From invention to innovation: the role of knowledge-intensive business services in technology commercialisation.

Firms often fail to shift from laboratory research to product development, and this failure is known as the Valley of Death. Although previous research has found solutions to the problem, the critical role of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in the technology commercialisation and new product development (NPD) of manufacturing firms is often neglected. On the basis of the role theory of product innovation, this study aims to establish a new and comprehensive framework to investigate the role of KIBS in NPD in manufacturing. We identify the critical roles of KIBS as mentor and director, coordinator, strategic leader and gatekeeper, sponsor, and product champion in crossing the fuzzy front end of NPD. We find that manufacturers are likely prone to transform their inventions to innovations and finally benefit from their invented products through KIBS innovative capacity and availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]