Technology innovators
Technology innovators rely in new technologies, these technologies nay wall be associated with scientific breakthroughs. These technologies go into new products that are sold in established markets. They are, to use the terminology mentioned earlier, complementary products, as they enter the market alongside existing products. As Christensen (1997) has noted, however, they often threaten incumbent firms because they deliver sharply improved performance or meet customer requirements more effectively. Autio gives the example of biotechnology companies offering biodegradable materials, though the case of JCB (see earlier mini-case) would be just as applicable since this was an instance of a new technology – hydraulic actuation – being applied in an existing market, namely the market for mechanical excavators.