ATMOPPI

Anchoring in Mountain Territory and Performance of the Inovation Process

Companies in the outdoor sports sector operate in very competitive markets, on which it is important to innovate in order to stand out. For these companies, setting up close to their market and practice areas is essential, in particular in order to be as close as possible to end users to better understand their needs and uses. However, the challenges and difficulties linked to this geographic location remain poorly understood, in a context of internationalization of customers and competition.

In this perspective, this project proposes to question the influence of the anchoring of companies in a mountain area on their performance in terms of innovation and intends to contribute to enriching current work on two points. Firstly, it will be a question of checking whether the mountain territorial anchoring plays a particular and differentiated role on each of the four phases of the business innovation process (the recognition of a need, the search for solutions, the development and marketing). Secondly, it is a question of identifying the levers mobilized by sports companies to circumvent the obstacles generated by this choice of geographic location.

The project will analyze two main European mountain territories: Savoie Mont Blanc for France and the Dolomites for Italy. This project is funded by the ITTEM labex.

Main project leader: Catherine THEVENARD-PUTHOD