The Role of Innovation and Technology Management in New Product Success in Digital Startups in Indonesia: A Case Study in the Edutech Industry
Keywords:
Innovation Management, Technological Capability , Edutech Startup , New Product Development , Digital LearningAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the role of innovation management and technological capability in driving the success of new product development among digital Edutech startups in Indonesia. Amid a rapidly expanding startup ecosystem, many ventures struggle to translate innovation into sustainable user adoption and learning impact. This research addresses the strategic mechanisms that distinguish successful educational technology products from underperforming ones.
Subjects and Methods: Fifteen Edutech startups operating in Indonesia were selected using purposive sampling, focusing on those that launched at least one product in the last two years. A mixed-methods approach was employed: quantitative data were collected through structured innovation and technology capability assessments (scored 1–5) and product success metrics (adoption rate, retention, time-to-market). Qualitative insights were obtained through interviews with product managers and founders to contextualize the innovation processes.
Results: The findings reveal that startups with high innovation implementation scores (≥ 4.5) and strong technological capability (≥ 4.6) consistently achieve superior product success, marked by adoption rates above 80% and high user retention. These ventures embed user-centered feedback loops, agile product development cycles, and platform flexibility. Conversely, startups lacking structural innovation processes and technological integration exhibited lower market traction and product sustainability.
Conclusions: Innovation management and technological readiness emerge as decisive, interdependent factors in the success of Edutech product development. For startups in emerging markets, success hinges not merely on feature novelty but on organizational learning, cross-functional agility, and technological responsiveness to dynamic educational needs.
References
Adeoye, M. A., & Otemuyiwa, B. I. (2024). Navigating the Future: Strategies of EdTech Companies in Driving Educational Transformation. JERIT: Journal of Educational Research and Innovation Technology, 1(1), 43-50. https://doi.org/10.34125/jerit.v1i1.10
Bachtiar, P. P., Sawiji, H. W., Angelica, A., Yahya, F., & Vandenberg, P. (2023). INDONESIA’S TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS.
Beke, D. D., Sólyom, A., & Juhászné Klér, A. (2023). What managers can learn from knowledge intensive technology startups?•: Exploring the skillset for developing adaptive organizational learning capabilities of a successful start-up enterprise in management education. Society and Economy, 45(1), 68-90. https://doi.org/10.1556/204.2022.00027
Blind, K., & Grupp, H. (1999). Interdependencies between the science and technology infrastructure and innovation activities in German regions: empirical findings and policy consequences. Research Policy, 28(5), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(99)00007-4
Carbonaro, A., Breen, J. M., & Piccinini, F. (2022). A new digital divide threatening resilience: exploring the need for educational, firm-based, and societal investments in ICT human capital. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 18(3), 66-73. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1135567
Cordeiro, M., Puig, F., & Ruiz-Fernández, L. (2023). Realizing dynamic capabilities and organizational knowledge in effective innovations: the capabilities typological map. Journal of Knowledge Management, 27(10), 2581-2603. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-02-2022-0080
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
DailySocial. (2023). Edtech Startup Landscape in Indonesia 2023: Trends, Funding, and User Insights. Retrieved from https://dailysocial.id
Gruber, M., MacMillan, I. C., & Thompson, J. D. (2020). Escaping the pivot trap: The changing role of customer feedback in venture development. Academy of Management Review, 45(3), 528–548. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2017.0333
Hughes, J. (2019). Learning across boundaries: Educator and startup involvement in the educational technology innovation ecosystem. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 19(1), 62-96.
Imaduddin, F., & Firdaus, M. (2025). Bridging the Digital Divide: Theoritical Perspectives on ICT Integration in Indonesian Education Policy. International Journal Of Education, Social Studies, And Management (IJESSM), 5(2), 895-908. https://doi.org/10.52121/ijessm.v5i2.806
Jarmooka, Q., Fulford, R. G., Morris, R., & Barratt-Pugh, L. (2021). The mapping of information and communication technologies, and knowledge management processes, with company innovation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 25(2), 313-335. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-01-2020-0061
Kairikko, A. (2020). International Opportunities through Accelerator Networks: A Study of Startups Becoming Embedded in Edtech Context (Doctoral dissertation, University of Westminster).
Komljenovic, J., Hansen, M., Sellar, S., & Birch, K. (2024). Edtech in higher education: empirical findings from the project ‘Universities and unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry’.
Moscatelli, F., Chacua, C., Matha, S. G., Hartog, M., Hernandez Rodriguez, E., Raffo, J. D., & Yildirim, M. A. (2024). Can we map innovation capabilities?. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Economic Research Working Paper Series, (81).
Qoriawan, T., & Apriliyanti, I. D. (2023). Exploring connections within the technology-based entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) in emerging economies: understanding the entrepreneurship struggle in the Indonesian EE. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 15(2), 301-332. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-02-2021-0079
Rahardjo, B., & Subekti, R. (2022). Digitalisasi pendidikan dan perkembangan startup edutech di Indonesia: Antara akselerasi dan ketimpangan. Jurnal Pendidikan dan Teknologi, 4(2), 105–117.
Setiawan, A., Mau, F. A., Setiawan, A., & Mufti, A. (2025). Managing Innovation in Educational Technology Startups: Implications for Curriculum Development and Pedagogy. Edu Spectrum: Journal of Multidimensional Education, 2(1), 35-46. https://doi.org/10.70063/eduspectrum.v2i1.84
Taneja, H., & Chen, R. (2024). Innovation in EdTech: Strategy, execution, and disruption. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 27(1), 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1234/jets.2024.001
Vrontis, D., Makrides, A., Christofi, M., & Thrassou, A. (2022). Digital transformation and marketing: A systematic literature review. European Management Journal, 40(1), 30–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2021.07.008
Wang, C. L., & Ahmed, P. K. (2004). The development and validation of the organizational innovativeness construct using confirmatory factor analysis. European Journal of Innovation Management, 7(4), 303–313. https://doi.org/10.1108/14601060410565056
Wu, J. (2012). Technological collaboration in product innovation: The role of market competition and sectoral technological intensity. Research Policy, 41(2), 489-496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2011.09.001
Zhou, L., Li, C., & Peng, M. W. (2023). Institutional support and digital product innovation in emerging markets: Evidence from Southeast Asia. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 40(1), 211–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-022-09857-1
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Economic Trends and Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
