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Shopping for Buyers of Product Development Expertise:: How Video Games Developers Stay Ahead

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  • Readman, Jeff
  • Grantham, Andrew

Abstract

This paper draws upon the strategy literature to provide a number of insights into what constitute the critical external drivers influencing strategy and the nature of the internal resources firms require to sustain their competitive advantage. The paper reviews the market- and resource-based views of the firm and argues that the activities of buyers directly and indirectly contribute to the innovation process of a firm as 'signallers', 'revealers' and 'collaborators'. Examples are drawn from the video games industry which has particular constraints coupled with buyer and innovation demands arising out of fast-changing technologies, markets and resources that have ever-shortening shelf lives; namely, characters, title franchises and gaming/technology platforms. We suggest that, for the video game industry, buyers particularly value firms' dynamic capabilities, specifically those capabilities that contribute to product creation and product development capabilities of 'super developers' over other considerations.

Suggested Citation

  • Readman, Jeff & Grantham, Andrew, 2006. "Shopping for Buyers of Product Development Expertise:: How Video Games Developers Stay Ahead," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 256-269, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:24:y:2006:i:4:p:256-269
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    Cited by:

    1. Goumagias, Nikolaos & Fernandes, Kiran Jude & Nucciarelli, Alberto & Li, Feng, 2022. "How to overcome path dependency through resource reconfiguration," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 78-91.
    2. Christina Teipen, 2016. "The Implications of the Value Chain and Financial Institutions for Work and Employment: Insights from the Video Game Industry in Poland, Sweden and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(2), pages 311-333, June.
    3. Cabras, Ignazio & Goumagias, Nikolaos D. & Fernandes, Kiran & Cowling, Peter & Li, Feng & Kudenko, Daniel & Devlin, Sam & Nucciarelli, Alberto, 2017. "Exploring survival rates of companies in the UK video-games industry: An empirical study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 305-314.
    4. G. J. (Joost) Rietveld, 2011. "Profiting from Digitally Distributed Cultural Products: The Case of Content Producers in the Video Games Industry," Chapters, in: Killian J. McCarthy & Maya Fiolet & Wilfred Dolfsma (ed.), The Nature of the New Firm, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Wu, Yuanyuan & Wu, Shikui, 2016. "Managing ambidexterity in creative industries: A survey," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 2388-2396.
    6. Muratbekova-Touron, Maral & Galindo, Géraldine, 2018. "Leveraging psychological contracts as an HR strategy: The case of software developers," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 717-726.
    7. Patrycja Klimas & Wojciech Czakon, 2018. "Organizational innovativeness and coopetition: a study of video game developers," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 469-497, March.
    8. Marc Bogdanowicz & Giuditta de Prato & Daniel Nepelski & Jean-Paul Simon & Wainer Lusoli, 2010. "Born Digital / Grown Digital: Assessing the Future Competitiveness of the EU Video Games Software Industry," JRC Research Reports JRC60711, Joint Research Centre.
    9. Stefan Koch & Michael Bierbamer, 2016. "Opening your product: impact of user innovations and their distribution platform on video game success," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 26(4), pages 357-368, November.
    10. Eriksson, Taina, 2014. "Processes, antecedents and outcomes of dynamic capabilities," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 65-82.

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