Smart, connected products change a company’s business strategy orientation

ABSTRACT

Smart, connected products have the potential to shift rivalries, opening up numerous new avenues for differentiation and value-added services. New entrants in a smart, connected world face significant new obstacles, starting with the high fixed costs of a more complex product design, embedded technology and multiple layers of new IT infrastructure. As smart, connected products expand an industry’s scope and the boundaries of competition, many companies will need to rethink their corporate purpose. As products continue to communicate and collaborate in networks, which are continuously expanding both in number and diversity, many companies will have to re-examine their core mission and value proposition. The authors present an analysis of changes that were initiated by applying new of smart and connected product technologies during creative discussions about disruptive innovation development. The objective of the article is to seek answers to the following research questions: Q 1: What is the role and significance of the new concept of products obtained as a result of substantial innovations? Q 2: How does the new concept of products impact the entrepreneurial strategy of organizations? Q 3: Does this concept trigger a change to the rules of competition?

KEYWORDS:

• Competition rules
• creative dialogue
• disruptive innovation
• smart and connected product
• strategic alliance

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• O30
• L10

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The article was written with the support of the specific project grant ‘Determinants Affecting Job Satisfaction’ granted by the University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.