Title: New ways of innovation: an application of the cyclic innovation model to the mobile telecom industry

Authors: A.J. (Guus) Berkhout, Patrick A. Van Der Duin

Addresses: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, BX Delft 2628, The Netherlands. ' Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, BX Delft 2628, The Netherlands

Abstract: New developments in the mobile telecom industry, such as growing transmission bandwidth and sector-crossing business alliances, change the way in which mobile telcom|s are innovating. Traditional innovation models, such as the single-company linear model (|pipeline model|), do no longer describe how innovation occurs today. An interesting alternative is the boundary-crossing Cyclic Innovation Model (CIM). It considers innovation processes as coupled |cycles of change|, connecting science with business, and technology with markets, in a cyclic manner. For illustration purposes, CIM has been applied to |Lucio|. Lucio is a mobile data product-service combination introduced into the Dutch market by KPN Mobile. The analysis shows that Lucio is a multi-sector, class-2 innovation. It also shows that CIM provides insight into the complex network of companies involved, making clear how each company – technically and non-technically – contributes functionality that together constitutes the innovation. CIM may be considered a promising addition to the growing family of fourth-generation innovation models.

Keywords: innovation processes; innovation models; mobile data services; mobile telecom industry; convergence; unbundling; cyclic innovation model; mobile communications; telecommunications; The Netherlands.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2007.015754

International Journal of Technology Management, 2007 Vol.40 No.4, pp.294 - 309

Published online: 12 Nov 2007 *

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