Creating New Industries: The Generative Role of Heterogeneous Actors

How nascent industries evolve and contribute to economic growth and societal advancement has long been a central topic for research and practice. In this review, we focus on the generative role of the heterogeneous actors who contribute to industry creation. Integrating robust literature streams spanning management, economics, marketing, and sociology, we highlight how industries emerge from the purposeful action and interplay of firm and non-firm actors. Our synthesis provides an overarching framework wherein we situate individual research articles based on their examination of actor attributes (endowments; identities; inducements) and actions (when to engage; capability development and reconfiguration; modes of interactions). The engagement and attributes of heterogeneous actors and feedback loops across various actions are critical for outcomes at both industry and actor levels. Our article also reveals opportunities for future research: these include a deeper focus on actor attributes to address the imbalance in studies of firm and non-firm actors, expand attention to a broader set of markets, and examine emerging contexts.