Because of globalization, increased competition and technological progress, organizations are increasingly facing an accelerating rate of change in the markets they serve. As the rate of change increases in a product-market, product life cycles become shorter, which in turn puts pressure on companies to increase their speed of product development. Firms that are able to develop products and services faster have the potential to become innovation leaders, a characteristic that has been linked not just to success, but also to survival in changing markets (Christensen, 1997). Organizations should therefore be working toward developing capabilities that help them establish leadership positions in the markets they serve. Leader firms are characterized by superior skills in using market opportunities to steer changes within the firm. They are able to sense demand in advance, which triggers their innovation efforts.
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