Initiating Cross-Sectoral Innovation – Bringing Space Technology to Other Sectors

Abstract

High innovation speed, increasing product complexity and shorter life cycles characterize the global knowledge economy. This causes organizations to search for new and effective ways to innovate. Innovation typically occurs at the boundaries between disciplines and specializations, involving the creation and combination of various types of knowledge. However, sharing knowledge among actors and organizations from different sectoral domains is challenging. Under cross-sectoral circumstances, the processes to initiate and manage boundary spanning are not well understood, making application of developed knowledge in another domain difficult. An in-depth case study from the Netherlands on commercializing space technology (i.e. satellite data) aims to address the complexity of initiating and managing boundary spanning in innovation ecosystems. The results of this study give insight into the process of managing innovation when knowledge needs to be shared and evaluated by multiple organizations. This process includes the identification of involved organizations, the development of effective boundary objects and the division of roles among the organizations from the innovation ecosystem. Hence, our findings enhance understanding of initiating boundary spanning processes across different sectoral domains.