Germany has advanced to the position of a key destination for Indian multinational enterprises in their spirited pursuit of growth opportunities overseas. In 2008, Indian firms invested an estimated amount of US$ 1.8 billion in Germany while 16 acquisitions by Indian firms were monitored, up...

Innovations have acquired a key-role in the growth and competition strategies of firms today. They are regarded as an essential tool to stimulate growth and enable firms to master the competition brought about by the forces of globalization. In developed countries they are thought to provide a...

This study starts from the premise that in thebiotechnology sector, entrepreneurial companies have been a major stimulus forthe development of the industry. It focuses on Japan and Germany and theirrecent involvement in the industry of biotechnology, looking at how contextfactors may have...

Novel information and communication technologies, foremost the Internet, have revolutionised the innovation landscape. Mass-collaboration involving end-users is now, a critical component of many types of software improvement and has the potential to make users as the main innovation source of...

Users have proven to be a principal driving force of many innovations in different industries. Therefore, more and more firms try to identify avenues to systematically involve users into their new product development. Despite the growing interest in user-driven or user-centred innovation, both...

To increase and speed up diffusion of new product introductions firms may rely on network marketing. They select individuals in customer and user networks whose own product adoptions and opinions influence adoption decisions of others in the network. In this paper we transfer this rationale to...

Innovative, distinct products and no “cheaper” copies of the “rich” world are essential in order to succeed at the “Base of the Pyramid” (BoP). However, this type of innovation requires more, in-depth information on the BoP and solution spaces, which are both difficult to access....

Recent years have seen the emergence of low-cost innovations targeted at economically weaker sections of the society, seeking to align business with social welfare. In many instances, results on the ground have been, however, rather sobering as firms have generally (probably justifiably) worried...

While sustainability issues increasingly gain importance for new product design, they also further complicate the NPD process. In many cases it is hard to exactly measure the socio-environmental impact of new products, and sustainability targets may conflict with other ones. Innovators can aim...

Prior research has shown that some patients and caregivers such as relatives are innovating in relation to their unmet medical needs. However, there is little evidence whether and how these ideas are later implemented into market-ready solutions and subsequently commercialized. We analyze cases...