Customers involvement and firm absorptive capacity in radical innovation: The case of technological spin-offs

Laurent Scaringella, Raymond E. Miles and Yann Truong

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2017, vol. 120, issue C, 144-162

Abstract: This study investigates how the absorptive capacity of scientific spin-offs affects the benefits and challenges of customer involvement in the development of radical innovations. We conducted 36 interviews in 3 spin-offs over 4years to collect data regarding customer involvement in the development of radical innovations. The findings show the importance of spin-offs developing both potential and realized absorptive capacities to internalize customer knowledge and technology emergence awareness and to simultaneously offset customers' lack of technical knowledge in formulating their needs. Both market and technical knowledge appeared to be important for spin-offs, and these were available from both customers and the parent research center. The findings' main implication is spin-offs need a blending capability to balance between (1) market and technical knowledge, (2) market-pull and technology-push approaches, (3) the involvement of customers and parent research centers, and (4) potential and realized absorptive capacities. This study contributes a conceptual framework on the blending capability of customer involvement in the development of radical innovations and a set of propositions for future research.

Keywords: Radical innovation; Knowledge; Absorptive capacity; New product development; Spin-off; Customers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:120:y:2017:i:c:p:144-162

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2017.01.005

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