Title: Key stakeholders' interaction as a factor of product innovation: the case of Russia

Authors: Maria M. Smirnova, Daria Podmetina, Juha Vaatanen, Sergey Kouchtch

Addresses: Marketing Department, Graduate School of Management, Saint Petersburg State University, Volkhovsky per, 3, 199004 Saint Petersburg, Russia. ' Faculty of Technology Management, Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Faculty of Technology Management, Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Marketing Department, Graduate School of Management, Saint Petersburg State University, Volkhovsky per, 3, 199004 Saint Petersburg, Russia

Abstract: The paper aims to investigate the nature of innovativeness through the lenses of the firm|s cooperation with key internal and external stakeholders. The selection of key stakeholders and the measurement of their involvement in the development of innovations contribute to the identification of the main innovativeness profiles, whereas interaction with partners and effective interfunctional collaboration are seen as central differentiation criteria for the firm. The study of stakeholder involvement in innovation-related processes can discover vital sources of long-term competitive advantage and radically change a firm|s business model. A company survey is used to analyse the current status of internal and interfirm cooperation within New Product Development (NPD) in Russia|s emerging economy. The results provide empirical evidence on the share of firms involving internal and external stakeholders in product innovation activities and the level of success of interaction.

Keywords: product innovation; internal stakeholders; external stakeholders; stakeholder interaction; Russia; cooperation; collaboration; stakeholder involvement; new product development; NPD.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2009.026872

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2009 Vol.4 No.2/3, pp.230 - 247

Published online: 27 Jun 2009 *