Can Large Firms Really Leverage Radical Innovation? In Search of New Dimensions and Strategies

Emerging trends in the digitization of product and services, the increased relevance of distributed and combinatory innovation as well as the sharing (collaborative) economy are urging the need for new forms of incumbent’s innovation, based on the development of new capacities to deal with ambiguity. The aims of this symposium are twofold. First, we develop emerging insights on new dimensions and strategies required to established firms to handle exploration and exploitation opportunities in the light of the new competitive scenarios. Second, we consolidate a number of key research directions to provide a common ground for discussion of the strategic priorities in the light of recent industry transformations. We assembled four papers focusing on complementary perspectives: the types of trajectories of impact (and disruption) depending on the nature of innovations, the importance of cognitive frames in decision-making processes (incumbents’ response to disruptive innovation), the mechanisms enabling organizational support for the successful development of novel ideas from daily work and the relevance of balancing exploration and exploitation activities across multiple modes. Following the presentations, two high-profile scholars leading the interactive plenary session (Mary Tripsas, Boston College; Justin Jansen, Rotterdam School of Management) will unpack and discuss the actual and future research avenues about the ability of incumbent firms to leverage radical innovations and their impact on management practices.