaries, allowing external stakeholders such
as customers and suppliers to directly participate in innovation activities and
leveraging data to directly propel innovation activities. Such SMEs usually
adopt disruptive innovation. (2) SMEs can broaden and deepen their product
expertise by collecting and analyzing data from customer feedback and data
generated during production, and eliminate data silos between departments
through data flow, thus achieving incremental improvements in products or technologies. These SMEs usually adopt incremental innovation. Based on
these findings, we propose a theoretical model under the guidance of empowerment theory to demonstrate two distinct processes for data empowering continuous innovation in SMEs. Finally, we discuss our study’s
implications for data empowerment and continuous innovation research and
provide future research directions. We also offer some suggestions for SMEs
seeking continuous innovation. On the one hand, SMEs should choose
a continuous innovation route that suits them according to their resource
acquisition capabilities. On the other hand, SMEs in related industries should
jointly develop digital platforms, thus expanding the scope of data empowerment and promoting continuous innovation.
... Entrepreneurship is an area of growing interest among policymakers and researchers (Ács et al. 2016;Egan 2021). Several countries have sought to encourage entrepreneurship to obtain socioeconomic outcomes associated with job creation (Decker et al. 2014;Henrekson and Johansson 2010;Rey-Martí, Ribeiro-Soriano, and Sánchez-García 2016), reducing inequalities (Bruton, Sutter, and Lenz 2021), transforming knowledge into innovation, creating new markets (Christensen 2015;Huesig, Timar, and Doblinger 2014;Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk 2014;Si et al. 2020), among others. In general, promoting productive entrepreneurship generates positive economic effects (Aeeni et al. 2019;Baumol 1990;Lucas and Fuller 2017;Trubnikov 2021). ...
... For instance, Pinkse, Bohnsack, and Kolk (2014) investigated public and private protections such as regulations, tax incentives, and public-private partnerships in the automotive industry regarding vehicle emissions. Song, Sahut, Zhang, Tian, and Hikkerova (2022) analyzed how the government uses subsidies as an instrument to promote sustainable innovation in university-industry collaboration. ...
... The government's participation in DI has been the subject of much investigation from many industry viewpoints ( [64,65]; etc.). However, the review found a lack of research on the government's inclusion of DI in agriculture. ...
This systematic review aimed to display the trajectory of research on the chosen topics, conduct a methodical analysis of the relevant literature by evaluating the journal parameters, and suggest potential avenues for research on disruptive innovation (DI) in agriculture. A systematic literature review (SLR) method was used to conduct the review research. A total number of 61 articles on DI in agriculture were reviewed. The PRISMA flowchart completed the overall process to confirm the final selection of the review. The review outcomes provided that most DI in agriculture research was based on food supply, technology adoption, digital risk management, and agriculture modernization from the evidence of some selected developed and developing countries. Only a few DI research were found from the evidence of transition economies. However, the review found a lack of research on the government's inclusion of DI in agriculture. More investigations are required for the sub-sector of the agriculture industry for the actual development of the overall agriculture industry. So far, the researchers' knowledge; the review is possibly the very first attempt by any researchers to work on SLR research regarding DI in agriculture. This paper contributes to agriculture, a vital process in the marketplace that currently lacks a strong foundation of innovation theory in this sector. This paper broadens the understanding of this subject by comprehensively analyzing this study area.
... Yi et al. (2014) analyzed how the government shaped the trajectory of disruptive innovation by promulgating policies during the rise of China's electric bicycle industry, showing how direct investment affects the strategy of electric bicycle companies and how the industry and institutional environment co-evolve. Public protection policies, such as government regulation and tax incentives, are conducive to the R&D and innovation of disruptive technologies (Pinkse et al., 2014). ...
How to enhance disruptive innovation to build sustainable competitive advantage has become an essential issue in strategic management research. However, few studies exist to elucidate the influencing mechanism of disruptive innovation in the context of the digital era. Using multivariate regression analysis and bootstrapping method, we examine the underlying mediating mechanism and contextual condition in the relationship between digital transformation and disruptive innovation. Our results demonstrate that the digital transformation of entrepreneurial firms has a significant positive effect on disruptive innovation. Interorganizational collaboration mediates the relationship between digital transformation and disruptive innovation. Moreover, we demonstrate that dynamic capabilities positively moderate the indirect effect of digital transformation on disruptive innovation through interorganizational collaboration. Our findings contribute to disruptive innovation research by explaining the mediating mechanism of how to utilize digital transformation to promote disruptive innovation vis interorganizational collaboration. Our results also explain how dynamic capabilities interact with interorganizational collaboration and significantly affect disruptive innovation.
... The research on when suppliers should get involved in disruptive innovation reaches different conclusions. In the later stage of disruptive innovation, when the new revolutionary product or technology has to be marketed, Pinkse et al. (2014) thought supplier engagement is vital and should be a priority. Several researchers have investigated the role that suppliers play in developing new products; however, no published supplier-integration models directly address the question of whether or not the point when suppliers are integrated depends on the innovation of the product. ...
The level of innovation in a product should determine the best stage at which inter-relationship collaboration in a supply chain is engaged in developing new products. Unfortunately, there is a lack of consensus in the relevant literature on the specific stage for inter-relationship collaboration in a supply chain in transformative technologies. For example, the inter-relationship collaboration in a supply chain becomes significant at a later stage of disruptive innovation when the most cutting-edge product or technology must be marketed. On the other hand, inter-relationship collaboration in a supply chain should be included in the innovation process at a much earlier stage to ensure a more comprehensive supplier engagement. Several researchers have examined suppliers' role in product innovations; nevertheless, none of the published supplier integration models are directly connected to the issue of at what point suppliers need to be integrated into the product innovation process. Therefore, this article aims to propose a blueprint for inter-relationship collaboration in a supply chain during product innovation phases, with an emphasis on the stage of involvement applicable to both incremental and disruptive innovation. In addition, various aspects concerning inter-relationship collaboration in a supply chain in the different phases of product invention are subjected to an in-depth investigation.
... Structured surveys can also be part of a mixed methods study design that includes case studies or a series of semi-structured interviews. A case study can be based on desk research supplemented with multiple semi-structured interviews, but all interviews are usually focused on a similar set of activities or event within one or a few organizations, such as a study of the challenges faced by three automobile manufacturers to develop zero carbon emission cars (Pinkse et al., 2014). A series of semi-structured interviews differ from case studies by covering a larger number of organizations, for instance interviews with managers at 50 vehicle manufacturing companies. ...
... The positive impact of government policy is more evident in firms that engage in disruptive innovation because of the higher level of uncertainty and the fact that their innovations are initially available only in emerging or small markets [21]. The most direct manifestation of this is the direct nurturing of industries through policy development [22], including the promotion of regional industry clusters, the establishment of national standards for the industry, the promotion of knowledge exchange to encourage technological upgrading, and the involvement of industry players in the development of appropriate regulations, which can be significant to the success of firm innovation, particularly disruptive innovation [8,23]. ...
Government policies have impacts on the disruptive innovation behavior of local companies, especially the green development policies. This paper is based on institutional theory, using data from 170 Chinese manufacturing entrepreneurs to verify that local governments’ green development policies have an effect on firms’ disruptive innovation behavior. Based on the empirical results, we find that entrepreneurs in regions with green or sustainable development policies are more likely to engage in disruptive innovation behavior; the influence will be stronger when the firm size is bigger. The study actually demonstrates that public policy about sustainable development enacted by local governments has a significant impact on the disruptive innovation behavior of firms. The findings of this paper enriches the research on the antecedents of disruptive innovation behavior adds to the theoretical framework of disruptive innovation and institutional theory, and supplements the specific embodiment of exploring disruptive innovation in the manufacturing industry. At the practical level, this paper provides theoretical guidance for entrepreneurs to choose the right regional entrepreneurship at the personal level. In addition, it provides the theoretical basis for entrepreneurs’ strategic decision-making at the entrepreneurial level, and for local governments to encourage entrepreneurial development and regional economic prosperity at the government level.
... Awalnya, disrupsi inovasi mulai diperkenalkan tahun 1995, merupakan terobosan teknologi yang mengubah metrik kinerja di mana perusahaan saling bersaing (Pinkse et al. 2014). Secara khusus, disrupsi inovasi memberikan kepuasan pada kebutuhan saat ini pada pasar yang sudah mapan. ...
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi karakteristik pendidikan kewirausahaan, disrupsi inovasi dan peluang kewirausahaan, serta menghasilkan model. Pendekatan kualitatif digunakan dalam penelitian ini, dengan teknik analisis deskriptif eksploratif untuk mengidentifikasi bagaimana pendidikan kewirausahaan, disrupsi inovasi bisa mendorong peluang kewirausahaan. Informan terdiri atas 8 mahasiswa semester 6, telah lulus menempuh mata kuliah Kewirausahaan dan Koperasi dari 8 Fakultas berbeda (Teknik, Sastra, Ilmu Administrasi, Hukum, Kependidikan, Ilmu Komunikasi, Pertanian dan Ekonomi&Bisnis), Universitas DR. Soetomo Surabaya. Hasil penelitian membuktikan bahwa karakteristik pendidikan kewirausahaan dicerminkan oleh adanya tujuan pendidikan, sarana dan prasarana, materi pengajaran dan metode pengajaran. Karakteristik disrupsi inovasi bisa diawali dengan usaha kecil, pada posisi rendah dan pasar baru. Sedangkan karakteristik peluang kewirausahaan meliputi situasi, keyakinan dan perilaku. Model yang dihasilkan membuktikan bahwa (1) pendidikan kewirausahaan dan (2) disrupsi inovasi mendorong ke arah peluang kewirausahaan yang lebih baik.
... In 1997, the Toyota company introduced Prius (first mass production hybrid electric vehicle) which was regarded as the success [3].After that, the Toyota gradually upgrades the Prius. It is obvious that Japan occupies in the dominant situation all over the world. ...
... To support consolidation of the emerging shared vision on the circular paradigm, however-where not yet initiated previously-collaborations and consortia should be formed. Furthermore, to boost the emergence of circular innovations such instruments as public procurement rules, tax incentives and subsidies are starting to be used (Pinkse et al., 2014;Hartley et al., 2020). Especially, where new solutions are too costly when first introduced, the government can play a crucial role as a first customer (Rainville, 2021). ...
The environmental, social and economic limits and shortcomings of the current linear model of production and consumption highlight the necessity of a rapid transition towards a sustainable paradigm. The concept of a circular economy has recently gained traction among scholars, policy‐makers and businesses as a promising alternative. Yet our understanding of how to speed up the systemic transition from a linear economy paradigm towards a circular economy paradigm is lacking. In this paper, we address this research gap by introducing the concept of ‘circular disruption’ and by describing how such a disruption may unfold. To do so, we build on S‐curve thinking and the concept of panarchy. Based on the resulting synthesis, we propose three phases that constitute the core of the disruption process: (1) the release phase, (2) the reorganisation phase and (3) the eruption phase. We then operationalise these three phases for different enabling innovation system functions and illustrate our observations with examples for the textile and fashion sector. We discuss how each of the three disruption phases can be accelerated to quickly create an opening for the new circular paradigm. The proposed circular disruption framework offers novel insights on socio‐technical transitions and changes and contributes to strengthening a systemic and theoretically grounded approach to circular economy research. Scholars and practitioners alike may take advantage of this work to focus circular economy efforts on speed and scale—an urgently needed focus to start tackling the sustainability challenges humankind is currently facing.
... Nowadays, climate change, energy shortage, and greenhouse effect issues enhance the public awareness of environmental protection and accelerate the industrial development of green energy. Attention has grown to the requirement to move toward innovation for more sustainable solutions and to reduce dependence on fossil fuels (Pinkse, Bohnsack, & Kolk, 2014). One of the industries that have come to the fore distinctly is the automotive industry, where is expected with the internal combustion engine (ICE), lowemission vehicles (LEVs) or electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) to be substituted for current fossil fuel consumption vehicles (Bakker, van Lente, & Engels, 2012) to solve severe air pollution, one of the main cause of global climate issues. ...
Because of the energy crisis, companies started developing electric vehicles. Company A, as a new entrant, successfully developed a disruptive innovation of the world’s first high-performance, zero emissions, and two-wheeled electric scooter. As disruptive innovation is frequently discovered in the combination of different industrial technologies, company A is comprised of high-tech and traditional industry resources and knowledge. This study aims to explore the process of heterogeneous industry knowledge integration in the traditional motorcycle manufacturing industry by a case study of company A. Following qualitative research method, this study concludes four main findings in product development: (1) organizational knowledge integration is identified to mitigate the impact of functional conflict; (2) design validation knowledge integration is identified to set the standard for pioneer product strategy; (3) internal and external engineering knowledge integration is identified to realizes the goal of pioneer product strategy; (4) product validation knowledge integration is identified to coordinate the flexible planning process.
... The third understanding of systemic innovation that we find in the literature is usually discussed in the context of a transition to a more sustainable society (e.g., Karabeg, 2013;Pinkse et al., 2014). Often multiple innovations are involved, and together they move society towards a tipping point, beyond which a more desirable pattern of production and consumption is achieved (Bergman et al., 2008;Whitmarsh & Nyqvist, 2008). ...
The term ‘systemic innovation’ is increasing in use, but there is no consensus on its meaning: five understandings of the term can be identified, each based on a different view of what the word ‘systemic’ should refer to. The first understanding focuses on technologies, where the innovation in focus is synergistically integrated with other complementary innovations, going beyond the boundaries of a single organization. Therefore, ‘systemic’ refers to technological innovations interacting in a larger product system. A second use of the term refers to the development of policies and governance at a local, regional or national scale to create an enabling environment for innovation systems. Here, ‘systemic’ means recognition that innovation systems can be enabled and/or constrained by a meta‐level policy system. The third use of the term says that an innovation is ‘systemic’ when its purpose is to change societal laws and norms to place new enablers and constraints on innovation in the interests of ecological sustainability. What makes this systemic is acknowledgement of the existence of nested systems: innovation systems are parts of economic systems, which are parts of societal systems, and all societies exist on a single planetary ecosystem. The fourth use focuses on collaboration in innovation networks with multiple actors. This has evolved from the first understanding of systemic innovation, but the critical difference is the primary focus on people and processes rather than technological products. The word ‘systemic’ refers to the interdependency of actors in a business or community context, leading to a need to cocreate value and innovate in concert or through coevolutionary dynamics. The fifth use of the term ‘systemic innovation’ concerns how people engage in a process to support systemic thinking and action, and it is primarily this process, and the thinking and action it gives rise to, that is seen as systemic, rather than the innovation system that they exist within or are trying to create. It is this fifth understanding that accords with most of the literature on systems thinking published over the last 50 years. The current paper offers a contemporary perspective on what systems thinkers mean by ‘systemic’, and this not only enables us to provide a redefinition of ‘systemic innovation’, but it also helps to show how all four previous forms of innovation that have been described as systemic can be enhanced by the practice of systems thinking.
... Sustainability scholars investigated why and when firms invest in innovation to improve sustainability. Recent studies found that firms' engagements in sustainability innovation depend on the type of innovation (Pinkse, Bohnsack, & Kolk, 2014). Companies engage in autonomous rather than systemic innovation to improve sustainability, as systemic innovation requires the involvement of external partners and thus poses greater uncertainty (Sarasini & Jacob, 2014). ...
Car manufacturers attempt to differentiate through a combination of technological and nontechnological differentiators, motivated by varying degrees of sustainability and competitive advantage rationale across first movers and followers. This paper investigates how differentiation efforts disseminate from individual firms to industry-wide engagements and why some firms decide to move first. The case of incumbent car manufacturers is used to shed light on how and why firms differentiate and how differentiation links to the sustainability transition of the industry. The research highlights that car manufacturers attempt to differentiate through a combination of technological and nontechnological differentiators, motivated by varying degrees of sustainability and competitive advantage rationale across first movers and followers. A first-mover advantage is particularly evident in technological differentiators.
... For instance, transition towards renewable energy (Tsoutsos and Stamboulis, 2004). This literature is mostly used in the context of transition to more sustainable society (e.g., Karabeg, 2013;Pinkse et al, 2014). Frequently, various innovations are included and together they help society to move towards the direction of innovation where desirable results are obtained (Bergman et al, 2008;Whitmarsh and Nyqvist, 2008). ...
The field of entrepreneurial studies has been expanding in the past few years, although critical gaps in entrepreneurial opportunity identification, systemic innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystem still exist. The research proposed in this paper aims to explain how entrepreneurs identify and create opportunities at the early stages of innovation process by using a systemic innovation approach. The researcher will utilize the concept of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to develop a model suitable for all industries and sectors for systemic innovation that provides a better picture for the systemic innovation procedure. The findings of this research will benefit emerging Estonian entrepreneurs and provide cross-sector innovation framework that can be utilized by other countries.
... They find value in buying time for the technology to develop, for the stakeholders to become accustomed to the innovation, and for themselves to learn from the processes. Rather than disrupting their institutional field (Zietsma and Lawrence, 2010;Pinkse et al., 2014) by endeavoring to introduce AD in one go, they seek gradual adaptations of institutions. Although these progressive strategies do not involve technology-focused measures traditionally associated with the inside-out process of open innovation -out-licensing technology, selling intellectual property, or multiplying technology through different applications -they have the characteristic of a socio-culturally-focused inside-out process. ...
Without fundamental institutional change, such as a change in laws and regulations, many new technologies cannot achieve their full potential. Efforts to induce institutional change in favor of such technologies are, therefore, increasingly critical for innovative firms. To study how German automotive firms induce change that accommodates autonomous driving (AD) solutions, we conducted a case study research encompassing analysis of 31 interviews, internal archival documents, and media data. Taking the firm as the level of analysis, we identify ten practices employed by innovating incumbents in the three steps of creating saliency for change, mitigating reservations against the desired change, and institutionalizing it. We find that these practices involve shaping‐oriented and adaptation‐oriented knowledge flows. Through the combined use of these practices throughout the three steps, firms ‘open up’ their development process, utilizing purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to advance innovation. Our findings contribute to the literature on open innovation and institutional entrepreneurship and suggest that future open innovation research can profit from adopting an institutional entrepreneurship perspective.
... Protection trajectories in facing disruptive technologies can impact public and private agents, according to Pinkse et al. [2014]. When opposite interests exist among these major players, nudging public policies must be a good way of making strategy happen. ...
This study presents a proposal to improve public policies for supporting innovation in Brazil’s automotive industry by using a conceptual model with incremental benefits based on nudge concepts. This new model aims to reduce the complexity of the current fiscal mechanism. It makes the tax incentive mechanism more dynamic and stimulates innovative companies to improve their innovative performance. For this, a qualitative comparative analysis of the effects (empirical and simulated) of a public innovation policy — an automotive policy called Inovar-Auto — compares a consolidated traditional tax incentive mechanism with the new model. It is concluded that the incremental scale of benefits stimulates the companies-government interaction more safely and effectively, reducing the complexity of the current tax incentive mechanism and offering new paths and choice possibilities. This study contributes to the literature by presenting an innovative tax incentive mechanism, a “nudge” for changing companies’ behavior, which can be applied in other countries.
Theoretical and empirical evidence point to the ability of political leaders to manipulate economic policies and leverage local firms to elevate their political careers. Despite this, there is limited understanding of how these career incentives impact the operational dynamics of the firms involved. This empirical study delves into this gap, revealing that city leaders with fewer promotional incentives are more inclined to mobilize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) within their jurisdiction to pursue sustainable development, as indicated by heightened corporate operational efficiency. Our analysis further indicates that the career prospects of city leaders significantly influence the operational efficiency of SOEs by driving a shift in focus from rapid growth to sustainable development and firms’ adoption of disruptive technologies. We posit that this increase in operational efficiency not only benefits the SOEs but also generates unique value for stakeholders, resulting in elevated market capitalization and reduced stock price crash risk. Our findings carry direct relevance to the ongoing discourse on political incentives and contribute to operations management research, shedding light on the intricate ways in which the political environment can impact the operational performance of firms.
The automotive industry is actively pursuing a course of sustainable development; however, to date, progress has been limited. This is because a truly sustainable future requires a substantial and transformative approach to automobility. Some scholars argue that this transformative approach might be found by exploring an industry transition based on stewardship rather than the current status quo of incremental change. Hence, as a way of offering new insights to stimulate action for sustainability, this study presents the first comprehensive review of stewardship in the automotive sector. From an analysis of 161 peer‐reviewed articles published between 1990 and 2022, we identified two underconceptualized forms of stewardship—environmental and social—both of which have an interconnected relationship. Environmental stewardship involves actions that address ecological challenges, while social stewardship pertains to broader, positive impacts on communities. We argue that understanding the interplay between these different forms of stewardship is crucial for achieving comprehensive sustainability outcomes. Additionally, this research identifies gaps in the literature and outlines areas for future research to help both managers and society navigate the complex sustainability issues facing the automotive industry.
Environmental scanning is an important way for firms to realize disruptive innovation. However, how environmental scanning impacts disruptive innovation is still unclear. Based on resource orchestration theory and foresight theory, this study divides environmental scanning into prospective scanning and responsive scanning according to scanning time, explores the relationship between two types of environmental scanning and disruptive innovation, and tests the mediating role of resource orchestration and the moderating role of environmental dynamism. The results based on 284 intelligent manufacturing firms show that there are inverted U‐shaped effects not only between prospective scanning and new‐market disruption but also between responsive scanning and low‐end market disruption. Resource orchestration plays a mediating role in the inverted U‐shaped relationships between prospective scanning and new‐market disruption, responsive scanning, and low‐end market disruption. Moreover, environmental dynamism moderates and steepens the inverted U‐shaped relationship between prospective scanning, responsive scanning, and resource orchestration, and the mediating effect of resource orchestration is also moderated by environmental dynamism. The results reveal that environmental scanning can help firms achieve disruptive innovation to a certain extent, and firms must be alert to the “overload trap.”
Entrepreneurial ventures aspiring to disrupt existing market incumbents often use business-model innovation to increase the attractiveness of their offerings. A value proposition is the central element of a business model, and is critical for this purpose. However, how entrepreneurial ventures modify their value propositions to increase the attractiveness of their comparatively inferior offerings is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the value proposition innovation (VPI) of aspiring disruptors.
Design/methodology/approach-The authors used a flexible pattern matching approach to ground the inductive findings in extant theory. The authors conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with managers from startups in the global electric vehicle industry.
Findings-The authors developed a framework, showing two factors, determinants and tactics, that play a key role in VPI connected by a continuous feedback loop. Directed by the determinants of cognitive antecedents, development drivers and realization capabilities, aspiring disruptors determine the scope, focus and priorities of various configuration and support tactics to enable and secure the success of their value proposition.
Originality/value-The authors contribute to theory by showing how cognitive antecedents, development drivers and capabilities determine VPI tactics to disrupt existing market incumbents, furthering the understanding of configuration tactics. The results have important implications for disruptive innovation theory, and entrepreneurship research and practice, as they offer an explanatory framework to analyze strategies of aspiring disruptors who increase the attractiveness of sustainable technologies, thereby accelerating their diffusion.
Technology foresight report looking at different foresight methods that can be useful for public funding of innovation, with the following chapters and co-authors:
1. Per Dannemand Andersen - "Potential uses of the Delphi method in innovation funding institutions";
2. Marco Bevolo - "Individual intuition and communicative charisma as enablers of futures envisioning: ‘genius forecasting’ vs ‘forecasting geniuses’";
3. Imoh Ilevbare - "Roadmapping for strategy, foresight and policy";
4. Eirini Malliaraki - "The role of large language models in science and technology policy";
5. Rafael Popper - "The role of horizon scanning in anticipating and monitoring emerging technologies";
6. Matthew Spaniol - "Using scenarios to assess innovations".
Digital technology is a technology system with multiple technology elements compounded and integrated, and is the fundamental driving force of the new round of technological revolution and industrial change, but the factors driving its innovation are highly complex and dynamic. In order to clarify how the internal and external factors of enterprises drive digital technology innovation, and to clarify the laws of digital technology innovation. Using contribution index and logistic model, this paper empirically analyzes the driving factors that may affect digital technology innovation in China based on financial data, patent data, R&D investment data, and corresponding industry data of 214 listed enterprises in three digital technology fields of computer manufacturing, intelligent equipment manufacturing, and electronic components manufacturing in China during 2008-2020. The results show that: overall, enterprise size is one of the key factors determining digital technology innovation in China, while market competition and industrial structure are the key external factors affecting digital technology innovation in China; market competition has a greater impact on digital technology innovation in private enterprises than state-owned enterprises; high-tech industries are more dependent on the gathering of talents brought by education than non-high-tech industries; computer manufacturing technology mainly goes through the maturity period, while intelligent equipment manufacturing technology is mainly in the growth period, and the innovation activities of these two technologies receive more influence from the market environment; electronic components and their equipment manufacturing technology are more dependent on the internal innovation base of enterprises and the effective allocation of capital and talents in both the budding and growth periods. These results provide useful insights for China to develop differentiated guiding policies in digital technology innovation according to the nature of enterprises and industry attributes.
Purpose
There are uncertainties concerning how innovators can successfully venture into disruptive innovations and how incumbents can react to the emergence of such innovations. Disruptive digital innovations, which use information technology to disrupt business contexts and can evolve rapidly to either successes or failures, have unique challenges. The literature has largely remained silent concerning these. Also, existing studies often focus on innovations originating in developed economies and just on successful cases. There is a lack of comparative focus on successful and failure cases emerging across economies. The purpose of this paper is to fill these gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper assesses the evolution of disruptive digital innovations in various contexts through a financial management-motivated conceptual framework. Contrary to existing works, this paper focuses on both successful and failure cases and regards the influence of various stakeholders further to innovators and incumbents to explain the successes or failures of the innovation.
Findings
There are some common success factors for disruptive digital innovation. These include an inherent focus on social value, alignment to financiers' interests and rivals' actions and strategic collaborations to create a synergy effect.
Research limitations/implications
Innovators can cause effective digital disruption by focusing on social and financial values. Success can also largely depend on strategic partnerships rather than actions by an individual entity. Thus, venturing and managing disruptive digital innovation is not an isolated but a social process.
Originality/value
This paper recommends propositions for innovators and incumbents to venture into and confront disruptive digital innovations effectively. Its originality lies in focusing on both successful and failure cases, unexplored in literature, to develop the propositions.
We offer a new vantage to the literature on the role of infomediaries in incumbent firms’ struggles to adopt discontinuous technologies: the perspective of news media. Specifically, we combine the discontinuous technology literature with studies on news media journalism to theorize that journalists cover an incumbent's new product introductions differently, depending on whether a given new product builds on a discontinuous technology or on the respective established, continuous technology. First, discontinuous‐technology‐based product introductions receive a greater volume of coverage than continuous‐technology‐based product introductions because journalists prefer covering issues that are novel, deviate from the conventional, and potentially strongly impact society. Second, the coverage of discontinuous‐technology‐based product introductions is more divergent in tenor than the coverage of continuous‐technology‐based product introductions, as journalists seek to present opposing and thus more engaging opinions. Our analyses of unique archival data from two samples of product introductions in the automotive and photography industries, respectively, support our hypotheses. We also find intriguing indications that news media coverage of new products introductions using hybrid technologies is significantly context‐dependent. Overall, our study points to so‐far undescribed, media‐related dilemmas for incumbent firms that aim to adopt discontinuous technologies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Climate change is a major challenge facing society. Given its intricate links with business, governance scholars have shown an increasing interest in understanding how corporate governance (CG) actors can improve corporate environmental sustainability (CES). In this article, we review the literature focusing on CG and CES. We assess the importance of the motivations, expertise, and power of CG actors at different levels (individual, team, firm, and supra‐firm) for CES. Using this as a guiding framework, we build a multilevel synthesis highlighting the theoretical mechanisms around motivations, expertise, and power suggested in the literature. Based on this synthesis, we present critical reflections on the extant knowledge. Finally, we develop a future research agenda that calls for research at single levels, but also for integrative research examining how CG actors at multiple levels collectively shape CES.
Evolution of the business model of an SME: some lessons learned from a case
The performance of companies depends on the adaptation of the company’s business model to changes in its environment. Using a longitudinal case study conducted in real time, the objective of the study is to analyze the change in business model of an SME in the context of its changing environment. Our analysis focuses on voluntary and emergent changes, and even more specifically, on the nature of the paradoxical tensions (Smith and Lewis, 2011) at work in this change of business model. We show that the business model of the company is modified according to the evolution of its environment and the internal tensions. Applying the paradox grid of Smith and Lewis (2011) shows the nature of the priorities to be managed.
Although entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) have attracted increasing conceptual interest in the academic literature, little research has been conducted on their dynamics regarding the sociotechnological transformations that they undergo. To gain a bigger picture of this process, the theoretical underpinning is lacking. This research aims to address this theoretical gap by relying on the quadruple/quintuple (Q/Q) helix model to contextualize the dynamics fueling the development of EEs. We supplement this model with the institutional perspective to gain a better understanding of the dynamic interplay of EE institutions within their broader socioenvironmental context. Through an exploratory qualitative study based on secondary data from 1985 to 2021, we focus on the space EE as an illustrative case that has experienced major sociotechnological changes since the mid‐2000s. Likewise, we find that sociotechnological transformations lead to a change of focus in the knowledge production system, which is fostered by internal constraints and external opportunities. Indeed, informal institutions have a major influence on entrepreneurial dynamics by supporting an entrepreneurial culture within the Q/Q helix spheres, as they enable the inclusion of external actors in the innovation process. Ultimately, we point out the role of entrepreneurial support organizations in the inclusion of civil society and the environment in society and democracy‐based knowledge production systems to enhance the development of EEs.
Given that entire industries face sustainable development challenges, it is important to understand the dynamics that lead incumbents to develop competence‐destroying sustainable product innovations. This paper provides a longitudinal analysis of automobile incumbents' open innovation strategies during the era of shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles by describing the process through which they leverage open innovation for the provision and development of electric batteries, the most distinct component of electric vehicles. The paper analyses the strategies of 13 carmakers over a period of 26 years and identifies a path‐based open innovation framework for green technology characterised by an inverse U‐shaped breadth and depth of partnerships correlated to different levels of technological uncertainty until carmakers start moving from market to hierarchy by producing in‐house electric batteries.
Policy instruments in procurement are widely used. While the efficiency of the local content policy requirements (LCRs) as one of such instruments has been questioned, it remains a powerful mechanism for the national governments of resource-rich countries. The aim of such LCRs is to extract additional benefits for citizens of these countries, beyond fiscal revenues and enhancing innovation. We analyse the relationship between the LCRs and local procurement using data from 1,326 contracts on extraction and exploration of subsoil in Kazakhstan over the period 2013-2016. We provide empirical evidence that LCRs in this case were not an effective tool in supporting procurement from local suppliers. We argue that firms would prefer to pay fines for non-compliance with LCRs on procurement of goods, works and services rather than use local suppliers. Our findings demonstrate that LCRs are an inefficient policy instrument and require further improvement in Kazakhstan. We offer policy implications for efficient LCRs and highlight the importance of choosing the optimal LCRs to enhance local procurement.
La littérature sur les stratégies de rupture s’est attachée à décrire le comportement stratégique des entreprises dans un processus de transformation de marché, de secteur ou d’industrie. Ces dernières décrivent les processus par lesquels les entreprises transforment une industrie et/ou créent un nouveau marché à leur avantage par le biais d’innovations. Bien que la littérature ait reconnu la capacité des innovations de différentes natures à perturber le jeu concurrentiel (technologie, produit, business model), très peu de recherches ont fait le lien entre ces stratégies et les défis environnementaux. Dans cette perspective, nous croisons les cadres analytiques des stratégies de rupture avec celui de l’approche multiniveaux, un cadre d’analyse des transitions vers la durabilité. Ce cadre analytique permet d’appréhender les processus dynamiques à l’intérieur et entre trois niveaux d’un système sociotechnique : la niche, le régime et le paysage. Les recherches sur les transitions vers la durabilité ont souligné le rôle central des organisations dans le processus de transition. Notre thèse ambitionne de participer à la construction de la connaissance en management stratégique en ce qui concerne la participation des entreprises à cette transition. La thèse s’appui sur une étude de cas longitudinale du secteur de la distribution alimentaire française de 1963 - 2019. Notre analyse se base essentiellement sur deux entreprises : l’entreprise établie Carrefour et l’organisation militante Biocoop. Cette thèse met en évidence deux résultats principaux. Premièrement, elle soutient que la durabilité peut en effet dépasser le cadre limitatif de la niche (1). Elle montre également que cette mise à l’échelle de la durabilité est le fruit d’un processus de co-évolution entre les deux firmes étudiées (2). Dans un premier temps l’entreprise militante adopte en partie les règles du jeu sectorielle avec lesquelles elle entretenait un rapport antithétique. Cette intégration partielle des pratiques dominantes va permettre à Biocoop de développer son réseau de magasins et son activité dans un nouveau marché. Les opportunités économiques offertes par ce nouveau marché vont conduire Carrefour à accepter la rupture et de la faire sienne en vue de renouveler son avantage concurrentiel. La participation de l’entreprise établie à la rupture permet de mettre à l’échelle la durabilité et d’accélérer sa diffusion au sein du secteur.
Die Circular Economy markiert einen Paradigmenwechsel: von einem derzeit linear strukturierten „Take-Make-Waste-Wirtschaftsmodell“ zu einer Abkehr vom heutigen – dem Produktionsprozess nachgelagerten – Umgang mit Abfall. Für eine Umkehr dieser dominanten linearen Strukturen in Wertschöpfungsketten müssen alle beteiligten Akteure umdenken. Das beginnt bereits bei einer Produktneugestaltung unter zirkulären Vorzeichen und erfordert eine konsistente Neuausrichtung aller nachgelagerten Wirtschaftsprozesse im Bereich Produktion, Auslieferung, Rückgabe.
Ziel der Arbeitsgruppe war die Erstellung eines wissenschaftsbasierten und praxisorientierten Berichts für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Geschäftspraktiken zur Förderung einer Circular Economy (CE). Die Arbeitsgruppe „Zirkuläre Geschäftsmodelle“ der Circular Economy Initiative Deutschland (CEID) hat sich aus einer Systemperspektive heraus folgende Aufgaben gestellt:
a. Ermittlung und Beschreibung akteursspezifischer zirkulärer Geschäftsmodelle und ihrer Interaktionen mit Partnerorganisationen im Geschäftsmodell-Ökosystem
b. Erstellung einer integrierten Darlegung bestehender Barrieren für zirkuläre Geschäftsmodelle
c. Identifizierung digitaler und regulatorischer Treiber für zirkuläre Geschäftsmodelle
d. Ableitung spezifischer Handlungsempfehlungen für Entscheidungsträgerinnen und Entscheidungsträger aus Politik, Industrie und Wissenschaft, um den Systemwandel hin zu einer Circular Economy zu beschleunigen
Technology transfer is an active process in which advanced technologies are transferred between two different actors. In a fiercely competitive environment, the development and commercialization of new technology, such as battery electric vehicles (BEV), increasingly depend on technology transfer across organizational boundaries. To further explore technological transfer across organizations, it needs to combine the related information with patent citations. However, the existing literature usually ignores the diversity and difference of patent citations across jurisdictions. To close the gap, the paper takes the difference of patent citations into account. The paper gains an insight into the evolutionary pattern of BEV technology transfer across organizations in China by constructing multi-category citation networks. We find that the technology transfer networks are increasingly complex over time, but technology transfers between organizations are uneven. An important characteristic of technology transfer is that it follows the power-law distribution with a very long tail. More importantly, both large car manufacturers and new entrants play an important role in technology transfer, followed by top automotive suppliers, while the role of universities is limited. Our findings can help policy-makers or company managers better understand the evolutionary pattern of BEV technology transfer at the organizational level.
Delivering a low-carbon future depends significantly on the decarbonization of the electricity industry. Increasingly, electric utilities have experienced pressure to redefine their business model amid the need to transition to a sustainable energy system. In this study, we focus on how utilities have changed their business model to adapt to the emergence of sustainable energy innovations in the energy system and which value creation drivers they draw on. By framing the business model as an activity system, we capture how utilities expand the boundaries of their business to integrate sustainable energy activities. We analyze 756 boundary-spanning transactions (mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances) of 20 European utilities from 1990 to 2019. We find that utilities pursued 20 distinct sustainable energy activities across renewable electricity generation, smart electricity management, emerging technologies, and sustainable mobility. Preference for renewable energy activities, particularly wind generation is observed. The combination of renewable electricity generation and smart electricity management indicates a focus on systems integration. We also find preference for integrating activities through mergers and acquisitions. Utilities focus on acquiring sustainable energy activities leading to a novel bundling of activities contributing to decarbonization while reinforcing the efficiency and lock-in of their traditional business model.
Since 2015, there has been an accelerated growth in the number of companies pursuing corporate-startup engagement initiatives in Brazil. Corporate-startup engagement mode consists of a set of strategic and organizational elements that define the way a company engages with startups. There is a spectrum of corporate-startup engagement modes, such as one-off events, startup programs, corporate accelerators, corporate incubators, venture builders, platform programs, coworking spaces, and corporate venture capital. Engagement modes differ in terms of the level of commitment they require from the company and the level of flexibility they provide in the relationship between the company and startups. Companies operate in business environments that differ in their level of hostility and munificence. They establish different strategic objectives regarding their engagement initiatives, and they present different levels of innovation management capabilities. The aim of this study is to explore how the business environment in which the company operates, its innovation management capabilities, and its strategic objectives influence the engagement mode choice. We delimit our analysis to engagement modes that represent a deliberate company effort, notably, startup programs, corporate accelerators, corporate incubators, and venture builders, comparing our observations to knowledge developed around an established engagement mode, corporate venture capital. The methodological choice encompasses a literature review, an analysis of the corporate-startup engagement landscape in Brazil and a multiple case studies approach assessing six companies that differ regarding the business environments they operate, their level of innovation management capabilities, and their choice of corporate-startup engagement mode. New digital technologies present a vast array of technological and new business opportunities for companies in all business environments. Digital transformation was the main motivator for corporate-startup engagement. Environmental hostility, top leadership entrepreneurial strategic vision, and the presence of internal digital innovation capabilities influenced companies to establish objectives related to business renewal and redefinition through new business models based on digital technologies. Companies aiming to create and explore new business models adopted corporate-startup engagement modes characterized by high commitment and low flexibility, such as corporate incubators, venture builders, and CVC. Companies that defined strategic objectives related to efficiency/effectiveness and learning/knowledge adopted corporate-startup engagement modes characterized by low commitment and high flexibility, such as startup programs and corporate accelerators. Innovation management capabilities related to strategy and governance also influence the engagement mode decision-making process. Corporate-startup engagement initiatives can be originated in different areas within a company. The engagement mode configuration is delimited by the scope and objectives of the sponsoring area. Corporate-startup engagement initiatives can present complementary goals, composing a portfolio of internal and external initiatives dedicated to foster innovation and venturing within the organization.
The exploration/exploitation perspective is a well-known concept in the strategic management field; however, it has seldom been used to explore and analyze strategy at a national level. This study utilizes this perspective to analyze China's eco-innovation mode in response to climate change. By categorizing eco-innovation into radical and incremental eco-innovation, we examine the relationship between these concepts using Y02 patents as a proxy and panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2004 to 2015. The results show that eco-innovation as a whole as well as both radical and incremental innovations are drivers for reducing carbon emissions. Furthermore, contradictory to most previous empirical results related to the complementarity hypothesis, we find a complementary relationship between radical and incremental eco-innovation. These results collectively represent China's unique eco-innovation mode, confirming the assumed diversity of eco-innovation models in different contexts. The results also show the significant positive effects of economic development, urbanization level, industrial structure, and China's opening up on carbon emissions, indicating that economic and social development have not yet been completely dissociated from carbon emissions in China.
The concepts of corporate reputation and corporate identity represent a relatively new and supplemental lens through which top management can address the strategic issues facing their firm. To help guide the thinking of senior executives in managing their organization’s reputation and image, the authors present a pragmatic operational model. The model shows that in addition to an understanding of corporate reputation and image, managers needs to understand their firm’s corporate identity and corporate communications, and the interrelationships amongst these components. The authors argue that in today’s sensitive business milieu, a firm’s ultimate survival may well depend on developing and maintaining a recognizable image and favorable reputation.
Technological change is a central feature of modern societies and a powerful source for social change. There is an urgent task to direct these new technologies towards sustainability, but society lacks perspectives, instruments and policies to accomplish this. There is no blueprint for a sustainable future, and it is necessary to experiment with alternative paths that seem promising. Various new transport technologies promise to bring sustainability benefits. But as this book shows, important lessons are often overlooked because the experiments are not designed to challenge the basic assumptions about established patterns of transport choices. Learning how to organise the process of innovation implementation is essential if the maximum impact is to be achieved - it is here that strategic niche management offers new perspectives. The book uses a series of eight recent experiments with electric vehicles, carsharing schemes, bicycle pools and fleet management to illustrate the means by which technological change must be closely linked to social change if successful implementation is to take place. The basic divide between proponents of technological fixes and those in favour of behavioural change needs to be bridged, perhaps indicating a third way. © 2002 Remco Hoogma, René Kemp, Johan Schot and Bernhard Truffer.
The notion of ‘niche’ has proved to be useful to account for the emergence of radical innovations. Most studies, however, deal with the development of single emerging technologies. In this paper we address the competition between multiple niche technologies. Within the niche of the ‘car of the future’ two options compete: the battery-electric and the hydrogen car. While both are shielded from regular market forces, they have to compete in terms of R&D funding, supportive regulation and infrastructure build-up. In our case study we trace the competition in terms of design rules and expectations and show how attention for both options has alternated in three phases, which follow the high hopes and subsequent disappointments of the different component technologies. Whereas there is room for simultaneously developed, multiple options at the local level, at the global level attention and expectations seem much more focused on either the one or the other.
An evolutionary model of technological change is proposed in which a technological breakthrough, or discontinuity, initiates an era of intense technical variation and selection, culminating in a single dominant design. This era of ferment is followed by a period of incremental technical progress, which may be broken by a subsequent technological discontinuity. A longitudinal study of the cement (1888-1980), glass (1893-1980), and minicomputer (1958-1982) industries indicates that when patents are not a significant factor, a technological discontinuity is generally followed by a single standard. Across these diverse product classes, sales always peak after a dominant design emerges. Discontinuities never become dominant designs, and dominant designs lag behind the industry's technical frontier. Both the length of the era of ferment and the type of firm inaugurating a standard are contingent on how the discontinuity affects existing competences. Eras of ferment account for the majority of observed technical progress across these three industries.
In this article we offer a view that suggests that a firm's critical resources may span firm boundaries and may be embedded in interfirm resources and routines. We argue that an increasingly important unit of analysis for understanding competitive advan- tage is the relationship between firms and identify four potential sources of interor- ganizational competitive advantage: (1) relation-specific assets, (2) knowledge- sharing routines, (3) complementary resources/capabilities, and (4) effective governance. We examine each of these potential sources of rent in detail, identifying key subprocesses, and also discuss the isolating mechanisms that serve to preserve relational rents. Finally, we discuss how the relational view may offer normative prescriptions for firm-level strategies that contradict the prescriptions offered by those with a resource-based view or industry structure view. Scholars in the strategy field are concerned fundamentally with explaining differential firm performance (Rumelt, Schendel, & Teece, 1991). As strategy scholars have searched for sources of competitive advantage, two prominent views have emerged regarding the sources of super- normal returns. The first-the industry structure view-associated with Porter (1980), suggests that supernormal returns are primarily a func- tion of a firm's membership in an industry with favorable structural characteristics (e.g., rela- tive bargaining power, barriers to entry, and so on). Consequently, many researchers have fo- cused on the industry as the relevant unit of analysis. The second view-the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm-argues that differential firm performance is fundamentally due to firm heterogeneity rather than industry structure (Barney, 1991; Rumelt, 1984, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984). Firms that are able to accumulate re- sources and capabilities that are rare, valuable, nonsubstitutable, and difficult to imitate will achieve a competitive advantage over compet-
Today's industrial landscape is characterized by rapid change and systemic technologies. Rapid change results in ever shorter product life cycles that demand continual innovation from firms. The systemic nature of technologies makes it difficult, if not impossible, for any one firm to manufacture all components of a technological system. We propose that these challenges be met by designing technological systems that have the potential to yield economies of substitution. Additionally, we propose that these economies be realized by adopting the network mode of governance. We examine the network mode at three levels—intrafirm, interfirm, and institutional—to illuminate the inherent tension between cooperation and competition at each level, and to explore the implications of this tension for industrial dynamics.
This paper explores how climate change affects multinational enterprises (MNEs), focusing on the challenges they face in overcoming liabilities and filling institutional voids related to the issue. Climate change is characterized by institutional failures, because there is neither an enforceable global agreement nor a market morality. Climate change is also a distinctive international business issue, as its institutional failures materialize differently in different countries. As governments are still highly involved, MNEs need to consider carefully their strategies to cope with non-market forces, including their embeddedness in multiple institutional settings. Using some illustrative examples of MNE responses to climate-related components in stimulus packages, we explore MNEs’ balancing act concerning their institutional embeddedness (or lack thereof) in home, host and supranational contexts as input for further research on the dynamics of MNE activities in relation to climate change.
The aim of this paper is to analyse the role that the Japanese Government has played in the development of alternatives to conventional vehicles, the effect of government programmes, and the importance of technical flexibility in government support schemes. The focus is on battery-powered electric vehicles (BPEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles.The effects of government policy and the process of innovation are analysed from a systems approach drawing on the literature regarding technical change and innovation. The whole chain of government support, including the context in which these different policies have been implemented since the early 1970s, is studied.The Japanese Government has adopted a comprehensive strategy including R&D, demonstration programmes and market support guided by long-term strategic plans. The role of the Government has been that of a conductor in the development process supplying both R&D support and artificially created niche markets, and easing the way for targeted technologies by means of legislation and standards.Despite this, the targeted technology (the BPEV) has not been established on the market. However, the recent market success of the HEV can partly be attributed to the government support of the BPEV technology. The enabling component, the electric drivetrain, was developed for automotive use within the BPEV programmes offered by the MITI. This technology was later utilised in the HEV.The history of BPEVs in Japan demonstrates that “picking winners” in government policy is not easy. Despite a sustained and ambitious policy by the MITI, the development of alternative vehicles never unfolded according to plan. The success factors for policy seem more related to technology specific features than the particular policy style. Our conclusion is that flexibility, adaptability and cooperation in terms of technical choice is necessary in policy. This increases the chances of a technology surviving the long journey from idea to competitive technology. Another conclusion is that market support, even in the early phases of development, is an important complement to R&D for gaining experience and building markets.
In this article, the use of the niche concept for explaining radical technical change is explored. Contributions of various
strands of literatures are elaborated and systematized in a taxonomy. Radical change or technological discontinuity is defined
as the establishment of a new sociotechnical regime. Sociotechnical regimes carry and store rules for how to produce, use
and regulate specific technologies. They perform the task of genes and define the boundary between technological species.
It is proposed that radical change is generated by four different evolutionary mechanisms and patterns: natural selection,
punctuated equilibrium, market niche selection, and technological niche selection. In each pattern, a different type of niche
is implicated in the change process. The difference between niches results from differentiating between two dimensions: (1)
whether niches are internal or external to the prevailing sociotechnical regime; (2) whether rules for design and use of a
specific technology are stable or unstable within the niche.
This paper focuses on the diversity of engine technologies for Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) that are developed by car manufacturers in order to substitute for the conventional internal combustion engine vehicle. Our purpose is to analyse the competition between the various technologies for LEVs as well as the innovative strategy of car manufacturers. We first propose to define and to represent these technological trajectories in order to compare their performances and to identify their strength and weaknesses. The technological bottlenecks, the barriers to the adoption of these alternative engine technologies as well as the features of this technological competition are underlined. We then use a patent data analysis to study the patent portfolios of the main car manufacturers in these technologies on the period from 1990 to 2005. The dynamics of patents applied by car manufacturers gives insight on the competition among technologies and on the strategy of firms. This analysis emphasises the progressive diversification of firms patent portfolios over the whole set of engine technologies and the differentiated strategic positioning of car manufacturers according to countries.
This paper focuses on the diversity of engine technologies for Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) that are developed by car manufacturers in order to substitute for the conventional internal combustion engine vehicle. Our purpose is to analyse the competition between the various technologies for LEVs as well as the innovative strategy of car manufacturers. We first propose to define and to represent these technological trajectories in order to compare their performances and to identify their strength and weaknesses. The technological bottlenecks, the barriers to the adoption of these alternative engine technologies as well as the features of this technological competition are underlined. We then use a patent data analysis to study the patent portfolios of the main car manufacturers in these technologies on the period from 1990 to 2005. The dynamics of patents applied by car manufacturers gives insight on the competition among technologies and on the strategy of firms. This analysis emphasises the progressive diversification of firms patent portfolios over the whole set of engine technologies and the differentiated strategic positioning of car manufacturers according to countries.
Since 1995, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has deployed case study methodology to follow the progress of 12 discontinuous innovation projects in ten large R&D-intensive firms. The study has illuminated the challenges of managing the surprisingly difficult transition from R&D project to an operating unit in the eight of the 12 projects that reached transition. A substantial "readiness gap" existed between the project teams and the receiving business units. The challenges have been captured in the form of ten critical questions that must be addressed before a project can be successfully transitioned. Based on an analysis of transition practices, the authors identify seven propositions for improving the effectiveness of transition management suggesting the potential usefulness of the following managerial approaches: (1) conducting a transition readiness assessment; (2) assembling a transition team; (3) establishing an oversight board; (4) developing a transition plan; (5) providing transition funding from corporate sources; (6) laying the groundwork for a big market; and (7) engaging senior management champions.
Firms often lose their competitive advantage when a technological change renders their existing capabilities obsolete. An important question that has received little or no attention is, what happens to these firms’ competitive advantage when the technological change instead renders obsolete the capabilities of their co‐opetitors—the suppliers, customers, and complementors whose very success may underpin that of the firm and with whom it must collaborate and compete. This paper explores the effects on a firm of the impact of a technological change on its co‐opetitors . It argues that a firm’s post‐technological change performance decreases with the extent to which the technological change renders co‐opetitors’ capabilities obsolete. It uses detailed data on the adoption of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) technology by computer workstation makers to demonstrate the need to view resources as residing in a network and not in the firm alone. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Champions of virtual corporations urge managers to subcontract anything and everything. And because several high-profile corporate giants have been outperformed by more nimble, "networked" competitors, the idea of the virtual organization is tantalizing. Many executives have come to believe that a company that invests in as little as possible will be more responsive to a changing marketplace and more likely to attain global competitive advantage. But is that really the best way to organize for innovation? In this HBR article from 1996, Henry Chesbrough and David Teece argue that the virtual corporation has been oversold. Innovation is not monolithic. For some innovations, joint ventures, alliances, and out-sourcing can play a useful role. But for others, they are inappropriate-and strategically dangerous. The initial success and subsequent failure of the IBM PC illustrate the strategic mistake of using a virtual approach to develop the kind of complex technology that should be controlled in-house. The authors present a framework to help managers determine when to innovate by going virtual, when to form alliances, and when to rely on internal development. They provide a range of cases to illustrate how to match organizational strategy to the type of innovation being pursued. General Motors, for example, used the wrong approach to develop disc brake technology and got to market later than its competitors. There are benefits to being virtual. But, the authors caution, the popularity of networked companies and decentralization arises, in part, from observations made within a very short time frame. Long-term success requires considerable and sustained investment within a company.
Building on transaction cost economics and the knowledge-based theory of the firm, I argue that, following a technological change that is competence-destroying to firms and their suppliers, firms that are integrated vertically into the new technology will perform better than those that are not. At the same time, firms that had been vertically integrated into the old technology will perform worse than those that had not been. This argument suggests that the efficient boundaries of a firm are dynamic. I used the adoption of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) technology by makers of computer workstations to explore the hypotheses.
Advances in information technology have made it easier for companies to exchange data and coordinate activities. That has given rise to a radical new vision of corporate organization-one in which individual companies outsource many oftheir activities to an array of partners. Such virtual enterprises may be more efficient, but what are the broader strategic implications of rampant subcontracting? Henry Chesbrough and David Teece sound a note of caution. When it comes to innovation, they argue, virtuality often does more harm than good. Loose partnerships of companies inevitably produce more conflicts ofinterest than do centrally managed corporations, and those conflicts can hamper the kind of complex, systematic innovation that creates valuable business breakthroughs. Innovation is a destabilizing force and will therefore be resisted by companies wary of upsetting a comfortable status quo. Chesbrough and Teece acknowledge that some degree of outsourcing can further corporate creativity and that virtuality makes sense under certain conditions. But every company, they contend, needs to tailor its organization to its own operations and its unique sources of innovation. Blindly following fads is a recipe for disaster. © 2002 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
Alternative vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen hold the potential to solve a number of challenges that relate to automobile use, such as climate change, deterioration of local air quality, security of energy supply, and high fuel prices. This article addresses the question as to how a transition to vehicles powered by hydrogen or electricity could take place. Recognizing that transitions result from joint development of technology and society, a co-evolutionary, multi-level perspective is adopted. The perspective is used to analyze the dynamics of the relationship between car manufacturers and consumers and developments that put pressure on this relationship. Building on the analysis, two sets of scenarios for a transition to battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles are identified. In one set of scenarios, tightening emissions regulation stimulates carmakers to scale up experiments with alternative vehicles, moving them into the commercialization phase. In the other set, rising fuel prices prompt carmakers to first extend their current product line-up with plug-in versions, and later with battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles. The two scenarios have different implications for the actors involved and for the requisite supporting infrastructure.
The unsustainability of the present trajctories of technical change in sectors such as transport and agriculture is widely recognized. It is far from clear, however, how a transition to more sustainable modes of development may be achieved. Sustainable technologies that fulful important user requirements in terms of performance and price are most often not available on the market. Ideas of what might be more sustainable technologies exist, but the long development times, uncertainty about market demand and social gains, and the need for change at different levels in organization, technology, infastructure and the wider social and institutional context-provide a great barrier. This raises the question of how the potential of more sustainable technologies and modes of development may be exploited. In this article we describe how technical change is locked into dominant technological regimes, and present a perspective, called strategic niche management, on how to expedite a transition into a new regime. The perspective consists of the creation and/or management of nichesfor promising technologies.
This article argues that styles of innovation diffusion dynamics depend on both national and niche-specific factors and that their respective influence changes during the innovation diffusion process. Based on a review of approaches, dealing on the one hand with differences in national innovation and technology systems and on the other with process of niche formation and development, a theoretical synthesis and pattern of analysis is suggested for interpreting and comparing empirical findings from two different technology examples. The analysis of combined heat and power (CHP) in Germany, UK and the Netherlands, and of electric vehicles in Germany, Sweden and France allows us to identify different styles of innovation diffusion dynamics. These styles are determined by the relative importance of national and niche-specific factors in different phases of the process of technological change. Support in lent to the hypothesis that a style which combines impulses for innovation at both structural and niche is particularly conducive to radical change.
In this article I describe and compare ct number of alternative generic strategies for the analysis of process data, looking at the consequences of these strategies for emerging theories. I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies in terms of their capacity to generate theory that is accurate, parsimonious, general, and useful and suggest that method and theory are inextricably intertwined, that multiple strategies are often advisable, and that no analysis strategy will produce theory without an uncodifiable creative leap, however small. Finally, I argue that there is room in the organizational research literature for more openness within the academic community toward a variety of forms of coupling between theory and data.
The popular work by Clayton Christensen and colleagues on disruptive technology serves as a springboard to examine five key issues concerning the effect of technological change on firms and industries. This article challenges and integrates current theory in this domain, and raises questions to initiate new work. The discussion is organized around the following themes: the definition of disruptive technology, the predictive use of the theory of technological disruption, explaining the success of incumbents, the implications of the theory for the merits of being customer-oriented, and the merits of creating a spin-off to commercialize the disruptive technology. Examination of these themes shows the relationship of the disruptive technology work with research in a variety of related areas. Many of these links have not been made explicit before, and several of them have been misunderstood. This article is intended to encourage further research on disruptive technology and spur debate by practitioners and scholars alike.
The three issues of measuring low-end disruptions, general measure of disruptiveness, and the criticism of Christensen's (1997) disruptiveness notion by Danneel (2004), are discussed. The aim is to add rigor to an important, substantive area of research on disruptiveness, and the first step in achieving this goal is to identify ways to measure the disruptiveness construct. This is done by elaborating the use of ex post measures to make ex ante predictions about the type of incumbents better able to develop disruptive innovations in relation to other firms. The disruptive technology framework to make ex ante predictions about the type of firms likely to develop disruptive innovations.
How do executives make strategic decisions in industries where the rate of technological and competitive change is so extreme that market information is often unavailable or obsolete, where strategic windows are opening and shutting quickly, and where the cost of error is involuntary exit? How do top management teams divide the decision making responsibility? And how is risk of strategic error mitigated? What we report here is a set of hypotheses induced from a field investigation of four microcomputer firms, where we studied how each of the top management teams went about making major decisions. Our goal was to extend prior work on strategic decision making to what we term high velocity environments. Our results consist of a set of paradoxes which the successful firms resolve and the unsuccessful firms do not. We found an imperative to make major decisions carefully, but to decide quickly; to have a powerful, decisive CEO and a simultaneously powerful top management team; to seek risk and innovation, but to execute a safe, incremental implementation. Despite the apparent paradox, effective firms do all of these simultaneously. These paradoxes are presented in the form of propositions and testable hypotheses.
Providing a complete portal to the world of case study research, the Fourth Edition of Robert K. Yin's bestselling text Case Study Research offers comprehensive coverage of the design and use of the case study method as a valid research tool. This thoroughly revised text now covers more than 50 case studies (approximately 25% new), gives fresh attention to quantitative analyses, discusses more fully the use of mixed methods research designs, and includes new methodological insights. The book's coverage of case study research and how it is applied in practice gives readers access to exemplary case studies drawn from a wide variety of academic and applied fields.Key Features of the Fourth Edition Highlights each specific research feature through 44 boxed vignettes that feature previously published case studies Provides methodological insights to show the similarities between case studies and other social science methods Suggests a three-stage approach to help readers define the initial questions they will consider in their own case study research Covers new material on human subjects protection, the role of Institutional Review Boards, and the interplay between obtaining IRB approval and the final development of the case study protocol and conduct of a pilot case Includes an overall graphic of the entire case study research process at the beginning of the book, then highlights the steps in the process through graphics that appear at the outset of all the chapters that follow Offers in-text learning aids including 'tips' that pose key questions and answers at the beginning of each chapter, practical exercises, endnotes, and a new cross-referencing tableCase Study Research, Fourth Edition is ideal for courses in departments of Education, Business and Management, Nursing and Public Health, Public Administration, Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science.
In the last decade ‘sectoral systems of innovation’ have emerged as a new approach in innovation studies. This article makes four contributions to the approach by addressing some open issues. The first contribution is to explicitly incorporate the user side in the analysis. Hence, the unit of analysis is widened from sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems. The second contribution is to suggest an analytical distinction between systems, actors involved in them, and the institutions which guide actor’s perceptions and activities. Thirdly, the article opens up the black box of institutions, making them an integral part of the analysis. Institutions should not just be used to explain inertia and stability. They can also be used to conceptualise the dynamic interplay between actors and structures. The fourth contribution is to address issues of change from one system to another. The article provides a coherent conceptual multi-level perspective, using insights from sociology, institutional theory and innovation studies. The perspective is particularly useful to analyse long-term dynamics, shifts from one socio-technical system to another and the co-evolution of technology and society.
While innovation processes toward sustainable development (eco-innovations) have received increasing attention during the past years, theoretical and methodological approaches to analyze these processes are poorly developed. Against this background, the term eco-innovation is introduced in this paper addressing explicitly three kinds of changes towards sustainable development: technological, social and institutional innovation. Secondly, the potential contribution of neoclassical and (co-)evolutionary approaches from environmental and innovation economics to eco-innovation research is discussed. Three peculiarities of eco-innovation are identified: the double externality problem, the regulatory push/pull effect and the increasing importance of social and institutional innovation. While the first two are widely ignored in innovation economics, the third is at the least not elaborated appropriately. The consideration of these peculiarities may help to overcome market failure by establishing a specific eco-innovation policy and to avoid a ‘technology bias’ through a broader understanding of innovation. Finally, perspectives for a specific contribution of ecological economics to eco-innovation research are drawn. It is argued that methodological pluralism as established in ecological economics would be very beneficial for eco-innovation research. A theoretical framework integrating elements from both neoclassical and evolutionary approaches should be pursued in order to consider the complexity of factors influencing innovation decisions as well as the specific role of regulatory instruments. And the experience gathered in ecological economics integrating ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainable development is highly useful for opening up innovation research to social and institutional changes.
This paper addresses the question of how technological transitions (TT) come about? Are there particular patterns and mechanisms in transition processes? TT are defined as major, long-term technological changes in the way societal functions are fulfilled. TT do not only involve changes in technology, but also changes in user practices, regulation, industrial networks, infrastructure, and symbolic meaning or culture. This paper practices ‘appreciative theory’ [R.R. Nelson, S.G. Winter, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, Bellknap Press, Cambridge, MA, 1982] and brings together insights from evolutionary economics and technology studies. This results in a multi-level perspective on TT where two views of the evolution are combined: (i) evolution as a process of variation, selection and retention, (ii) evolution as a process of unfolding and reconfiguration. The perspective is empirically illustrated with a qualitative longitudinal case-study, the transition from sailing ships to steamships, 1780–1900. Three particular mechanisms in TT are described: niche-cumulation, technological add-on and hybridisation, riding along with market growth.
Analyzes how successful firms fail when confronted with technological and market changes, prescribing a list of rules for firms to follow as a solution. Precisely because of their adherence to good management principles, innovative, well-managed firms fail at the emergence of disruptive technologies - that is, innovations that disrupt the existing dominant technologies in the market. Unfortunately, it usually does not make sense to invest in disruptive technologies until after they have taken over the market. Thus, instead of exercising what are typically good managerial decisions, at the introduction of technical or market change it is very often the case that managers must make counterintuitive decisions not to listen to customers, to invest in lower-performance products that produce lower margins, and to pursue small markets. From analysis of the disk drive industry, a set of rules is devised - the principles of disruptive innovation - for managers to measure when traditional good management principles should be followed or rejected. According to the principles of disruptive innovation, a manager should plan to fail early, often, and inexpensively, developing disruptive technologies in small organizations operating within a niche market and with a relevant customer base. A case study in the electric-powered vehicles market illustrates how a manager can overcome the challenges of disruptive technologies using these principles of disruptive innovation. The mechanical excavator industry in the mid-twentieth century is also described, as an example in which most companies failed because they were unwilling to forego cable excavator technology for hydraulics machines. While there is no "right answer" or formula to use when reacting to unpredictable technological change, managers will be able to adapt as long as they realize that "good" managerial practices are only situationally appropriate. Though disruptive technologies are inherently high-risk, the more a firm invests in them, the more it learns about the emerging market and the changing needs of consumers, so that incremental advances may lead to industry-changing leaps. (CJC)
Firms often lose their competitive advantage when a technological change renders their existing capabilities obsolete. An important question that has received little or no attention is, what happens to these firms’ competitive advantage when the technological change instead renders obsolete the capabilities of their co-opetitors—the suppliers, customers, and complementors whose very success may underpin that of the firm and with whom it must collaborate and compete. This paper explores the effects on a firm of the impact of a technological change on its co-opetitors . It argues that a firm’s post-technological change performance decreases with the extent to which the technological change renders co-opetitors’ capabilities obsolete. It uses detailed data on the adoption of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) technology by computer workstation makers to demonstrate the need to view resources as residing in a network and not in the firm alone. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34611/1/88_ftp.pdf
This paper is devoted to integrate and discuss the latest arguments on the Disruptive Innovation theory, and to provoke questions for further research. The key issues have been summarized into three major perspectives: (1) "What is disruptive technology and disruptive innovation", including the evolution, description, and the actual definition of disruptive innovation. (2) "The predictive use of the theory" and (3) "How to enable a potential disruptive innovation". After an extensive and reflective review, we have found that the research focus to- date has well studied the business model and organizational challenges of exploiting disruptive innovation. There is a trend to tailor abundant knowledge and tools of marketing literature to study identification of emerging markets and customers' latent needs. The technology perspective received very limited coverage and a significant amount of research is recommended on the purposeful creation of candidate technologies for disruptive innovation. A series of potential inhibitors and enablers of Disruptive Innovation are also identified as managerial "take-away".
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