March 2017 Download this article as a PDF

Welcome to the March 2017 issue of the Technology Innovation Management Review. The authors in this issue share insights on organizational ambidexterity, innovation ecosystems, R&D outsourcing, and hybrid entrepreneurship.

In the first article, John Fiset from Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada and Isabelle Dostaler from Concordia University in Canada examine how organizational ambidexterity manifests itself in the new product development process. In applying a typology of ambidextrous behaviours to three product development stories, the authors show how certain behaviours exhibited by project teams in response to organizational challenges promote a beneficial balance of relying on proven approaches (exploitation) while simultaneously introducing new ones (exploration).

Next, Katri Valkokari and Maria Mäntylä from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Marko Seppänen from Tampere University of Technology, Finland, and Simo Jylhä-Ollila from the Elisa Corporation explore how firms can orchestrate innovation ecosystems to enhance collaboration for innovation among different actors. Through a qualitative case study of 35 startups and established firms in the metal and engineering industries, the authors identified an essential ecosystem competence needed by all actors in an ecosystem: the ability to manage dynamic strategic interactions related to innovation.

Then, Iivari Kunttu from the University of Vaasa in Finland presents a tool to help R&D managers decide which tasks and projects are best performed in-house and which should be outsourced to external suppliers. The tool was developed through a qualitative multiple case study based on R&D supplier relationships and has been empirically tested in an R&D organization. It provides a practical but theoretically grounded way to rapidly evaluate and compare internal R&D capabilities with those available externally.

Finally, Marina Z. Solesvik from Nord University Business School in Norway examines the motivations and policy implications of hybrid entrepreneurs – individuals who combine employment with entrepreneurship. Based on a longitudinal case study in which Solesvik followed two entrepreneurs over nearly a 10-year period, she proposes a future research agenda emphasizing that hybrid entrepreneurship may be a valuable stepping stone to full-time entrepreneurship or it can also be a desired outcome in its own right.

In April, our editorial theme is Cybersecurity, and I am pleased to welcome guest editor Michael Weiss from the Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

For future issues, we are accepting general submissions of articles on technology entrepreneurship, innovation management, and other topics relevant to launching and growing technology companies and solving practical problems in emerging domains. Please contact us with potential article topics and submissions.

Chris McPhee
Editor-in-Chief

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Keywords: collaboration, exploitation, exploration, hybrid entrepreneurship, innovation ecosystems, insourcing, organizational ambidexterity, outsourcing, part-time entrepreneurship, R&D, roles, suppliers