Navigating the New Frontier: Exploring Emerging Trends and Strategies in Startup Innovation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4108/eetsis.6062

Keywords:

Startup Innovation, Sustainability, Remote Work, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The contemporary business world is witnessing a proliferation of startups, each striving to carve its niche amidst fierce competition and rapid technological advancements. In this landscape, the ability to innovate and adapt swiftly is paramount for startup survival and growth. This introductory section sets the stage by highlighting the importance of innovation in today's entrepreneurial endeavors.

OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to examine the current trends driving startup innovation and explore innovative tactics employed by startups.

METHODS: To fulfill the objectives of this study, a comprehensive research methodology was employed. Leveraging techniques derived from social network analysis, qualitative interviews, and extensive literature review, this research endeavors to provide a holistic understanding of the dynamics of startup innovation. By employing a multidisciplinary approach, this study aims to capture the nuanced interplay of factors influencing innovation in the startup ecosystem.

RESULTS: Key findings include the prominence of sustainability, remote work integration, and the pivotal role of AI and machine learning in startup strategies.

CONCLUSION: This paper concludes by consolidating insights and offering guidance for navigating the dynamic terrain of startup innovation.

References

[1] Ehsan, Z.-A., Defining a startup-a critical analysis. Available at SSRN 3823361, 2021.

[2] Calvino, F., C. Criscuolo, and C. Menon, Cross-country evidence on start-up dynamics. 2015.

[3] Acs, Z.J. and L. Szerb, Entrepreneurship, economic growth and public policy. Small business economics, 2007. 28: p. 109-122.

[4] Ries, E., The lean startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. 2011: Currency.

[5] Mustar, P., M. Wright, and B. Clarysse, University spin-off firms: lessons from ten years of experience in Europe. Science and Public Policy, 2008. 35(2): p. 67-80.

[6] Colombo, M.G. and E. Piva, Strengths and weaknesses of academic startups: a conceptual model. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 2008. 55(1): p. 37-49.

[7] Blank, S., Why startups are agile and opportunistic–pivoting the business model. Steve Blank, 2010.

[8] Kask, J. and G. Linton, Business mating: when start-ups get it right. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 2013. 26(5): p. 511-536.

[9] Teece, D.J., Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range planning, 2010. 43(2-3): p. 172-194.

[10] Rese, A., D. Baier, and T.M. Rausch, Success factors in sustainable textile product innovation: An empirical investigation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022. 331: p. 129829.

[11] Li-Ying, J., W. Sofka, and P. Tuertscher, Managing innovation ecosystems around big science organizations. Technovation, 2022. 116: p. 102523.

[12] Gao, J., et al., The mechanism of entrepreneurs’ social networks on innovative startups’ innovation performance considering the moderating effect of the entrepreneurial competence and motivation. Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 2021. 13(1): p. 31-69.

[13] Santi, C. and P. Santoleri, Exploring the link between innovation and growth in Chilean firms. Small Business Economics, 2017. 49: p. 445-467.

[14] Cozza, C., et al., Innovation, profitability and growth in medium and high-tech manufacturing industries: evidence from Italy. Applied Economics, 2012. 44(15): p. 1963-1976.

[15] Senge, P.M., G. Carstedt, and P.L. Porter, Next industrial revolution. MIT Sloan management review, 2001. 42(2): p. 24-38.

[16] Stoica, O., A. Roman, and V.D. Rusu, The nexus between entrepreneurship and economic growth: A comparative analysis on groups of countries. Sustainability, 2020. 12(3): p. 1186.

[17] Naradda Gamage, S.K., et al., A review of global challenges and survival strategies of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Economies, 2020. 8(4): p. 79.

[18] Konga, Y. and K. Ramaiah, The Role of Innovation in Startup Business Financing, Performance, and Survival, in Handbook of Research on Future Opportunities for Technology Management Education. 2021, IGI Global. p. 331-348.

[19] Bailetti, T., Technology entrepreneurship: overview, definition, and distinctive aspects. Technology innovation management review, 2012. 2(2).

[20] Taherdoost, H., Evolution and Applications of the Internet in E-Business, in E-Business Essentials: Building a Successful Online Enterprise. 2023, Springer. p. 77-103.

[21] Acs, Z.J. and P. Mueller, Employment effects of business dynamics: Mice, gazelles and elephants. Small Business Economics, 2008. 30: p. 85-100.

[22] Pyka, A., Dedicated innovation systems to support the transformation towards sustainability: Creating income opportunities and employment in the knowledge-based digital bioeconomy. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2017. 3(4): p. 27.

[23] Candi, M. and R.J. Saemundsson, Exploring the relationship between aesthetic design as an element of new service development and performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2011. 28(4): p. 536-557.

[24] Decker, R., et al., The role of entrepreneurship in US job creation and economic dynamism. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2014. 28(3): p. 3-24.

[25] Cillo, V., et al., Understanding sustainable innovation: A systematic literature review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2019. 26(5): p. 1012-1025.

[26] Fernando, Y., C.J.C. Jabbour, and W.-X. Wah, Pursuing green growth in technology firms through the connections between environmental innovation and sustainable business performance: does service capability matter? Resources, conservation and recycling, 2019. 141: p. 8-20.

[27] Khan, S.J., et al., Past, present, and future of green product innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 2021. 30(8): p. 4081-4106.

[28] Shin, J., et al., Product and service innovation: Comparison between performance and efficiency. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 2022. 7(3): p. 100191.

[29] Shahzad, M., et al., Translating stakeholders’ pressure into environmental practices–The mediating role of knowledge management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020. 275: p. 124163.

[30] Shahzad, M., et al., Adoption of green innovation technology to accelerate sustainable development among manufacturing industry. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 2022. 7(4): p. 100231.

[31] Arshad, M., et al., The influence of climate change, green innovation, and aspects of green dynamic capabilities as an approach to achieving sustainable development. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2023: p. 1-20.

[32] Anser, M.K., Z. Yousaf, and K. Zaman, Green technology acceptance model and green logistics operations:“to see which way the wind is blowing”. Frontiers in Sustainability, 2020. 1: p. 3.

[33] Skare, M. and D.R. Soriano, How globalization is changing digital technology adoption: An international perspective. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 2021. 6(4): p. 222-233.

[34] Forcadell, F.J., F. Úbeda, and E. Aracil, Effects of environmental corporate social responsibility on innovativeness of spanish industrial SMEs✰,✰✰,★,★★. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2021. 162: p. 120355.

[35] Guo, R., et al., Classifying green technologies for sustainable innovation and investment. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2020. 153: p. 104580.

[36] Awan, U., M.G. Arnold, and I. Gölgeci, Enhancing green product and process innovation: Towards an integrative framework of knowledge acquisition and environmental investment. Business Strategy and the Environment, 2021. 30(2): p. 1283-1295.

[37] Qazi, T.F., R. Shafaat, and U. Qureshi, Global Aftermath of COVID-19 on Entrepreneurship, in Post-Pandemic Economy, Technology, and Innovation. 2024, Apple Academic Press. p. 49-81.

[38] Tien-Dung, P., J. Majerova, and S. Das, Phases of possible recovery of digital enterprises in new normal business for living with COVID-19 times: Opportunities for a new era in sustainable development goals, in Sustainable Development and Innovation of Digital Enterprises for Living with COVID-19. 2022, Springer. p. 19-33.

[39] Agarwal, S., et al., Unleashing the power of disruptive and emerging technologies amid COVID-19: A detailed review. arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.11507, 2020.

[40] Grant, C.A., L.M. Wallace, and P.C. Spurgeon, An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e‐worker's job effectiveness, well‐being and work‐life balance. Employee Relations, 2013. 35(5): p. 527-546.

[41] Wang, B., et al., Achieving effective remote working during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A work design perspective. Applied psychology, 2021. 70(1): p. 16-59.

[42] Gawer, A. and M.A. Cusumano, Industry platforms and ecosystem innovation. Journal of product innovation management, 2014. 31(3): p. 417-433.

[43] O'Farrell, R. and P. Montagnier, Measuring digital platform‐mediated workers. New Technology, Work and Employment, 2020. 35(1): p. 130-144.

[44] Ko, E.-J., A.-H. Kim, and S.-S. Kim, Toward the understanding of the appropriation of ICT-based Smart-work and its impact on performance in organizations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2021. 171: p. 120994.

[45] Madanchian, M. and H. Taherdoost, The Impact of Digital Transformation Development on Organizational Change, in Driving Transformative Change in E-Business Through Applied Intelligence and Emerging Technologies. 2022, IGI Global. p. 1-24.

[46] Hemachandra, S. and N. Sharkasi. Digital transformation induced by the Covid-19 pandemic. in Digital Marketing & eCommerce Conference. 2021. Springer.

[47] Gupta, V., Innovation Mechanisms in Start-Ups: Practice, Strategies and Impacts. 2022: Springer Nature.

[48] Evans, M. and A. Ghafourifar, Build A 5-star customer experience with artificial intelligence. Hentet fra https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2019/02/17/customer-experienceartificial-intelligence, 2019.

[49] Taherdoost, H., Enhancing Social Media Platforms with Machine Learning Algorithms and Neural Networks. Algorithms, 2023. 16(6): p. 271.

[50] Chaturvedi, R. and S. Verma, Opportunities and challenges of AI-driven customer service. Artificial Intelligence in customer service: The next frontier for personalized engagement, 2023: p. 33-71.

[51] Maras, E., Beauty retailers embrace AR, AI. 2020.

[52] Dwivedi, Y.K., et al., Artificial Intelligence (AI): Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 2021. 57: p. 101994.

[53] Shank, D.B., et al., Feeling our way to machine minds: People's emotions when perceiving mind in artificial intelligence. Computers in Human Behavior, 2019. 98: p. 256-266.

[54] Malle, B.F., et al. Sacrifice one for the good of many? People apply different moral norms to human and robot agents. in Proceedings of the tenth annual ACM/IEEE international conference on human-robot interaction. 2015.

[55] Yordanova, Z.B., Lean startup method hampers breakthrough innovations and company's innovativeness. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 2018. 15(02): p. 1850012.

[56] Jesemann, I., et al., Investigation of the “lean startup” approach in large manufacturing companies towards customer driven product innovation in SMEs. Procedia CIRP, 2021. 99: p. 711-716.

[57] Blank, S., Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything.[online] Harvard Business Review. 2013.

[58] Osterwalder, A., Y. Pigneur, and C.L. Tucci, Clarifying business models: Origins, present, and future of the concept. Communications of the association for Information Systems, 2005. 16(1): p. 1.

[59] Chesbrough, H.W., Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. 2003: Harvard Business Press.

[60] Chesbrough, H., The future of open innovation: The future of open innovation is more extensive, more collaborative, and more engaged with a wider variety of participants. Research-Technology Management, 2017. 60(1): p. 35-38.

[61] van den Biesen, J., Open innovation@ Philips research. Open Innovation in Global Networks, 2008: p. 25-26.

[62] Du, J., B. Leten, and W. Vanhaverbeke, Managing open innovation projects with science-based and market-based partners. Research Policy, 2014. 43(5): p. 828-840.

[63] Chesbrough, H.W. and M.M. Appleyard, Open innovation and strategy. California management review, 2007. 50(1): p. 57-76.

[64] Johnson, W.H. and D.A. Johnston, Organisational knowledge creating processes and the performance of university-industry collaborative R&D projects. International Journal of Technology Management, 2004. 27(1): p. 93-114.

[65] Nonaka, I., A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization science, 1994. 5(1): p. 14-37.

[66] Steinmo, M. and E. Rasmussen, The interplay of cognitive and relational social capital dimensions in university-industry collaboration: Overcoming the experience barrier. Research Policy, 2018. 47(10): p. 1964-1974.

[67] Steils, N., et al., Urban crowdsourcing: Stakeholder selection and dynamic knowledge flows in high and low complexity projects. Industrial Marketing Management, 2021. 94: p. 164-173.

[68] Ehls, D., S. Polier, and C. Herstatt, Reviewing the field of external knowledge search for innovation: Theoretical underpinnings and future (re‐) search directions. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2020. 37(5): p. 405-430.

[69] Chesbrough, H.W., The era of open innovation. Managing innovation and change, 2006. 127(3): p. 34-41.

[70] Huizingh, E.K., Open innovation: State of the art and future perspectives. Technovation, 2011. 31(1): p. 2-9.

[71] Gassmann, O., E. Enkel, and H. Chesbrough, The future of open innovation. R&d Management, 2010. 40(3): p. 213-221.

[72] Devece, C., D. Palacios-Marqués, and D.E. Ribeiro-Soriano, IT-based strategy, capabilities, and practices: crowdsourcing implementation in market-oriented firms. Review of Managerial Science, 2021. 15: p. 15-32.

[73] Geiger, D. and M. Schader, Personalized task recommendation in crowdsourcing information systems—Current state of the art. Decision Support Systems, 2014. 65: p. 3-16.

[74] Liang, X. and M. He, A co-citation bibliometric analysis of crowdsourcing research. 2017.

[75] Brown, T. and B. Katz, Change by design. Journal of product innovation management, 2011. 28(3): p. 381-383.

[76] Cooper, R., S. Junginger, and T. Lockwood, Design Thinking and Design Management: A Research and Practice Perspective. Design Management Review, 2009. 20(2): p. 46-55.

[77] Micheli, P., et al., Doing Design Thinking: Conceptual Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2019. 36(2): p. 124-148.

[78] Nedeltcheva, G. and E. Shoikova, Innovation through design thinking, user experience and agile: Towards cooperation framework. Електротехника и електроника, 2018. 53(1-2): p. 42-49.

[79] Hassi, L. and M. Laakso. Design thinking in the management discourse: Defining the elements of the concept. in 18th International Product Development Management Conference, IPDMC. 2011.

[80] Dijksterhuis, E. and G. Silvius, The design thinking approach to projects. The Journal of Modern Project Management, 2017. 4(3).

[81] Ewin, N., et al., Rethinking project management education: a humanistic approach based on design thinking. Procedia Computer Science, 2017. 121: p. 503-510.

[82] Rauth, I., L. Carlgren, and M. Elmquist, Making it happen: Legitimizing design thinking in large organizations. Design Management Journal, 2014. 9(1): p. 47-60.

[83] Karimi, A., N. Mohammadi, and S. Sakhteh, Opportunities and threats facing early-stage digital startups during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Socioeconomic Dynamics of the COVID-19 Crisis: Global, Regional, and Local Perspectives. 2022, Springer. p. 83-99.

[84] Budden, P., F. Murray, and O. Ukuku, Differentiating small enterprises in the innovation economy: Start-ups, new SMEs & other growth ventures. 2021, MIT Innovation Initiative.

[85] Ramakrishna, Y., R. Agarwal, and L. Indiran, Strategies for Developing Entrepreneurial Start-Up Scalability and Sustainability, in Innovation and Resource Management Strategies for Startups Development. 2024, IGI Global. p. 215-235.

[86] Cavallo, A., et al., Fostering digital entrepreneurship from startup to scaleup: The role of venture capital funds and angel groups. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2019. 145: p. 24-35.

[87] Burnell, D., R. Stevenson, and G. Fisher, Early-stage business model experimentation and pivoting. Journal of Business Venturing, 2023. 38(4): p. 106314.

[88] Razak, N., et al., Exploring Digital Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Study on New Business Models and Digital Marketing Strategies. Golden Ratio of Marketing and Applied Psychology of Business, 2024. 4(2): p. 140-151.

[89] Joel, O.T. and V.U. Oguanobi, Data-driven strategies for business expansion: Utilizing predictive analytics for enhanced profitability and opportunity identification. International Journal of Frontiers in Engineering and Technology Research, 2024. 6(02): p. 071-081.

[90] Men, L.R., Z.F. Chen, and Y.G. Ji, Cultivating relationships with startup employees: the role of entrepreneurs’ leadership communication. Management Communication Quarterly, 2021. 35(4): p. 518-545.

[91] Jun, W.-S., H.-T. Yi, and F.E. Amenuvor, The effect of startup marketing agility on new product creativity and new product performance: the moderating effect of technological turbulence. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 2024.

[92] Shaikh, Z.P., Importance of Agility and Innovation Potential in Business: Transforming Organizational Structures and Processes, in Business Transformation in the Era of Digital Disruption. 2025, IGI Global. p. 213-236.

Downloads

Published

17-12-2024

How to Cite

1.
Madanchian M, Taherdoost H. Navigating the New Frontier: Exploring Emerging Trends and Strategies in Startup Innovation. EAI Endorsed Scal Inf Syst [Internet]. 2024 Dec. 17 [cited 2024 Dec. 22];12(1). Available from: https://publications.eai.eu/index.php/sis/article/view/6062