Innovation in Action: Success Drivers in Product Development
(A2025-124185)

AUTHORS

Lennart Reissner, University of Mannheim; Arnd Vomberg, HEC Paris; Vardan Avagyan, Erasmus School of Economics; Margherita Caprara, Bocconi University; Frank Germann, University of Notre Dame

ABSTRACT

Marketing innovation research has evolved from consumer adoption to identifying diverse innovation drivers. This session offers fresh insights by presenting cutting-edge research on resource allocation, leadership diversity, lean startup methods, and employee satisfaction. “Innovation Speed: Do Firm’s Knowledge Resources Help or Hurt?” by Vardan Avagyan (Erasmus University), Nuno Camacho (Erasmus University), and Stefan Stremersch (Erasmus University and Ghent University): We find that firms’ resource reallocation capabilities increase innovation speed for both discontinued and launched projects. In contrast, external partnering and innovation decision experience reduce innovation speed for both discontinued and launched projects. These findings help firms identify when they are at greater risk of low innovation speed and inspire them to remedy such risk. “Leaders as Consumers: How Diversity and Spending Behavior in the Top Management Team Shape Innovation Focus” by Margherita Caprara (Bocconi University), Paola Cillo (Bocconi University), and Gaia Rubera (Bocconi University): This study examines how top management team (TMT) diversity and personal spending behaviors influence innovation focus. Using patent, company, and top managers’ consumer data, we find a positive relationship between female influence in TMTs and female-focused innovation. Additionally, initial evidence suggests that personal spending behaviors and demographics, such as having daughters, positively impact female-focused innovation, while donations to religious entities and children’s causes enhance innovation catering to vulnerable groups. “Experimentation in Product Development: Testing the Effectiveness of the Lean Start-up Methodology” by Frank Germann (University of Notre Dame), Stephen Anderson (Texas A&M University), Juan Espinosa-Balbuena (London Business School), and Sridhar Narayanan (Stanford University): The lean startup methodology has emerged as a dominant entrepreneurial approach, yet there is limited empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness in improving firm outcomes. This study examines the causal impact of the lean startup methodology on entrepreneurial experimentation and firm performance through a randomized controlled field experiment with 1,024 entrepreneurs in remote areas of Uganda and Kenya. “Is Harmony a Hindrance? How Oversatiation in Collective Employee Satisfaction May Counteract Innovativeness” by Lennart Reissner (University of Mannheim), Arnd Vomberg (HEC Paris), Andreas Bayerl (Erasmus University): Studying a large-scale dataset of online employer reviews and patents, we find an inverted U-shape, suggesting that very high levels of satisfaction can be associated with a decline in innovativeness. We investigate factors behind this relation, including how differences in individual job satisfaction across employees may defer these potentially negative outcomes of collective employee satisfaction.