Understanding Innovation Processes: A Multi-Stage Marketing Perspective in the Automotive Context

Successful innovation processes involve multiple actors with distinct objectives, resources, and competences across different stages of value creation. Close collaboration among relevant stakeholders is therefore essential, yet it also entails substantial coordination and alignment challenges. Drawing on a multi-method research design, this study examines the development and market introduction of an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) for passenger vehicles across multiple market stages. The findings conceptually and empirically demonstrate how stakeholders’ heterogeneous goal structures and value assessments influence the innovation process across stages. In particular, the results reveal that the absence of a multi-stage marketing (MSM) perspective can lead to misalignments that adversely affect the progression and market success of the innovation. The study further provides insights into how innovation processes can be systematically designed across market stages to ensure end-user orientation and economic viability. By integrating a multi-stage marketing perspective into innovation research, this paper contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of innovation processes in complex, multi-actor environments.