Authors: Ruokolainen, jari
This paper aims at studying the role of a small community in constructing the market for a new actor’s product. This paper is based on the experience and notes collected from software technology entrepreneurs and from their stakeholders operating in Phuket. Phuket is a tourist destination place which competes against other similar places in Southeast Asia. The tourism industry in Phuket needs innovative information technology solutions to ensure its competitiveness. The multiple case study approach has been applied with several embedded levels: community, industrial district and actor. An actor can be a company or a function in a community. The first case study proposed that the market entry of new actors is supported by Marshalian industrial districts with its Italianate variant. It can be conclude that a first reference customer signal to other actors in the community to join in developing the competencies of the start-up technology companies in question. The resources of one customer are often limited to keep a start-up technology company alive, and thus to provide the technology needed by the customers. The second case study illustrates how the joint contributions to develop the competencies of a human resource supplier were lacking. The software industry as a community is relatively new in Phuket and does not posses the knowledge of how to cooperate as a purchaser for developing competencies of a supplier jointly. The conclusion of this paper is that success in a new business is dependent on customers’ and entrepreneurs’ joint contributions to develop their community. The results indicate that business is more than competing against each other: it is also about working in order to help the community develop itself by fostering new actors.
Journal: n.a. (n.a. – n.a.)
Web Address: n.a.
Publish Year: 2010
Conference: Budapest, Hungary (2010)