Building and renewing competitive advantage in emerging technological domains: technology startups and innovation communities

The emerging technology company is in a dynamic environment where everything is changing turbulently, not only the actors but also the environment itself. For such emerging companies it is crucial to rely on local innovation communities in order to build and maintain a competitive advantage while balancing a number of paradoxes relater to their involvement in these communities. By summarizing the related academic research and by interviewing participants in innovation communities focusing on emerging technologies, both in Canada and China, this research hopes to help identify the most effective strategies for leveraging innovation communities in order to develop and maintain the competitive advantage. The industrial partner will gain a better understanding of the business environment and of the strategies to gain an advantage in both Canadian and Chinese market. It will also help the partner and other firms to bridge the cultural gap between different entrepreneurial environments when globalizing the program and the market.

Faculty Supervisor:

Serghei Floricel

Student:

Laichen HE

Partner:

OVA Inc

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Information and cultural industries

University:

Université du Québec à Montréal