INNOVATING FOR MARKET ADOPTION IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Authors

  • Anthon P Botha Department of Engineering and Technology Management, Graduate School of Technology Management, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT, University of Pretoria and TechnoScene (Pty) Ltd, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/30-3-2238

Abstract

Will the market adoption of innovative products and services in the fourth industrial revolution require an alternative reality? This question is investigated in a concept paper in which new product adoption patterns, alternative innovation regimes that include intelligent machines as innovation partners with humans, disruption of the producer, the fourth industrial revolution consumer, and a fundamental change in business models are considered. Thought models are proposed in which these four entities drive a new concept of ‘life-world’ products through which consumers innovate for their own personalisation and customisation, manufacturing plants for volume products become algorithm factories, and the linear value chain is destroyed and replaced by the value network. This happens because the consumer becomes part of the value chain, and overlaps of producer and consumer functions as we know them merge into a new production ecosystem driven by social commerce. Innovation by the consumer takes away the producer’s concerns about market adoption; they may now servitise innovation support. This paper is meant to stimulate academic debate and to initiate research that will validate the thought models it suggests.

Author Biography

Anthon P Botha, Department of Engineering and Technology Management, Graduate School of Technology Management, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT, University of Pretoria and TechnoScene (Pty) Ltd, South Africa

Dr Anthon Botha is Managing Director of TechnoScene (Pty) Ltd, a Future Thinking consultancy that operates in the realms of technology management, innovation management and knowledge management. He is also part time academic at the Graduate School of Technology Management at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

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Published

2019-11-15

How to Cite

Botha, A. P. (2019). INNOVATING FOR MARKET ADOPTION IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 30(3), 187–198. https://doi.org/10.7166/30-3-2238

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019)

Section

Special Edition

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