Customer‐related proactiveness in the radical innovation development process

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the degree of customer‐related proactiveness in the process of developing radical innovations.

The initial framework for this study is first created on the basis of the theory and then modified in the light of multiple retrospective case studies.

The results show that the stage of the innovation development process seems to influence the degree of proactiveness. Contrary to many earlier studies, this research indicates that anticipation plays an important role already at the idea generation stage.

The study introduces a way of describing a firm's proactiveness as a dynamic pattern. Thus, the process approach adopted in this research may encourage further longitudinal studies on the phenomenon. Given the explorative nature of the study, the propositions arising from the modified framework should be evaluated according to additional data.

The results of this study indicate that a systematic search for new market opportunities, and the firm's previous experience of customers, may generate not only incremental but also radical innovations. Proactiveness is not always needed, however, as the cases indicate. Firms ought therefore to consider carefully when it is appropriate to invest in customer‐related proactiveness, and when it is not.

The main contribution of the study stems from the combination of customer‐related proactiveness and the process of radical‐innovation development. It is among the first to combine these streams of research.