Master Thesis on Go-to-Market Approaches for New Products and Technologies in Capital-Intensive Industries

A student supervised by ESTT staff finished the master thesis “Go-to-Market Approaches for New Products and Technologies in Capital-Intensive Industries”. Here is the abstract: The core product sold by capital-intensive industry companies remained similar over the last decades and only required little changes. Increasingly, these companies see a need to innovate and create new products to subsequently take them to the market. The question this thesis tries to answer is focused on how they can best take these new products and technologies to market. Based on multi-method approach following a grounded theory research methodology, the thesis tries to find out what the most appropriate go-to-market approaches for new products and technologies are. The results show a multitude of go-to-market approaches both strategic and tactical that are assessed based on eligibility for the capital-intensive industry and the type of innovation. Many capital-intensive industry companies have been found to make use of existing go-to-market approaches such as existing distribution channels and established B2B relationships to bring their new products and technologies to market. What is more, a shift towards industrial product-service systems (IPS2) has allowed many companies to bring new products to market via unique services, especially if new products are very complex. These results suggest that companies need to increase service levels to serve these IPS2 products and to become effective solution providers rather than simple commodity product suppliers. To achieve this transition, firms should focus on recruitment and development of new talent to ensure high quality services with their new offerings. Lastly, firms can make use of digital technologies such as digital twin technology to provide new products and technologies to customers more smoothly and in a customized way. Concerning the question of how to enter new markets with new technologies, capital-intensive industry companies have a multitude of options available. For sensitive technological intellectual property, companies can use simple forms such as exporting or distribution partnerships. For other markets, joint ventures and strategic alliances have also been found to be a fruitful form of market entry for new products and technologies.