The
understood rubric is that younger more established firms are
consistently able to innovate where large firms are not due to the
specialized nature of large firms focusing on clients and a clients
specific needs as an outsourced services model which is replicated and
sold to other like minded firms rather than as an experimental lab model
specifically designed to increase the likelihood of creating
breakthroughs.
In
How Technology-Based New Firms Leverage Newness and Smallness to Commercialize Disruptive Technologies (Design)
we see the clear indication of how this is achieved via “an early mover
pursuing the mainstream market with a radical technology is more likely
to succeed because resource-rich incumbents will face difficulties in
trying to follow. However, an early mover into a broad segment with an
incremental product is more likely to be overtaken by late-entering
incumbents as the incumbent has an existing brand and reputation, as
well as vital complementary assets”
