The Emergence of the Smart Home Concept

Abstract: What should be established first, the innovation or the sufficient infrastructure? Similar to the “chicken and the egg” metaphor, is this a struggle many new innovations struggle with. Will customers by an electric car if there is no sufficient infrastructure to use them or will the infrastructure be developed without customers using electric cars? This report focuses on the transition of an infrastructure caused by an innovation and investigates whether or not a collaboration strategy in the form of an ecosystem could ease this transition. This report has the perspective of the infrastructure development from copper to fiber with its main focus on an innovative concept called the Smart Home. Furthermore, the report focuses upon whether its infrastructure could be developed by an ecosystem approach. The authors of this report claims, based on this study, a transition in the infrastructure could be eased through this approach. The respondents were positive regarding collaborations as a way to develop the insufficient infrastructure. It is however important to mention, this approach do only have the potential to develop parts of the infrastructure, it will not be able to develop for instance laws and regulations regarding safety issues.