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Archetypes of incumbents’ strategic responses to digital innovation

Beatrice D’Ippolito (The York Management School, University of York, York, UK)
Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli (Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy)
Umberto Panniello (Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy)

Journal of Intellectual Capital

ISSN: 1469-1930

Article publication date: 24 September 2019

Issue publication date: 28 October 2019

1879

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how incumbents adapt their business models in response to digital innovation whose impact is either incremental or radical and source industry is either their own industry or other industries. The authors propose a conceptual matrix that is built on these two dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors build examples of four multinational incumbents operating in different sectors and known for their forefront approach to digital innovation to populate the matrix. Cases were chosen because of their polar nature that could provide variation in the two dimensions. The authors draw on a variety of qualitative secondary data sources to build the cases.

Findings

The study reveals how incumbents’ response to digital technologies (DTs) may differ depending on the resources or assets (including knowledge-based ones) that need mobilising. Business model changes and innovations may require full reconfiguration of a firm’s activity system; hence, one business model may be preferred to others depending on how burdensome the reconfiguration process will be.

Research limitations/implications

As the study is exploratory in nature, the anecdotal evidence provided in the paper are only some of the possible strategic responses of firms. Future studies may further into the dimensions the authors identified by empirically testing their validity with primary data.

Practical implications

The research offers managers and executives of incumbent firms a clear indication as to which elements of their business model ought to be adapted given the opportunities as well as the challenges brought about by DTs.

Originality/value

This research has explored incumbents’ response to DTs by primarily focusing on the nature and source industry of the underpinning innovation, besides any consideration of the drivers or processes that may lead to business model change.

Keywords

Citation

D’Ippolito, B., Messeni Petruzzelli, A. and Panniello, U. (2019), "Archetypes of incumbents’ strategic responses to digital innovation", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 662-679. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-04-2019-0065

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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