Call for Papers

Some management scholars researching innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic management have begun focusing on the demand side of the value-creation equation rather than on the more commonly examined resource side. These scholars have explored issues such as: the influence of consumer demand on technological innovation and competitive advantage (Adner & Zemsky, 2006; Danneels, 2003; Tripsas, 2008); opportunity signals from consumers (Fischer & Reuber, 2004); users' roles in entrepreneurial innovation (Baldwin, Hienerth & Von Hippel, 2006; Sawhney et al., 2005; Shah & Tripsas, 2007); and consumer-focused strategies for value creation and appropriation (Adner & Snow, 2010; Gruber et al., 2008; Ye et al., 2012), among others. Priem, Li and Carr (2012) provide a recent review of demand-side management literature to date.

Our aim in this sub-theme is to bring together scholars from multiple disciplines who are interested in contributing to this nascent demand-side perspective, and in beginning a bridge with resource-focused work. We welcome conceptual and empirical submissions that clarify issues in technology innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic management from a demand-side perspective. We encourage multiple viewpoints and cross-disciplinary dialogue, and actively seek submissions using traditional and non-traditional methods that could include: theory building, case studies, ethnographies, surveys, mathematical models and large-sample quantitative studies, among others. We are committed to providing an atmosphere encouraging extensive interaction and mutual learning among sub-theme participants, plus stimulating and developmental feedback for contributors.

Characteristics of demand-side research typically include: (1) clearly distinguishing between value creation, which is determined by consumers' willingness-to-pay, and value capture, which is determined by market structure and resource ownership (e.g. Priem, 2007); (2) recognizing that consumers' heterogeneity of demand contributes to firm heterogeneity through managers' differing judgments about, and decisions in response to, consumer heterogeneity (e.g. Adner & Snow, 2010); (3) viewing consumer preferences as dynamically changing and sometimes latent (e.g. Kirzner, 1997) and (4) emphasizing product markets as key sources of value-creation for firms, rather than the more common emphasis on resource markets and value capture.

Some of the questions this sub-theme could address include:

• How are the antecedents and attributes of demand-pull innovations different from technology-driven ones?
• How can user innovation knowledge be transferred effectively, both within the user community and between the user community and firms?
• What factors differentiate a user entrepreneur from a lead user, and how might their innovation processes differ? How could particular industry and market contexts encourage or discourage user entrepreneurship?
• To what extent do initial customers shape the characteristics of new products, and of the start-up firm itself? Do new products become more specialized to meet initial customers' needs, or do nascent entrepreneurs create less-specialized offerings to appeal to a broader spectrum of future customers?
• What is the role of demand in signaling opportunities to entrepreneurs? Under what conditions are customers and markets more active drivers of the opportunities identified and evaluated by entrepreneurs?
• What sources of demand-side advantage are available with "everyday" resources, and which of these are most likely to be sustainable?
• How might multipoint competition function on the demand side? How is the success of a strategic alliance or joint venture affected by the degree to which the partners' products are complements in creating value for a particular market segment? Under what conditions might consumers co-produce value with producers?
• How could demand-side questions such as these – emphasizing the independent value determinations of heterogeneous consumers – be integrated with previous findings from resource-focused perspectives, thereby bridging resource-focused and demand-side work?

References

Adner, R. & P. Zemsky (2006): 'A demand-based perspective on sustainable competitive advantage.' Strategic Management Journal, 27, 215–239.

Adner, R. & D. Snow (2010): 'Old Technology responses to new technology threats: Demand heterogeneity and technology retreats.' Industrial and Corporate Change, 19, 1655–1675.

Baldwin, C., C. Hienerth & E. Von Hippel (2006): 'How user innovations become commercial products: A theoretical investigation and case study.' Research Policy, 35, 1291–1313.

Danneels, E. (2003): 'Tight-loose coupling with customers: The enactment of customer orientation.' Strategic Management Journal, 24, 559–576.

Fischer, E. & R.A. Reuber (2004): 'Contextual antecedents and consequences of relationships between young firms and distinct types of dominant exchange partners.' Journal of Business Venturing, 5, 681–706.

Gruber, M., I. MacMillan & J. Thompson (2008): 'Look before you leap: Market opportunity identification in emerging technology firms.' Management Science, 54, 1652–1665.

Kirzner, I.M. (1997): 'Entrepreneurial discovery and the competitive market process: An Austrian approach.' Journal of Economic Literature, 35, 60–85.

Priem, R.L. (2007): 'A consumer perspective on value creation.' Academy of Management Review, 32, 219–235.

Priem, R.L., S. Li & J. Carr (2012): 'Insights and new directions from demand-side approaches to technology innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic management research.' Journal of Management, 38, 346–374.

Sawhney, M., G. Verona & E. Prandelli (2005): 'Collaborating to create: the Internet as a platform for customer engagement in product innovation.' Journal of Interactive Marketing, 19, 4–17.

Shah, S.K. & M. Tripsas (2007): 'The accidental entrepreneur: the emergent and collective process of user entrepreneurship.' Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1, 123–140.

Tripsas, M. (2008): 'Customer preference discontinuities: a trigger for radical technological change.' Managerial and Decision Economics, 29, 79–97.

Ye, G., R.L. Priem & A. Alshwer (2011): 'Achieving demand-side synergy from strategic diversification: How combining mundane assets can leverage consumer utilities.' Organization Science, 23, 207–224.