Article: How does a new venture build a new product's legitimacy? Evidence from digital innovations in an established industry Journal: International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM) 2021 Vol.87 No.2/3/4 pp.284 - 314 Abstract: Any significantly new product will face legitimacy challenges when it enters the market, and even more so when launched by a new venture. We draw on an in-depth case study to explore the challenge of achieving product legitimacy, defined as a generalised perception or assumption that the features of a product are desirable, proper or appropriate within a business ecosystem with a particular set of norms, values and beliefs. From our analysis of a new venture who applied new digital technology to successfully launch new products in an established industry and emerging economy context, we identify four strategies by which the venture built legitimacy for its new products: <i>orienting, leveraging, designing</i> and <i>enacting</i>. We also find, by adopting appropriate ecosystem strategies, the venture was able to increase the value creation for customers and further enhance the legitimacy of their new products. This suggests that economic factors, rather than social factors that are more often highlighted in studies based in institutional theory, may have the greatest impact on the legitimacy of new products. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: How does a new venture build a new product's legitimacy? Evidence from digital innovations in an established industry

Authors: Wei Zhang; Steven White; Liyan Wang; Yongyi Zhao; Qixin Ye

Addresses: School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, 800 West Peachtree, NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, USA

Abstract: Any significantly new product will face legitimacy challenges when it enters the market, and even more so when launched by a new venture. We draw on an in-depth case study to explore the challenge of achieving product legitimacy, defined as a generalised perception or assumption that the features of a product are desirable, proper or appropriate within a business ecosystem with a particular set of norms, values and beliefs. From our analysis of a new venture who applied new digital technology to successfully launch new products in an established industry and emerging economy context, we identify four strategies by which the venture built legitimacy for its new products: orienting, leveraging, designing and enacting. We also find, by adopting appropriate ecosystem strategies, the venture was able to increase the value creation for customers and further enhance the legitimacy of their new products. This suggests that economic factors, rather than social factors that are more often highlighted in studies based in institutional theory, may have the greatest impact on the legitimacy of new products.

Keywords: new venture; new product; legitimacy; entrepreneurship; strategy; digital innovation; ecosystem; value creation; established industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2021.120928

International Journal of Technology Management, 2021 Vol.87 No.2/3/4, pp.284 - 314

Accepted: 08 Aug 2021
Published online: 17 Feb 2022 *

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Title: How does a new venture build a new product's legitimacy? Evidence from digital innovations in an established industry

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