Title: A new perspective on the innovator's dilemma - exploring the role of entrepreneurial incentives

Authors: Henrik Berglund; Christian Sandström

Addresses: Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; University of Oslo, Centre for Entrepreneurship, Gaustadalle'en 21, 0318 Oslo, Norway ' Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 3203, 103 64 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: disruptive innovation; entrepreneurship; incentives; technological discontinuities; business model; capabilities; CCTV; video surveillance; IP camera; ecosystem.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2017.085692

International Journal of Technology Management, 2017 Vol.75 No.1/2/3/4, pp.142 - 156

Received: 17 Dec 2014
Accepted: 31 Jan 2016
Published online: 08 Aug 2017 *

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