Ten niche strategies to commercialize new high-tech products

Abstract

There are serious gaps in the scientific literature relating to niche strategies as a means for commercializing new high-tech products. In particular, there is no clarity about what types of niche strategies can be distinguished, or how a niche strategy can be selected to suit a certain situation. In this paper, we identify generic actors, factors and functions that play a role in the commercialization of high-tech products, and that can form barriers to large-scale diffusion, thereby necessitating the implementation of a niche strategy. We analyse thirty-six different market situations and assess historical cases to identify the niche strategies that emerged. We find ten generic niche strategies, each of which can be applied in a number of situations. We present a model to aid managers in purposefully selecting an appropriate niche strategy.