Abstract
Market creation is an effective way for a manufacturing firm to escape a commoditized market. A firm creates a new market by bringing a very different value proposition to its customers. However, the research has pointed out that it is difficult for an organization to legitimize its market-creating product development because the difference of the product’s value is never realized during the creation process. This study demonstrates a way of overcoming this problem during market-creating product development. We adopt the social shaping technology approach as a research framework and explore four new product development (NPD) cases: two market-creating products and two follower products. We observe the process of market-creating product development. First, an NPD team notices a new and different value proposition based on materials and structural factors that are inconsistent with the current value. Second, some people oppose the development because the product does not correspond to the current value. Third, a champion of the NPD team persuades the opponents using materials, structural factors, and a third party. This kind of process is not observed during follower product development. These findings suggest a significant difference between market-creating and follower product development: only in the former do an NPD team and its champion notice a new and different value proposition and legitimate it by persuading opponents.
