Radical Innovation from the Confluence of Technologies: Innovation Management Strategies for the Emerging Nanobiotechnology Industry

Abstract

We investigate how the confluence of technologies can lead to radical innovation, thus creating opportunities at the firm and industry levels. To do so, we conduct a detailed examination of the development of the transistor and of two nanobiotechnology drugs – Doxil® and Zevalin® – from an innovation management perspective. We argue that three innovation management strategies are central to the development of radical innovation from the confluence of technologies, namely: importing ideas from broad networks, creating environments which allow for deep collaboration, and technology-market matching.

Keywords: Opportunity creation, Radical innovation, Confluence of technologies, Nanotechnology/biotechnology commercialization, Technology convergence