Valley of Death: Factors Hindering the Success of Technological Innovation
Abstract
The term Valley of Death (VoD) is a metaphor used to describe a gap or bottleneck that technological innovation projects undergo after the research and development (R&D) stage and before the development of new products and their market launch. This study analyzes the factors involved in the VoD to help define strategies to overcome this situation, thus increasing the chances of success in innovation. For this purpose, interviews were conducted to explore some of its factors and causal relationships. Additionally, this paper reviews secondary information provided by nine innovation intermediaries located in Medellín (Colombia) that manage the VoD to accelerate technological innovation projects prior to the stage of commercial exploitation. One of the most relevant findings is that innovation intermediaries at companies, universities, and support programs agree that the most determining factors for the emergence of the VoD are lack of competences of human resources/poorly distributed roles, dimensional blindness failure, and weak networking. In conclusion, analyzing the factors that lead to the VoD requires a systemic and complex vision that considers different interactions between them.
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