Search

Exogenous radical technological changes often threaten firms' organizational identity. Many organizations, be it incumbent or new entrant, need to reinvent themselves in light of such technological changes, if they can. To contribute to research on organizational identity and firm responses to radical technological change, we adopt a multifaceted view of organizational identity and emphasize that who or what a firm is, is as important as what a firm does and why. Based on a qualitative, multi-case study on the responses of Dutch music companies to the emergence of digitalization, we explore how this identity-strategy nexus plays our during radical technological change. Based on our analysis, we identify three identity-strategy response mechanisms. In identity affirmation, firms prioritize their identity and incorporate radical technologies to fit their organizational identity. In identity hedging and identity accommodation firms prioritize strategy and suspend organizational identity in favour of strategic change, which over time reconfigures organizational identity. This provides an alternative explanation for the heterogeneity in firm responses to the same radical technological change. The differences across these three response mechanisms yield important insights for the growing study of the intersection of radical technological change and the OI literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The entrepreneurial potential of digital technologies for new business startups and the engagement of stakeholders in the implementation of these technologies have garnered increasing interest from scholars and practitioners alike. However, there remains a notable gap in understanding the effects of digital technologies on the inception of new business startups and the dynamic conditions that unfold during their interactions with stakeholders in the business domain. To address this gap, we draw from the realms of digital technologies, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem literature to conceptualize a digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. This framework aims to (1) unravel the 'what' and 'how' factors contributing to the establishment of new business startups, specifically in the context of Agritech firms leveraging digital technologies within the agri-food sector in Ghana, and (2) identify the stakeholders involved in the implementation process of digital technologies. Employing an explorative research approach, our study analyzes 22 interviews from 15 Agritech firms in Ghana, complemented by observational and secondary data. Our findings reveal two key aspects: firstly, four distinct business formation processes guide the establishment of Agritech firms, encompassing (a) spin-off activities, (b) engagement in research projects, (c) capitalizing on agricultural business opportunities through digital technologies, and (d) responding to agritech challenges originating from innovation hubs. Secondly, three sets of stakeholders intricately contribute to the implementation process of digital technologies by Agritech firms, operating at the micro, meso, and macro levels. At the micro-level, stakeholders, comprising farmers and their offtakers, indirectly support Agritech firms through feedback and active involvement in the digital solution development process. Meso-level stakeholders, represented by a network of agritech firms, foster mutual support by sharing experiences and knowledge, thus fostering inter-firm synergies. At the macro level, stakeholders, including innovation hubs, government agencies, universities, and international development agencies, provide direct support through grants, business development training, office space, and linkages to investors. Through these findings, our study seeks to offer a nuanced understanding of the intricate interplay between new business startups and various stakeholders within the dynamic landscape of implementing digital technologies in the agri-food sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary digital landscape, the rapid surge of digital innovations is profoundly reshaping societies, firms, and economies, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency, transformation, and growth. However, this transformative journey is not devoid of challenges and complexities intrinsic to innovation. Existing studies on digital innovation tend to focus more on the prospects, exploring the feasibility of open innovation. Yet, there is a conspicuous gap in perceiving open innovation as a proactive response to challenges encountered in the adoption and implementation of digital technologies. Filling this research gap, our study draws from interviews and documents to analyze the emergence of open innovation strategies as a result of firms' responses to challenges when introducing their digital innovations to farmers in Ghana. Our results illustrate that firms' responses to challenges faced led them to proactively utilize a combination of both internal and external resources. Internal resources were drawn from firms' capabilities in software and Artificial Intelligence (AI) development. The pursuit of external resources led firms to engage in partnerships with external parties, taking various forms: (1) tactical partnering, (2) operational partnering, (3) partnering to acquire new human resources, (4) partnerships for obtaining new financial resources, and (5) partnering for acquiring new competencies. Partnering for new financial resources in particular was due to the complexity of Big Data analysis that triggered firms to seek external support. Finally, we discuss these findings for theoretical and managerial implications dealing with the complexities of digital innovation and seeking effective open innovation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]