Abstract: Innovation is of crucial importance for the growth and survival of established firms. Yet, few studies attempt to strive for a holistic understanding of how the known concepts – such as e.g. R&D and corporate venturing – are interrelated. Firms oftentimes possess a broad, dispersed ‘palette’ of innovation activities, which can be official and formalized or unofficial and hidden. Through an in-depth case study of an established firm we aim to shed light on the topic of how established firms generate new businesses and how they embed entrepreneurial capabilities into rigid corporate structures. We introduce the mechanism of “mediated effectuation” and describe an organizational function that (1) uncovers the hidden opportunities, (2) bridges the official and unofficial corporate innovation space and (3) increases the organization’s entrepreneurial activities.

Abstract: We study several characteristics of firms’ patents (e.g., important vs. ordinary patents) and publications (e.g., important vs. ordinary scientific journals) to shift from debate about whether to publish or patent to the question of how to balance patents and publications with different features. Using an integration of economic, institutional and the resource-based view theories, we predict and compare the relative effects of disclosure (patents and publications) with secrecy on firms’ product innovations (pioneer and follow-on innovations) to understand these links to product innovation. We test our predictions on firms that commercialized fiber optic products in the U.S. during the emergence of this technology in 1974-1994. Our preliminary findings suggest that the relative effects and balancing strategies with knowledge disclosure are important to consider

Abstract: Technological change and disruptive innovation have been studied in great detail in the literature. The industries in such studies typically belong to the high technology industry where demand uncertainty for new technology is high, government regulation is low and more often than not a single dominant technology emerges. I propose to study the process of technological change and responses of incumbent Independent Power Producers in the electricity generation industry as they adopt renewable source of electricity production in addition to nonrenewable sources. This industry provides an opportunity to study the process of technological change and disruptive innovation where demand certainty for new technology is high, multiple dominant technologies coexist and it operates under significant government regulation.

Abstract: Why do some potential adopters adopt a radical innovation while others don’t? We are interested in radical innovation because it might entail, if diffused, the replacement or substitution of an existing and institutionalized model of action. We focus in the innovator’s interaction approach in its diffusing efforts, in line with Rogers’ (1995) convergence model where adoption is seen as the outcome of a converging understanding of the innovation by the adopter through its communication with the innovator. We examine how the spin-off of an established NYC non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce homelessness tries to diffuse its radical innovation in the US. In particular, we investigate how it interacted with potential adopters in six different US communities with different degrees of adoption.