Individual versus collective strategies in system building - The case of point-of-care diagnostics in Germany

Abstract

• This paper analyses how large companies and SMEs choose between individual and collective system building activities and how it impacts the development and diffusion of point-of-care diagnostics technology in Germany. Innovative entrepreneurs often need to engage in different system building activities in order to overcome the barriers to successful market introduction of an innovative technology. There is a large body of literature on individual system building strategies by single actors, as well as on the collective nature of system building by different actors. Yet, only limited research has been done into what type of system building activities innovative entrepreneurs undertake individually or collectively, how it depends on their size and resources, and what the trade-off between these different strategies is. This paper shows how firms', choice between individual and collective strategies depends on the availability of resources and the type of system building activity in the point-of-care testing (POCT) sector in Germany. Furthermore, we highlight the role of hospitals as end-user, whose specific needs influence the collaboration strategies of entrepreneurs along the whole value chain of POCT technology development.