Subsequent niche strategies for high-tech products during market formation

The article focuses on market formation for radically new high-tech products. Niche strategies are usually adopted by companies during market formation, prior to the start of large-scale diffusion. We explore why these niche strategies emerge and how they change over time, in two case-studies: Nylon and Dual Clutch Technology. We found different mechanisms explaining the logic of subsequent niche strategies during market formation. One mechanism is that a niche strategy can remove or create a barrier that then, in turn, changes the market situation so a new niche strategy must be adopted. Another mechanism is that external developments change the market situation so a new strategy is required. Our work is managerially relevant because it provides a practical tool for companies. Theoretically our work is relevant because it indicates the mechanisms driving market formation for radically new high-tech products.