A Classification of Types of Innovative Development of Enterprises – Producers in the Global UAV Industry

Emerging industries open new opportunities for enterprises but are also accompanied by a high level of uncertainty, instability in market segments, and a lack of established business models. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry is a typical example of such an industry where enterprises face a high degree of uncertainty and corresponding challenges. This article presents a classification of enterprises in the UAV sector, conducts a comparative analysis of them, and analyzes the approaches to building an innovation engine that they employ in response to manifestations of uncertainty. As a result of the research, three types of enterprises were identified: UAV startups; industry-changing enterprises; strategic business units within large corporations. For each type, the characteristic manifestations of strategic and market uncertainty are discussed, as well as approaches to building an innovation engine are analyzed. In particular, UAV startups focus on enhancing the existing product, core innovations in still unstructured environments; enterprises that have transformed the industry implement adjacent innovations, adapting existing resources to new markets; strategic business units combine tools for innovation exploration and the exploitation of existing resources within the framework of organizational ambidexterity. The proposed classification allows for a deeper understanding of the specifics of innovation strategies of enterprises in emerging industries and identifies effective approaches to managing development under conditions of uncertainty.