Exaptation as Innovation Strategy? Evidence from the Medical Device Industry.

Exaptation constitutes an alternative mechanism to adaptation in a firm's diversification efforts. The intentional repurposing of existing solutions or technologies for new functions in new domains constitutes a little-understood effort in the innovation strategy of firms. We build upon Andriani et al. (2017) pioneering work on the pharmaceutical industry to uncover the exaptation dynamics in the medical device industry, known for its rapid growth and innovativeness. We study over 45,000 product registrations in the last two decades to 1) validate the existence of exaptation behavior, 2) identify the firm-level characteristics, and 3) understand the main antecedents and their effect on exaptation as a diversification innovation strategy. We contribute to the emerging literature on exaptation by suggesting how it is part of the innovation strategy of firms that use it to reinforce their position in known application domains (inwards) instead of supporting efforts to diversify building new functions for new markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]