ABSTRACT

New Technology-Based Ventures (NTBVs) play a signifi cant role in today’s economy. They foster innovation and structural change and provide a range of employment opportunities (Gottschalk et al. 2007). Most NTBVs start by bringing a promising, innovative technology to market (Shane 2004). Critical to sustained success and growth of these fi rms is the ability to come up with follow-up products that are, again, innovative instead of mere modifi cations of the initial product. Even though the fi rst product may already generate profi ts, these profi ts may decrease as a result of increasing market saturation, competition and changing technologies and customer requirements (Abernathy and Utterback 1978; Christensen 1997). If the venture fails to deliver radical innovations on a continuous basis, chances of failure may increase. As a consequence, NTBVs need to lay the foundations for future profi ts by creating radical innovations early in their life cycle.