The pre-commercialization emergence of the combination of product features in the charge-coupled device image sensor

Research Summary: Despite recent investigations that expand our understanding of the evolution of a new industry and the role of its early actors, an exploration of the critical function of firm experimentation in the pre-commercialization phase has been lacking in the literature. This study focuses on the pre-commercialization phase of CCD image sensors and uncovers the emergence of the combination of product features—chosen through systematic experimentations—that define the post-commercialization dominant design. Managerial Summary: We examine how pre-commercialization experimentation generates new knowledge that transfers from one early actor to another enabling them to sequentially mitigate the product performance trade-offs associated with the combination of product features that define the eventual dominant design. Our findings describe how firm experimentation helps the emergence of product features in the pre-commercialization phase of CCD image sensors, which shapes the post-commercialization dominant design to emerge.