Strategic Management Review > Vol 6 > Issue 3

Diagnosing the Market-Driven Approach to Innovation: Learning from Practice

George S. Day, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, dayg@wharton.upenn.edu
 
Suggested Citation
George S. Day (2025), "Diagnosing the Market-Driven Approach to Innovation: Learning from Practice", Strategic Management Review: Vol. 6: No. 3, pp 333-362. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/111.00000083

Publication Date: 22 Apr 2025
© 2025 now Publishers, Inc.
 
Subjects
Product innovation,  Corporate strategy,  Knowledge, innovation, and technology,  Strategy process and practice,  Technology management and strategy
 
Keywords
Innovationorganic growthmarket orientationdynamic capabilitiesstrategy formulation
 

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In this article:
Market-driven Innovation 
Guided by Meaningful Metrics 
Integrating the Market-driven and Technology-driven approaches 
Summary and Directions for Research 
References 

Abstract

Market-driven innovation features an outside-in approach to strategic growth issues. This approach is guided by an organic growth strategy and a dashboard of innovation metrics, while iterating between outside-in considerations and the possibilities and constraints of inside-out factors, and enabled by dynamic sensing and seizing capabilities. This paper describes how this approach is integrated with technology-driven approaches to innovation, and activated through four core activities: identifying growth opportunities, selecting and validating the best opportunities, containing risks in the portfolio of innovation initiatives, and then launching and scaling the outcome of the development activities. We propose a research agenda that addresses the antecedents, moderators, and consequences of market-driven innovation, and the process of implementing this approach.

DOI:10.1561/111.00000083