What is so Special about Media Innovations? A Characterization of the Field

Based on existing research in media economics, media management, as well as media history, this paper analyzes the characteristics of media innovations. These media-specific attributes help distinguish media innovation from other types of innovation and justify the necessity to establish a distinct field of research on media innovation. As a result, eight attributes are presented. These attributes refer to media innovations both as products and as processes. They characterize media innovations as multidimensional and risky products and highlight the importance of approaching media innovation development as interactive, long-term processes that go beyond the control of particular media organizations. In conclusion, implications with respect to studying media innovations from an interdisciplinary perspective are derived. Relevance of studying media phenomena as innovations Since its advent in the theoretical work of Schumpeter (1934), the study of innovation has developed into one of the core areas of research within economics (c.f. Fagerberg, Mowery, & Nelson, 2010; Shavinina, 2003). For both scholars and practitioners, innovation is seen as a core construct to face the challenges of changing social, economic as well as technological environments, and to survive in highly competitive markets (c.f. Küng, 2013, p. 9). At the same time, media