A new perspective on the innovator's dilemma - exploring the role of entrepreneurial incentives
Journal article, 2017
Why do entrant firms sometimes gain the upper hand under conditions of discontinuous technological change? Previous research on this topic has either looked at the role of established competencies and/or firm incentives to invest in a new technology. In this paper we explore an alternative explanation. Drawing upon evidence from the ongoing transition from CCTV to digital, IP-based video surveillance, we argue that entrant firms may be more prone to act entrepreneurially, i.e., more inclined to proactively create or transform markets and build ecosystems. As new technologies frequently require altered behaviour among customers and stakeholders, this capability is sometimes critical in order to succeed in a technological transition. Our contribution therefore lies in pointing out that not only may incentives to allocate R&D resources differ among entrants and incumbents, firms might also have different incentives to engage in entrepreneurial activities of creating or transforming markets.
lens
business model
p17
Science
technological discontinuities
incentives
markets
1990
industry
disruptive innovation
technology
Operations Research & Management
strategic management journal
evenson hh
Business & Economics
entrepreneurship
v11
Engineering
capabilities
Author
Henrik Berglund
Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Entrepreneurship and Strategy
Christian Sandström
Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Science, Technology and Society
International Journal of Technology Management
0267-5730 (ISSN) 1741-5276 (eISSN)
Vol. 75 1-4 142-156Driving Forces
Sustainable development
Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Other Engineering and Technologies
DOI
10.1504/ijtm.2017.10006144