Signs of Potentially Disruptive Innovation in the Space Sector

Abstract

This paper reviews and analyses some specific conditions for innovation in the European space sector. Innovation has enabled the first steps of humans into space and remained a key central parameter ever since. On the other hand, the space sector lacks key parameters encouraging innovation. While governments have put in place instruments to overcome these deficiencies, the current mechanisms seem to address mainly incremental/sustaining innovation. It is argued that this situation might be leaving the space sector prone to changes coming from radical and disruptive innovation. Applying mechanisms developed for understanding disruptive innovation processes in the private sector, two specific current developments in the space sector are analyzed.

Citation

Summerer, L. (2011), "Signs of Potentially Disruptive Innovation in the Space Sector", International Journal of Innovation Science, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 127-140. https://doi.org/10.1260/1757-2223.3.3.127