Achieving technology dominance for startups: illustrative evidence of the importance of establishing inter-organizational networks

In this paper we study the influence of the network of actors on the chances that a start-up will be successful in commercializing a platform. Scholars that study platform wars have conducted multiple studies of factors that influence platform dominance where the focus lies on factors that can be influenced by the firm (firm-level factors) and factors that are given in specific industries which can hardly be influenced by firms (environmental factors). Few studies have included views from platforms and entrepreneurship to understand the successful commercialization of new platform. A common research approach in both fields of platforms and entrepreneurship is network analyses. In this paper we conceptualize how entrepreneurs can apply network strategies to successfully commercialize their new products in an emerging market in the first phases of the technology dominance process. We illustrate our ideas by means of several examples.