Commercialization of a Niche Sustainable Microwave AI Technology Innovation : A case study in Percy Roc AB

Abstract: Nowadays, increasing energy costs create challenges for societies. In industries such as manufacturing, energy is one of the basic needs for development, automation, and modernization. The increase in energy costs affects economic growth, especially, in the manufacturing industry which depends on the energy consumption to run their facilities. One of the components that contribute considerably to energy consumption in industry is industrial heating technology. A new technology called microwave heating technology has been developed to tackle the issue of energy costs. The new technology is considered niche because, in contrast to widely used induction heating technologies, it is more environmentally friendly and the embedded AI control algorithm minimizes the loss of energy and time. Microwave heating is becoming prominent amongst other heating technologies because of its ability to transfer heat better and faster inside the material and thus, it generates low energy costs. However, for a niche technological innovation, it is considered difficult to commercialize as consumers have less experience and knowledge about the technology. The study is analyzed using a framework of commercialization of technological innovation that has been developed with a review of existing literature. The data has been sourced from an investigation of the case company and seven semi-structured interviews with niche technological innovation companies to get insights on the practical application of the stages of commercialization of new technological innovation. Based on the empirical data and analysis, the study concludes that a firm should go through different stages, namely market recognition, development, and deployment with a focus on building relationships with customers, establishing partnerships to manage through uncertainties, testing, and being flexible in the decision-making of essential aspects such as pricing model to successfully commercialize their technology innovation. This study also contributes to the literature on the commercialization of niche technological innovations and provides recommendations for the improvement of commercialization processes.