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The purpose of this study is to investigate sequences of event and the resulting innovation paths and trajectories followed by a university spin-off organization.

A single longitudinal case study methodology was applied to analyze innovation events and paths along the trajectory. Narrative methods were used to analyze actor perceptions on innovation processes/events.

The study categorizes events and paths in two categories, technical and commercialization, and finds that lock-in events matter for convergence of an innovation trajectory. The results indicate that understanding critical events may assist timely interventions in the innovation paths, thus potentially avoiding disruptions of the development of an innovation trajectory. The temporal processes reveal contrasting convergence–divergence patterns in the trajectory, depending on the types of events that occur.

Using a single case data may limit the applicability of the findings, which calls for future research.

Industries could monitor the technical and commercialization paths as a strategy to reduce “vulnerability” of the innovation trajectory and possible negative impacts. Knowledge about the role of the CEO is key for a university spin-off organization.

This study presents a new typology of events and paths, identifies and characterizes lock-in events and shows the relatively fragile dexterity between convergent and divergent paths along an innovation trajectory.

This article aims to describe patterns of change in innovation networks and to clarify the roles of time and history in shaping network trajectories. The authors test seven predictor variables and their interactions to examine their influences on network performance over time.

A fuzzy simulation of innovation networks and investigations of different network types, using two classes of growth modeling techniques, help refine understanding of innovation as an interactive, developmental process.

Innovation network trajectories are influenced by self-reinforcing, contradictory and damaging forces. History affects network trajectory development, particularly with regard to financial resource access. The temporal processes reveal three contrasting classes of developmental trajectories for innovation networks.

The study methodology can account for theoretically derived factors leading to innovation, in and across types of networks and for changes over time; it moves beyond a cross-sectional approach. Although the model structure is generic, the parameters are based on a radical innovation, so the findings may not transfer directly.

Managers in innovation business networks can use the identified variables to improve network performance, by facilitating processes that inject financial capital and integrating heterogeneous skills that focus on a wider variety of skills that generate both exploratory and exploitative knowledge development.

This article contributes to discourses on network trajectories through an analysis of processes that influence the growth and decline of innovation business network performance. An original methodology generates and analyzes dynamic longitudinal network data.

Innovation in facilities management (FM) is a complex process as FM is a diverse discipline. This paper aims to use innovation trajectories to explore this complex process through the introduction of a technology innovation in two FM services of security and workspace management. It also aims to consider the discourse of individuals within their trajectory to understand their positions toward the innovation.

A two‐year case study was conducted and it was based in an in‐house FM department that was part of a financial institution. The specific methods used for the paper were semi‐structured interviews with key participants of the project. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine the data.

Individuals who were involved in introducing the technology to the FM department were both internal and external to FM as innovation in FM does not happen in isolation to the organisation. Innovation trajectories were often intertwined or occurred simultaneously during the process of a project which sometimes resulted in conflict. Tensions within the discourse of ownership of the project were particularly apparent as this discourse had a power dimension in driving the project through to implementation.

The research is limited by being a single case study so it is not possible to generalise findings but the findings may have resonances with other organisations.

The paper presents an original idea about how to understand innovation processes in FM services.

A large part of the most recent studies in innovation focuses on the need to investigate the cultural differences between countries. Many of the approaches used focus on Hofstede as the most recognized perspective in international business. The Hofstede perspective requires a deeper analysis of the most profound components in the countries, such as values and beliefs. The purpose of this study is identify the drivers in creating innovation trajectories over time, focusing on different values that influence the innovation processes. These trajectories allow investigating the comparability in the innovation performance of the countries.

Time-series analysis is performed to achieve the research’s goal, considering the innovation inputs and people’s values and influence on innovation output. The Global Innovation Index and the World Value Survey (WVS), which comprise data from countries on different continents, were used in this investigation. The trajectories analysis technique examines differences in innovation trajectory among countries with cultural orientations toward traditional, secular, survival and self-expression values.

In the literature, it can be found that in more socially open societies, the results in innovation are higher than in societies with opposite values, as is the case of traditional vs secular rationale. On the other hand, societies with a tendency toward self-expression will be characterized by a constant search for individual liberties that promote the search for scientific and technological alternatives for problem-solving, contrary to those with survival characteristics.

Considering the results obtained in the study about the values and their relationship with innovation at the country level, the main limitation is the WVS information. This limitation is based on the need to complement the information obtained with other sources of information that allow comparisons to be made from the different cultural approaches that exist.

The findings allow us to contemplate a more general vision of the cultural factors that affect the social dynamics and, therefore, the industrial and commercial dynamics of a country. The managers can use this type of results in the design of strategies that allow them to contemplate adaptation processes that are more appropriate to the cultural contexts in which they operate are worked on in this research.

One of the main contributions is related to the possibility of understanding the relationship between the cultural dynamics of a country and the results in innovation, especially in the time.

The trajectory analysis, specifically Inglehard’s perspective concerning cultural dimensions and innovation, has not been used in the literature. This type of analysis will make it possible to have studies that allow subsequent comparisons to be made with other perspectives, especially at the country level.

Innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key economic actors, but they are fragile. Their innovation trajectory requires an evolution in their competencies as their strategy evolves, and this is a particularly critical concern when they are engaged in both exploration and exploitation activities and want to develop organisational ambidexterity. In turn, this brings challenges for human resource management (HRM): some research studies have identified “mobilising” practices for innovation, but few authors have taken a dynamic approach. This study aims to fill this double-theoretical gap by answering the following two questions: how does HRM respond to the challenges associated with the search for ambidexterity in an innovative SME's trajectory? What HRM practices are mobilised in the innovation trajectory of SMEs?

The authors carried out two longitudinal case studies concerning innovative SMEs in the medical equipment sector, which are now over 10 years old and seeking to stabilise an ambidextrous way of operating. The authors conducted 37 semi-structured interviews in 2018–2019 and collected public and internal documents. For each case, the authors identified sequences (Bidart et al., 2013) displaying a certain homogeneity in terms of innovation strategy. The authors then performed a cross-case analysis.

These case studies produced two main results. First, the trajectory of innovative SMEs consisted of sequences during which competency needs and HRM practices evolved. Despite their similar modes of ambidexterity, the two SMEs have mobilised different human resource (HR) practices. Second, the HRM practices implemented struggle to support the firm at key turning points in the innovation trajectories and can even hinder such changes in direction.

The originality of this work lies in two major dimensions. First, the authors choose to explore innovation and the search for ambidexterity, two themes that are traditionally studied in large firms, in the setting of SMEs. Second, the authors choose a longitudinal method to explore the evolution over time in modes of ambidexterity and HRM, along these SMEs' innovation trajectory. This is a departure from more traditional approaches seeking to identify which HR practices, or configurations of practices, are best able to foster ambidexterity and innovation. It leads the authors to show, in a contingent, dynamic perspective, the importance of the Human Resources Foundation’s (HRF's) positioning and attitude in supporting diversified SMEs’ innovation trajectories. This requires allocation of the necessary resources to the function, which needs time and resources to reflect on how to build the ambidextrous HRM that is essential for the firm's survival.

Explores the idea of trajectories of innovation in software development. Patterns of Innovation are analysed within social and institutional contexts, and within the context of changes in the ways computer technology is used. Three main trajectories of innvation in software development are discussed: technical change (e.g. languages, techniques, tools, methods); organizational and managerial change; and commodification (the substitution of packaged products for custom development). Sub‐trajectories are also described. Concludes that the scope and heterogeneity of software development activity has supported the formation of a number of different and competing trajectories which lead to quite different conclusions about the future of software development.

This paper aims to investigate how different trajectories can be detected and classified in business models (BMs) at the level of their underlying product development value-structure (value-creation and appropriation), and what are the drivers. Such BMs are run by multinational firms to accommodate various technologies and innovations; however, this is stressful because of inherent incompatibilities and conflicts.

An explorative study of six product cases from Du Pont’s Textiles Fiber Division (DTFD), namely, nylon yarns, knits and wovens, DTFD blockbusters, Coolmax^®, MicroMattique™, filling materials and Supriva™, is conducted.

In value-creation, technology push or market pull yields resultant technology-forward or market-back trajectories. For value appropriation, new growth opportunities or continuous market expectations lead to breakthrough or continuous innovations. Consistent and inconsistent combinations of these trajectories yield four differential drivers: technological breakthrough, market-back technology, continuous technology and continuous market-back. This is supported by relevant supply chain strategies, either focused through joint ventures and licensees for commodities or vertically integrated for specialty products.

The paper adds to the analysis of ambidexterity in the value structure of BMs along constituent value-creation and appropriation, thus providing a logical lens to understand various complementarities that exist in terms of opposing technology trajectories and product innovation repertoire.

This study contributes to the knowledge of product innovation management in the textile industry, where both large-scale innovation and operational excellence are challenged over the past few decades.

The lessons learnt address the fundamental issue of higher value generation through configuration of multiple contrasting value-structure elements.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of innovation modes in understanding challenges of integrated NSD and NPD, and the use of structured NSD processes in manufacturing firms.

The research is based on a two-stage multiple case study. The first stage is an interview study of 17 key informants representing manufacturing firms in the machine industry. The second stage is an in-depth study of three service innovations at three manufacturing firms based on 16 interviews with key informants.

The results of the study show that NSD processes are often more structured if the service is developed separately from the product. The fact that different innovation modes benefit from varying degrees of structure in the development process means that integrated service development can be challenging. Furthermore, service innovations often follow a trajectory of innovation modes before succeeding in the market. Some innovation modes occur within the NSD process, while others occur outside the process. One success factor for NSD is the fit between the innovation modes and the NSD process, rather than the NSD process per se.

This research uses innovation modes to explain why NSD in manufacturing firms is often performed on an ad hoc basis, and how service innovations go through a trajectory of innovation modes. In this way, the study contributes to theory development of service innovation, and specifically service innovations in manufacturing firms.

The evolution of technology has become the mainstream of the current technological innovation era. Technological change is organized in its unique pattern and a new approach that takes place in a systematic and selective manner. Such change is generally molded with the amalgamation of various factors, namely, economic, social or scientific and technological. This paper aims to focus on identifying technological trajectories in a technological ecosystem with the case of m-payment technology.

This study constructs a patent citation network for mobile payment service technology through patent citation data and identifies the main evolution process using the main path analysis of the network. The scope of this study focuses on key innovation using social network analysis and patent citation network, validated using the case of a mobile payment system and analyzing its technological trajectory.

Analyzing technology evolution provides a greater insight of the overall technology landscape to the researcher and practitioner. Analyzing the m-payment technology landscape gives three main categories of m-payment systems: the mobile financial transaction system), the payee mobile device payment selection system and e-wallet services.

The novelty of this research lies in the process of identifying technological evolution using social network and patent citation network analysis. The case of m-payment technology ecosystem is studied quantitatively which is not explored by previous researchers. This research provides a way to develop the main path technology of innovative products or services to identify technology evolution using the case of m-payment landscape.

As they account for the largest share of employment and value added, services do not (or cannot) lie outside a Schumpeterian view of innovation phenomena. Of the various attempts at shedding more light on the mechanisms of innovation in service industries and firms, we consider the “reverse product cycle” to warrant special attention because of its highly thought‐provoking nature and its theoretical ambition. This article has two objectives: first, to present this interesting and still neglected theoretical study, and second, to evaluate on a theoretical and empirical level the extent to which Barras’ model meets the objective of a “theory of innovation in services”.