Defining Invention X's Market Potential
Heinonen, Jaana (2016)
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016102515419
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016102515419
Tiivistelmä
Tampere University of Technology has created a new technology for measuring ultrafine particles from air. In order to commercialize the invention, a TEKES-funded project was started on January 1st 2016. The project has four phases: (1) discovering the market potential, (2) building a prototype, (3) calibrating and testing, (4) formulating an overall strategy and creating a business plan. The main research question, and at the same time, the ultimate objective, is to investigate phase 1 in order to understand what is the market potential of Invention X. The research design and the plan for this study are aimed at facilitating phase 4, i.e. overall strategy formulation and business planning.
This study has five interlinked objectives: the first is to identify and segment potential customers, the second is to discover which product-related features are of value to the customers, the third is to carry out an analysis of the competition, the fourth is to acquire knowledge of the market environment, and the fifth and the final objective is to estimate the market potential. This study has been framed carefully in order to meet the research objectives. Therefore, the most obvious potential customer segments, research & academia and the filtration industry, were first selected for further analysis.
The theoretical part of this study has been designed in a way that supports the empirical research part of this study. It scrutinizes different layers of the business environment and presents the main frameworks for understanding the external market environment and, concepts for better understanding the competitive landscape, the customers’ needs, and the innovation’s capabilities. The two main theoretical frameworks for understanding the external environment, Porter’s Five Forces framework and Kim et al.’s Blue Ocean strategy represent opposite views on how to assess the external market environment, as well as the competitive landscape. In addition, Osterwalder’s framework is used to assess the customers’ needs, and the study also presents the main theories on how to segment, position, and target the customers. Finally, the theoretical part of the study defines which tools can be used for assessing the invention’s capabilities.
The selected research strategy is action research which relies on co-operation between the researcher and the project’s sponsor. The research in this study is based on a mixed-method sequential exploratory research design where qualitative methods are followed by quantitative ones. In the qualitative part of this study, 16 semi-structured interviews were analyzed. The quantitative part consists of desktop research where the market-related data was used to estimate the market potential of Invention X. As a result, the main findings based on the interviews and the market potential’s monetary value were presented to the project’s steering committee on August 15th 2016. Invention X’s market potential in pre-selected segments, i.e. research & academia and the filtration industry, was found to be unfeasible from an economic perspective but the final outcome of phase 1 of the project is to continue investigating the new technology’s potential for the clean rooms’ market.
This study has five interlinked objectives: the first is to identify and segment potential customers, the second is to discover which product-related features are of value to the customers, the third is to carry out an analysis of the competition, the fourth is to acquire knowledge of the market environment, and the fifth and the final objective is to estimate the market potential. This study has been framed carefully in order to meet the research objectives. Therefore, the most obvious potential customer segments, research & academia and the filtration industry, were first selected for further analysis.
The theoretical part of this study has been designed in a way that supports the empirical research part of this study. It scrutinizes different layers of the business environment and presents the main frameworks for understanding the external market environment and, concepts for better understanding the competitive landscape, the customers’ needs, and the innovation’s capabilities. The two main theoretical frameworks for understanding the external environment, Porter’s Five Forces framework and Kim et al.’s Blue Ocean strategy represent opposite views on how to assess the external market environment, as well as the competitive landscape. In addition, Osterwalder’s framework is used to assess the customers’ needs, and the study also presents the main theories on how to segment, position, and target the customers. Finally, the theoretical part of the study defines which tools can be used for assessing the invention’s capabilities.
The selected research strategy is action research which relies on co-operation between the researcher and the project’s sponsor. The research in this study is based on a mixed-method sequential exploratory research design where qualitative methods are followed by quantitative ones. In the qualitative part of this study, 16 semi-structured interviews were analyzed. The quantitative part consists of desktop research where the market-related data was used to estimate the market potential of Invention X. As a result, the main findings based on the interviews and the market potential’s monetary value were presented to the project’s steering committee on August 15th 2016. Invention X’s market potential in pre-selected segments, i.e. research & academia and the filtration industry, was found to be unfeasible from an economic perspective but the final outcome of phase 1 of the project is to continue investigating the new technology’s potential for the clean rooms’ market.