A Knowledge Spillover-based Approach to New Product Conceptualization

Abstract

Entrepreneurship continues to be of the utmost importance in terms of national economic and industrial development. The formation of new companies (start-ups) encourages the creation of employment which in turn boosts economic activity. This growth, however, requires constant innovation within the start-ups. It is recognized that the process of innovation development is affected by a start-up‘s ability to capture knowledge spillovers which depends upon both external and internal factors. This paper proposes a conceptual model based on knowledge spillovers and their influence on the capture of new knowledge and its transformation into economic knowledge. We introduce and discuss various definitions, debating knowledge spillover theory, to provide a model based on classifications of cognitive and geographical proximity. Further discussion is provided against the product conceptualization process for start-ups.