All publication are peer-review
Peer review will take the from of double-blind review Judge objectively and impartially
There is no conflict of interest for the reviewer
Review articles shall be kept strictly confidential prior to publication

Science & Technology Management and Innovation Management

Deepening Application Scenarios for Product Innovation: A Path⁃ way Study of Innovation Consortia  

—A Case Study of NERCRAT 

Yang Jiaoping, Bi Zhuoying

(College of Economics and Management, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China)

Abstract: Against the backdrop of China′s industrial transformation and upgrading along⁃ side the cultivation of new productive forces, establishing innovation consortia and focusing on  application scenarios for in-depth development can help overcome key core technologies, achieving effective integration between scientific research and market applications. However, how innovation consortia can drive scenario-driven innovation and effectively enhance product  innovation performance remains unclear, requiring further research. This paper takes the Na⁃ tional Engineering Research Center for Rubber and Tire(NERCRAT) as a single case study to ex⁃ plore how innovation consortia can improve product innovation performance through in-depth  application scenario development. Application scenarios are categorized into strategic and  market-oriented types. Using semi-structured interviews and secondary data collection, the case  data undergoes structured coding based on the coding suggestions and implementation strategies  proposed by Gioia et al. The study ultimately identifies five core aggregation dimensions: indepth application scenario development, industry-academia-research collaboration, user partici⁃ pation, agile development, and product innovation. The findings demonstrate: ①The endogenous  cycle of innovation consortia′s application scenario cultivation comprises four phases: scenario  demand acquisition, demand transformation, demand fulfillment, and demand tracking; ②These  consortia primarily achieve foundational product innovation through strategic scenario cultiva⁃ tion, while driving application innovation via market-oriented scenario cultivation; ③Strategic  scenario cultivation aligns with industry-academia-research integration pathways, whereas  market-oriented scenario cultivation corresponds to user-driven innovation approaches; ④ By  coordinating both types of scenarios, innovation consortia effectively bridge foundational and ap⁃ plication innovation, enabling agile product development and enhancing innovation performance. Based on the aforementioned findings, this paper proposes the following recommendations for in⁃ novation consortia: ①Grounded in national strategic needs and user demands, accurately iden⁃ tify scenario-specific demands; ②Integrate high-quality resources from multiple stakeholders, fully utilizing both industry-academia-research collaboration and user-driven innovation ap⁃ proaches; ③Coordinate basic and applied research, iteratively refine product innovation strate⁃ gies through trial-and-error learning to shorten product iteration cycles. 

Key words: innovation consortia; application scenarios; product innovation; agile develop⁃ ment; key core technologies; user feedback; scenario-driven; industry-academia-research inte⁃ gration and innovation