Business expansion strategies

There is more to business expansion strategies that what's mentioned here, but it is a start

Technology push

Definition: Innovation starts from new technology or technical expertise. The idea is to find or create a market for something that you’re technically capable of building.
My example: “I’m into databases, so I can build database apps for anyone who wants one.”
Historical root: Post-WWII, many believed that scientific discovery naturally led to commercial innovation. This was the linear model of innovation: Basic research → Applied research → Development → Production → Marketing
Key proponents: Early models from economists and policymakers (like those from the U.S. military-industrial research programs) assumed that investing in science would inevitably lead to innovation
Critique: It often neglected whether the market actually needed the innovation.

Definition: The focus is on improving, refining, or selling more of a particular product or product category.
This approach doesn't have a clear general name. E.g.: Product-oriented or product-centric thinking
My example: “I build and sell order entry systems”
Typical phrase: "Product orientation" is used in some literature, but it's less standardized than the other two. Sometimes it's simply considered a product strategy or product-centric growth
This is less of a formal innovation theory and more of a business strategy mindset
Heavily influenced by marketing theory and product management in the 1980s and 1990s, especially through works by scholars like Philip Kotler.
Product orientation focuses on internal strengths: "We make a great product, let's sell more of it." Often contrasted with market orientation, which is more external: "What does the market want?"

Definition: Innovation begins with identifying customer needs or problems and then developing solutions to meet them
My example: “What else do my order entry customers need?”
Typical phrase: “Market pull” is the most common term, but customer-driven or need-driven are also used
Response to tech push: In the 1970s, researchers like Keith Pavitt and Roy Rothwell argued that many innovations begin with market demand or user needs, not with science. Hence the idea of “market pull” or “demand pull"
Emphasis: Customers, users, or markets guide R&D efforts by expressing demand. Innovation is seen as more successful when it solves real problems.

Academic fields concerning these three approaches:

Roy Rothwell’s models of innovation (he laid out 5 generations of innovation models)
Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations
Joseph Schumpeter’s theories on innovation and entrepreneurship (for deeper economic roots).