Overcoming commercialization challenges in science-based business: Strategies for advanced materials ventures

Science-based businesses have become the main drivers of commercialization for radical technological advances, but face high technology uncertainty over long time frames, and the need for both significant complementary assets and substantial financing. Advanced materials ventures are a sparsely studied type of science-based business, though sufficiently different from others, such as biotech, to merit individual study. What strategies do advanced materials ventures use to overcome their daunting commercialization challenges? To address this question, this paper draws on literature on value creation and advanced materials commercialization, and presents evidence from a sample of 43 advanced materials ventures. Through a hierarchical cluster analysis, the sample was subdivided into nanomaterials, performance materials, and fuel cell ventures: subgroup commercialization characteristics are described and compared. Through analysis of sample variables, success metrics, and case studies, we identify successful commercialization strategies according to subgroup. Our findings suggest that embracing uncertainty enhances value creation for nanomaterials and performance materials ventures but can diminish value creation for ventures commercializing fuel cell technologies.