Product innovation as micro-strategy

Diversification strategy discussions had relatively little focus on the unintentional diversification caused by a product innovation that does not match the existing business strategy of a company. The objective of the study is to deepen the understanding of product innovation-based diversification as a corporate micro-strategy. The new theory development is illustrated by a case study. A finding is that the micro-view offers a way to better understand the innovation-based diversification, which is an unavoidable consequence of any product innovation in a company. Another finding is that the diversification indicators operate beyond the limits of the coherent product innovation concept.