Network-based innovation: the case for mobile gaming and digital music

Purpose – This paper aims to identify, analyze and discuss a potential new business opportunity that arises from the intersection of the digital music and game industries across borders throughout network-based innovation approach. Design/methodology/approach – The research draws on review of industry and academic literature, two online surveys and interviews, overall encompassed by a interpretative exploratory research methodology strategy. Findings – The study supports the interest and potential for developing new products that combine digital music and casual digital games and that draw on firms from more than one region, while potentially involving a wide set of social network key stakeholders. Research limitations/implications – This is an exploratory study in which findings should be challenged by confirmatory studies, including new product design and development of modeling techniques and network-based innovation approaches. This research contributes for the generation of new insights over technological and social driving forces, as well as emerging trends that shed light on the global competitiveness and on convergence of mobile gaming and digital music industries at regional innovation systems view. It also discusses spillover mechanisms based on new knowledge creation, knowledge diffusion and knowledge appropriation throughout the key stakeholders. The customer-centric innovation and network value autocorrelation hypothesis was validated, and both technology convergence and social factors are enhancement factors for innovation. Limitations and further research with larger sampling, specialization techniques and empirical modeling to in-depth analysis is suggested. Practical implications – The study provides a framework for managers to develop new products that merges boundaries of related industries and encourages network-based innovation and cooperation between industry players, involving different regions. Ultimately, it shows opportunities of diversification, by introducing new products into new markets, as result of interdependence, soft factors, knowledge spillover and absorptive capacity mechanisms over a network of key stakeholders across different regions throughout customer-centric innovation, while impacting also new discussion on entrepreneurship and knowledge spillover theory and policy making. Social implications – Social capital network is key for innovation and knowledge spillover among industry players. Content creation regarding products and services show high dependence on spatial external cultural influences, tastes and habits for customer-centric innovation, while impacting on social and learning customer experience, as well. Originality/value – The paper has value for product development and innovation managers, researchers and practitioners. It discusses the value of innovation systems that are purposively developed beyond traditional geographic and industry boundaries.