Discontinuous Innovation Research Articles

Buyer relationships when developing new products: a contingency model

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to develop and test a contingency model of buyer involvement when developing new products in technology-based industrial markets. Information Dissemination and degree of product co-development are identified as two behavioral dimensions of seller–buyer relationships. Further, the paper proposes that perceived buyer knowledge, innovation discontinuity, product customization and technological uncertainty moderate the impact of the behavioral dimensions on sellers’ relationship satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses moderated regression on a data set of 296 small and mid-sized firms in a variety of high-tech industries to test relevant hypotheses.FindingsThe authors find that sellers can enhance relationship satisfaction by engaging in either unilateral or bilateral relationships. This is important because sellers have to be judicious in expending their relationship resources. While information dissemination is more satisfying when targeting less knowledgeable buyers, product co-development enhances satisfaction when targeting more knowledgeable buyers. Similarly, information dissemination can enhance satisfaction for discontinuous innovations; in contrast, product co-development has a similar outcome for customized products. However, when technological uncertainty is high, such co-development leads to reduced satisfaction.Originality/valueExtant literature provides useful insights on the behavioral dimensions of seller–buyer relationships, the antecedents and consequences of such relationships and the stages of the new product development process when such relationships are more valuable. Despite this progress, important gaps remain in current understanding of seller–buyer relationships. In particular, findings regarding the contribution of relationships to desired outcomes are inconsistent. This suggests that important moderators of the relationship–outcomes link are being overlooked and warrant greater attention. This paper addresses this deficiency.

Cross-cultural differences in the adoption of social media

PurposeAs social media have become very popular and an integral part of the world economy in recent years, identifying factors that influence consumers’ attitudes toward social media sites has become a major goal of many researchers in academia and industry. This paper aims to identify factors that predict consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward usage of Instagram, a relatively new social media tool. In addition, it examines the role of an important dimension of culture – individualism vs collectivism –to determine cultural influences on the adoption of social media in the USA (i.e. an individualistic culture) and Kuwait (i.e. a collectivist culture).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate business and MBA students from Kuwait and the USA. To validate the measures for the constructs depicted in the conceptual model, the authors conducted an exploratory factor analysis using all items. They then conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to further evaluate the adequacy and validity of the measurement model. They also tested the hypotheses using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsOut of the nine hypotheses that were tested for significance, the SEM results indicated that seven hypotheses were significant. The results indicated a non-significant result between perceived critical mass is not a predictor of perceived usefulness and social influence to attitude.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study has some limitations that need to be recognized and can be used as guidelines for future research. First, college students represent only a portion of online users and may impact the external validity of our study. Hence, a more diverse sample with a broader range of ages, incomes, education levels, cultures and national origins would be advisable. Second, this study featured a dynamically continuous innovation (Instagram) rather than a discontinuous innovation. Third, other factors can be carried out to see other variables other than those described in this study to predict consumer’s attitude and intention to use the social media.Practical implicationsCultural characteristics such as individualism/collectivism would seem to be potentially useful when segmenting countries. The results of the current study indicate that the modified model is applicable to a cross-national group of social media users. This study demonstrates the impact of cultural characteristics on various technology adoption. Hence, managers must be aware that countries can be grouped according to the type of cultural effect within each. Each social media category, clusters can be formed consisting of countries that are expected to have similar usage patterns based on technological capability and social norms. By understanding the factors that influence each cluster of countries, firms can design customized social media programs.Social implicationsThis research provides valuable information to better understand the consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward the emerging social media landscape. Indeed, the popularity of social media has greatly changed the way in which people communicate in today’s world. In particular, Instagram has gradually become a major communication media for both social and business purposes. This research shed light into the factors that influence intentions to adopt social media across different cultures. It empirically examines the role of culture – individualism vs collectivism – by using two samples (i.e. Kuwait and the USA) to determine cultural influences on the adoption of social media in different cultures.Originality/valueUsing data drawn from Kuwait and US samples, this current study draws upon the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) and the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989). The results of the analysis indicate that the modified model is applicable to a cross-national group of social media users. Moreover, this study demonstrates the impact of cultural characteristics on various technology adoption constructs in the model.

Establishing relationships with distant suppliers to explore discontinuous innovation

A controversy exists in the literature regarding the type of suppliers to consider when leveraging external knowledge for exploring discontinuous innovation (DI): familiar suppliers or distant ones. We argue that firms pursuing DI should establish relationships with distant suppliers along cognitive and relational dimensions and that this requires a specific process. Based on a longitudinal study of a firm that developed such relationships and succeeded in exploring DI, we find that firms can develop such relationships through an approach with three main characteristics: 1) a documented mapping coupling identified DI concepts and their underlying technologies with potential suppliers who master and can provide such technologies; 2) a structured and transparent process supporting mutual and progressive commitment; 3) a specific dedicated entity, separate from the rest of the firm, but at the same time connected to the experts who master the internal knowledge to be combined with the leveraged external knowledge as well as the top managers who will make the decisions regarding further development of the explored opportunities for DI. Simultaneous cooperation with both distant and familiar suppliers enables firms to achieve ambidextrous sourcing and pursue both incremental innovation and DI.

The Effect of Market Orientation and Entrepreneurial Orientation on the New Product Development

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER The researches on the effect of Market Orientation (MO) and Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on firms’ performance have demanded much effort in marketing researches and unparalleled results have been observed depending up on the context of the studies. But, it seems that much attention has not been given to the effect of these orientations in New Product Development (NDP), applying various forms and approaches of innovation, which is the stem for the overall performance of firms. Hence, this paper aimed to identify different forms and approaches of innovation in NPD and to explain the role or effect of EO and MO on NPD with respect to these forms and approaches of innovation. METHODOLOGY Literatures published from 1980 to 2018 in various databases (Business source Premier, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and Academic Search Complete) were accessed and over forty publications were synthesized using systematic literature survey. MOST IMSPORTANT RESULTS The product innovation forms and approaches such as discontinuous versus continuous, radical versus incremental, market-driven innovation versus driving-market innovation, and pure product innovation versus marketing mix-product innovation are identified. In the case of discontinuous (also called disruptive or radical) innovation and pure product innovation forms and driving-market innovation approaches, the role of EO outweighs MO in NPD and the latter may not be even useful in these cases. In contrast to MO, EO makes firms pro-active, innovative and to take risk that leads to ground breaking product innovation. On the other hand, in the case of continuous (also called incremental) innovation, and marketing-mix related product innovation forms and market-driven innovation approaches of innovation, it is MO that plays prominent role and equips firms with up to date market intelligence from customers, competitors and suppliers. Literature also adequately supports that MO makes firms competitive in the market and helps them to cope with the existing market system. RECOMMENDATIONS Both MO and EO are important for product innovation but their application and the extent of their role or contribution varies depending on the approaches and forms of product innovation adopted, and it is not the issue of being complementary to each other or not as most studies argued. Therefore, practitioners, first, need to know the approaches and forms of innovation they needed before relying either in EO or MO. This study focused on product innovation from manufacturers’ points of view but further empirical research can be done involving service sector organizations regarding the unique roles of EO and MO.

Establishing relationships with distant suppliers to explore discontinuous innovation

Establishing relationships with distant suppliers to explore discontinuous innovation

Cognitive acceptance mechanisms of discontinuous food innovations: The case of insects in France

In a context of changing food consumption patterns, discontinuous innovations are a major challenge for the food industry. This article aims to identify the cognitive processes underpinning the acceptance of discontinuous food innovations through the study of classification and encoding mechanisms of mental categorisation. A qualitative study applied to entomophagy explores these mechanisms according to the extent of product processing and their consequences on acceptance by consumers. These results enrich Behavioral Decision Theory and help manufacturers understand the marketing levers that can be used to facilitate acceptance of these innovations.

Discontinuous Digital Health Innovations: Impact of Complementary Assets and Regulatory Framework

Extant research has highlighted the difficulties incumbents face when they are confronted with discontinuous innovations. Previously, the adoption of discontinuous digital innovations in health car...

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The tourism industry is widely recognised as a driver of economic growth around the world. Yet it has also been recognised that the tourism industry faces many issues regarding continued growth and development. Novel ideas are needed to ensure the future growth of the tourism industry. Discontinuous innovations are products that aim to solve existing needs in dramatically different and better ways. This study contributes to the tourism literature by developing a methodology for testing discontinuous innovations in the tourism industry. The new methodology has five phases: (1) qualitative exploration, (2) quantification, (3) product development, (4) evaluation, and (5) qualitative explanation. A case study operationalises this methodology within the context of scenic airship services. Significant consumer interest was shown for scenic airship services and a descriptive model of what drove this interest was created for the tourism market of Queenstown, New Zealand.

Digital Disruption beyond Uber and Airbnb—Tracking the long tail of the sharing economy

The sharing economy can be regarded as a discontinuous innovation that creates increased abundance throughout society. Extant literature on the sharing economy has been predominantly concerned with Uber and Airbnb. As little is known about where the sharing economy is gaining momentum beyond transportation and accommodation, the purpose of this paper is to map in what sectors of the economy it is perceived to gain traction. Drawing on data from social and traditional media in Sweden, we identify a long tail of 17 sectors and 47 subsectors in which a total of 165 unique sharing-economy actors operate, including sectors such as on-demand services, fashion and clothing, and food delivery. Our findings therefore point at the expanding scope of the sharing economy and relatedly, we derive a set of implications for firms.

Science-Based Innovation in China: A Case Study of Artemisinin from Laboratory to the Market

Science-based innovation emerged from novel and discontinuous innovations which provoked irreversible yet significant changes in science and technology. This research investigated the commercialization process of artemisinin, a typical science-based innovation in China. Due to her research involvement with artimisinin (qinghaosu), Tu Youyou received the 2011 Lasker Award in clinical medicine and the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura. In this paper, the authors reviewed the process of artemisinin’s innovation from labs in a research institute to its entrance into the market. Based on the research, we reached the following conclusions. First, during the process of science-based innovation, a “new technology platform” might be established and a series of applications might be invented. Second, the extensive cooperation among research institutions and companies played a vital role in the science-based innovation. Third, the science-based innovation emerged through multidisciplinary research teams as well as contacts among scientists with cross-fields expertise. Fourth, for science-based innovation, early research funding mainly relied on public funds. During the commercialization stage, corporate funding plays a major role. Fifth, a clear research objective, an overall planning, coordination, and the stability of policies were also important factors in the entire science-based innovation process.

New wine in old bottles or new bottles for new wine? Product language approaches in design‐intensive industries during technological turmoil

It is widely acknowledged that technological innovation affects the development of product language. Some scholars argue that technological innovation leads companies to develop radically different product language to emphasize novelty; conversely, others note that technological innovation pushes companies to recall previous technology product language in order to increase acceptance of the new technology. This article analyzes the rationale that guides firms to choose these alternative approaches when confronting technological innovations of different magnitude and identifies which of them prevails in a design‐intensive industry. In particular, the study—through an analysis of 678 products in the Italian lighting industry—shows that light‐emitting diode (LED) technology (a discontinuous innovation) involved more product language changes than did compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) technology (a continuous innovation) and that a different use of product materials contributed to this higher number of product language changes. By discussing the reasons behind these findings, this paper extends and better qualifies the literature on the relationship between technological innovation and product design innovation.

The chaotic terminology of non-incremental innovation

Non-incremental innovation terminology has always been disorganised. The problem is that researchers use several terms to describe a single concept (non-incremental innovation), including: disruptive innovation, radical innovation, nonlinear innovation, discontinuous innovation, breakthrough innovation, paradigm-shifting innovation, revolutionary innovation, really new product, major innovation, boundary expanding innovation, strategic innovation and game changing innovation. The present paper clarifies the need for a lucid language in non-incremental innovation terminology to accumulate the findings of different innovation studies, to eliminate the managers' confusion while reading academic articles on innovation, and to ease the pedagogical purposes. In doing so, this article reviews papers discussing the seven most used terms in this area and identifies their definitions and features in order to compare them and to make a conclusion about their relationship. Lastly, this research proposes radical innovation as the best term to address the concept of non-incremental innovation.

Testing discontinuous innovations in the tourism industry: The case of scenic airship services

The tourism industry is widely recognised as a driver of economic growth around the world. Yet it has also been recognised that the tourism industry faces many issues regarding continued growth and development. Novel ideas are needed to ensure the future growth of the tourism industry. Discontinuous innovations are products that aim to solve existing needs in dramatically different and better ways. This study contributes to the tourism literature by developing a methodology for testing discontinuous innovations in the tourism industry. The new methodology has five phases: (1) qualitative exploration, (2) quantification, (3) product development, (4) evaluation, and (5) qualitative explanation. A case study operationalises this methodology within the context of scenic airship services. Significant consumer interest was shown for scenic airship services and a descriptive model of what drove this interest was created for the tourism market of Queenstown, New Zealand.

An exploration of product advantage and its antecedents in SMEs

PurposeProduct advantage is consistently identified as the most important product characteristic in explaining the adoption and success of a new product. In small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), in particular, improving new product performance is critical in supporting SME survival and growth. Given that SMEs are a vital component of most economies improving their ability to effectively launch new products is an essential activity for sustainability. However, although literature illustrates that developing products with high levels of product advantage and new product development is advantageous, few studies have explored product advantage activities in SMEs and consequently research on product advantage is over-reliant on large firm studies. Given the specific resource constraints which challenge SME new product development (i.e. financial, expertise, access to networks etc.) context-specific research is critical. The purpose of this paper is to address these gaps in literature by exploring the product advantage activities in four manufacturing SMEs actively engaged in product development.Design/methodology/approachThe research question centres on exploring the antecedents of product advantage in SMEs (market uncertainties, competitive intensity, resource uncertainties and technological uncertainties) in the context of multi-dimensional perspective of product advantage (consisting of product innovativeness, product superiority and product meaningfulness). A qualitative interpretivist approach was used to explore the research question exploring the antecedents to, and nature of, product advantage in SMEs. Case studies were used to inductively and holistically view SMEs in their entirety, this approach facilitated in-depth understanding of the reality of the SME and allowed for the interpretation of the SMEs owner/managers perspectives on product advantage.FindingsThe empirical findings suggest that the most significant antecedent of product advantage in the case SMEs was competitive intensity followed by technology uncertainty and resource uncertainty and then market uncertainty. Product advantage was found to be strongly based on product meaningfulness with elements of product innovativeness and product superiority also defining their perspective of product advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThere are several implications for SME owner/managers arising from this study. In the context of these findings, SMEs need to carefully consider three issues in supporting their new product development: first, their dependence on letting existing customers drives their new product development; second, owner/manager perceptions of product advantage are focused on delivering guaranteed sales, this focus nurtures incremental continuous product development rather than radical discontinuous innovation. While this strategy is low risk and supports SME sustainability, it could lead to less ambitious innovation strategies and slower growth for SMEs; third, antecedents of product advantage such as competitive intensity, technology uncertainty and resource uncertainty and market uncertainty need to carefully managed.Originality/valueThis study illustrates the complex nature of the antecedents and nature of product advantage in SMEs. The study provides insight into the product advantage characteristics that SMEs consider important in the development of new products. Different elements of each of the three product advantage constructs (product meaningfulness, product superiority and customer meaningfulness) are considered important under different conditions. Throughout this analysis, market needs and wants, technology, competitors and resources emerged as the defining conditions upon which product advantage decisions are based. More specifically knowledge regarding the market, technology, competition and the availability of resources dictated the type and levels of advantages that were presented in new products.

Institutional Challenges of Discontinuous Innovations: The Case of the Sharing Economy

This study works towards a better understanding of why incumbent organizations struggle to respond to discontinuous innovation. Based on a case study of the hotel industry as the first major organizational field to face the emergence of ‘sharing economy’ businesses, we illustrate how discontinuous innovation can challenge commonly established industry institutions. We identify three cognitive frames that result from incumbent managers’ sensemaking of these institutional challenges: sense of unfairness, confusion, and marginalization of new entrants. First, incumbent managers perceive competition from new entrants as unfair due to violation of regulative and normative rules. Second, new entrants’ deviating normative and cognitive institutions cause collective confusion among incumbents. Third, incumbents marginalize new entrants. We discover that institution-infused cognitive frames represent barriers to adaptation and strongly contribute to early incumbent inertia, but also that these frames can function as a catalyst for incumbents to question established rules and engage in institutional work. Overall, our study integrates research on technological change and institutions by revealing the importance of institutional violations for managerial sensemaking in the context of discontinuous change.

Managing the exploitation-exploration tradeoff: how leaders balance incremental and discontinuous innovation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain how leaders balance exploitation (incremental innovation) and exploration (discontinuous innovation).Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study with 11 senior leaders in Australian Defence Force.FindingsThe study identifies a number of factors that leaders take into account when deciding whether to focus on exploitation or on exploration.Originality/valueThe study concludes that transactional leadership is appropriate in the context of exploitation, while transformational leadership is appropriate in the context of exploration.

Commercialising Discontinuous (Radical) Innovations

Asian firms and industries posed a serious threat to the US industries during the 1980’s; as a result the competency level of the firms in jeopardy had to engage in incremental innovation in the prevalent products, processes. This emphasis on the cost competitiveness enabled them to catch up with the market expectations and re-establish their superiority in the business environment. But this was a dangerous move, as the entrepreneurs engaged in a battle for survival sidelined the importance of truly radical innovations. Utterback (1994) and Christensen (1997) have acknowledged the negative consequences on extended emphasis on incremental innovation. Leaders of well-known companies have accredited that discontinuous innovation is critical to their long-term growth and renewal. The innovation process has been the accelerating vector towards the growth of the economy as a whole. It has been readily established that business growth and innovation has a positive relationship. These discontinuous innovations are transforming the relationship between the customers and suppliers. It also attempts to change the market place structure, the economy, and the present products and engages in a battle for business leadership.

AMBIDEXTERITY IN STARTUPS: ADDRESSING A RESEARCH GAP

ABSTRACT Scholars are increasingly interested in the firms' dynamic capability of ambidexterity, the organization's ability to be able to exploit (continuous innovation) and explore (discontinuous innovation). However, most of the research on ambidexterity has focused in established, public firms rather than in private startups, which, according to many authors, are responsible for major technological advances and economic growth. This conceptual paper proposes hypotheses for organizational ambidexterity at the startup level predicting ambidexterity from behavioral integration of the startup team, and performance from ambidexterity throughout different stages in the lifecycle. The proposed study can help to understand the role of ambidexterity in startups. Keywords start ups, ambidexterity, behavioral integration, lifecycle, innovation.

Disruptive innovation through a dynamic capabilities lens: an exploration of the auto component sector in India

Innovation has gained momentum for the development; spread; and survival of auto industrial firms in India. In this paper; we study the less-explored aspect of organisational response focusing on discontinuous innovation. The Indian auto sector requires a tool for long-term market dominance; particularly owing to the rapid change in the business environment. This can be achieved through a special kind of discontinuous innovation known as disruptive innovation (DI). We further affirm how developing DI is facilitated by the firm's dynamic capability (DC); to substantiate our claims; we develop and utilise a survey instrument to test a hypothesised model with responses from various firms affiliated with the Indian auto component industry. Our findings confirm the positive roles of DC and research and development (R&D) expenditure as antecedents to DI. We further conduct exploratory analysis to study factors such as R&D and environmental turbulence as moderators of the DC-DI relationship. We offer the following contributions: the operationalisation of DC and DI for the Indian context, a sector specific study and critical results pertaining to moderating role of R&D and environmental turbulence on the positive DC-DI relationship.

Creating a culture for radical innovation in a small mature business

This article describes an approach in organizational development to develop an innovation culture for radical product development in a small mature engineering company. The research took place in a business based in the United Kingdom that designed and manufactured instrumentation and specialized packing machines. An initial study within the company’s new product development team identified key aspects that influenced a radical innovation culture. Nine key themes were found to be pertinent, following an iterative process with the development team. These themes were triangulated using the established Organization Culture Assessment Instrument and the Creative Climate Assessment Tool. A third assessment was developed that gauged the development team culture proximity to an ideal position. Seven interventions were developed in conjunction with the company development team, senior managers, the analysis of previous empirical case research and dialogue with UK companies that promote discontinuous innovation. The results of the interventions were evaluated 4 years after implementation. The culture was re-assessed using the same assessment tools and the changes were identified. The outcomes are described and they indicate the success of the company’s attempt to embed a sustainable radical innovation culture into the product development area.