Emerging sectors and entrepreneurial players: The case for internet of things technologies

Academic debate on the role of new and established firms in the development of new technologies and sectors has a very long track record. In line with Schumpeter, the dominant paradigm is that new entrepreneurial ventures will act as vehicles for introducing new technology and in the long run will replace incumbent firms that have grown thanks to mature technologies. More recent studies show, however, that in some cases there is a positive but specific role for both new and established companies with a leading role played, in the perspective of the Open innovation philosophy, by networking initiatives between technology start–ups and established firms. Our research is explorative in nature and focuses on the dynamics of interaction and co–evolution among entrepreneurial players (incumbents and newcomers) in the emerging context of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Furthermore, it illustrates for the first time the diverse but positive roles played by start–up and incumbent firms in the emerging sector of IoT.