Critical Success Factors for Radical Technological Innovation: A Five Case Study

Abstract

We analyze the critical success factors for radical technological innovation according to four perspectives: as R&D projects, as technological innovations, as internal ventures, and as changes in corporate strategy. We apply ex‐post eleven critical success factors to the pairwaise comparison of three radical innovations: GE Project EHV‐UHV (success), GE non‐impact printer (failure), and Xerox non‐impact printer (success). We then apply ex‐ante the same factors to “predict” the failure of Motorola’s Iridium satellite communication system and the success of Nokia’s cellular phones.