Planting the seed in the storm: How FoodTech start-ups use crises to diffuse their offering

Abstract: With the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and inflationary pressures, the world has experienced significant crises unfolding right after another in the recent past. Start-ups, being impacted not the least, need to understand how they can use such stormy times to advance market formations beneficial for them. As such, this study seeks to research how start-ups shape markets in crises. While market-shaping has gained significant attention in the literature, the lack of empirical evidence and a comprehensive understanding of the impact of crises on start-ups' market-shaping warrants the need for further theoretical development. This study employs a multiple-case study investigating FoodTech start-ups in Sweden and Germany. Building on grounded theory in conjunction with temporal bracketing, this study provides empirical evidence for the existing theory on market-shaping in times of crisis. Thus, it shows that a vision can be successfully implemented by targeting a niche market with a few key actors and subsequently expanding into the wider market. The study further demonstrates the need for a complementary perspective on market-shaping in crises. This perspective shall include building a pathway to realize the vision through developing technology and operations, as well as anticipating successive crises. The last step involves active waiting by focusing on profitability. As such, this study adds to the body of knowledge in the market-shaping domain by including the angle on the market-shaping steps internal to the focal firm in the context of crises. The contributions can be considered a playbook for managers of FoodTech start-ups that helps them define which actions to take during crises.