The Netherlands: Initiatives to subsidise press innovation

Abstract

Driven by financial pressures, and challenged by rapid technological changes, unpredictable consumer markets, and shortened product life cycles, news media company executives have to be determined to further streamline their operations and stimulate innovation processes, while also looking for ways to make the most money out of their existing product lines. According to early innovation theories, the greater the turbulence and change within an industry, the greater the market opportunities, and the more one should open up one’s horizons to the outside world (e.g. Dean et al. 1993; Utterback 1994). One proven method of creating innovation is by internalising external knowledge (Weerawardena et al. 2006; Hagedoorn 2002; Capron and Mitchell 2004). Moreover, such forms of collaboration help reduce or share the innovation costs (Chesbrough 2007; Sakakibara 2003).