The Right Timing: A Crucial Factor To Launch An Innovation Successfully

Launching a new product or service is a delicate balancing act. Without a feasible way to gauge when consumers and stakeholders are ready, a new product/service release remains a risky venture. A recent research article by Robinson and Veresiu tackles this challenge by introducing the concept of 'temporal legitimacy' — launching a product when both the company and its customers are ready.1 The framework provided by the article can help businesses decide the best time to release a product, thus increasing the chances of success and reducing the risk of failure. Our essay offers practical insights for product development managers, marketing managers and innovation strategists on how they can time new product and service launches while avoiding the pitfalls of poorly timed innovation.