Competition and the Rapid Scaling of Niche Innovations: The Case of Southeast Asia’s Ride-Hailing Industry (2012–2019)

Abstract

Radical niche innovations by digital sharing economy start-ups in urban mobility have undergone unprecedented, rapid upscaling in user adoption across global cities. How these niche innovations can scale fast through competition between the niche actors remains understudied in the strategic niche management literature. Through a case analysis of the digital ride-hailing industry in Southeast Asia across six countries, we explore how four niche actors—Grab, EasyTaxi, Uber and Gojek—rapidly scaled ride-hailing innovations in less than seven years. The case analysis revealed that niche competition between market entrants and the underlying support of venture capital funding played important roles in accelerating socio-technical transition processes. We contribute a deeper understanding of rapid socio-technical transitions enabled by digital technology, particularly on the active and innovating role that regime actors play in transition dynamics.