The Individual Dimension of Digital Innovation: The Altered Roles of Innovation Agents and Market Actors

Abstract

Digital innovation entails the employment of new technologies to address business issues and to create practices that lead to the achievement of sustainability. It is observed that digital technology alters the individual dimension of the innovation process, allowing for a set of heterogenous actors to become active engagers in the process. A review of the previous research revealed a lack of focus on the roles these different actors play in the digital innovation process, as well as the mechanisms by which digital technology facilitates actor engagement, calling for research to shed some light on this topic. This phenomenological study undertakes an exploratory investigation of twenty-one Malaysian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, with the aim to demonstrate the importance of engaging market actors in each stage of the value co-creation process. Interviews with industry players show the shifted role of market actors in the innovation process—from product receivers to gatekeepers—at different stages of the innovation process. Market actors are extensively engaged in validating and evaluating the progress of ongoing digital innovation projects and, therefore, can modify their direction. Meanwhile, the role of innovation agents changes from an authoritative to reflective one. This study provides evidence that market actors are in a controlling position at certain points of the innovation process. As such, the view of the innovation process as being company-centric is challenged by the findings of this research. We provide new information regarding innovation practices, the roles of key actors, and their value in the digital context, which can serve as valuable knowledge for both academics and practitioners.