Global Journal of Management and Business Research, E: Marketing, Volume 21 Issue 4

receiving feedback on the attributes of the developing new technology and adapting them to transform the technology to create a superior product with demand. It is then that the potential of commercial success could increase. The study findings for the predictor variable market orientation supports the findings of past studies. The results support the empirical findings of Radosevic and Yoruk, (2012) and again validated with more recent studies by Wang, Zhao and Voss, 2016; Chunbo, 2017; Kadir and Shamsudin 2019. These studies have been carried out in different countries, strengthening the empirical findings further in this area. While the study highlights the importance of MO in the commercial success of the patent it also highlights the difference of MO based on patent ownership tested through a t-test where the patents owned by individuals indicated lower mean value (2.86) compared to patents owned by organisations (mean value of 3.55). The study data reveals that organisation- owned patents were stronger patents as they were subject to market scrutiny and evaluation and reflected it in the technologies characteristics or features that were trialled with potential users, thus enabling the patents to have higher commercial success. The difference between the two groups was mainly due to the individual inventors lacking funds to continue with prototypes and testing them with potential consumers. This finding has significant implications for the individual patent holder and innovation policymakers who need to assist them in accessing funds to build prototypes and test them with potential users. Individual patent holders must have access to venture capital and other external financing avenues that will facilitate and assist in reaping economic value from patented inventions as they dominate the country's innovation landscape. This could be in the form of grants or loans underwritten by the government and linked to favourable payment plans based on revenue generation from the successful commercialisation of the patent. This would enable individual patent holders who commercialise their patented technology by startups or existing SMEs to increase the economic value generation through upscaling. Multi-disciplinary services and skills are also required during the commercialising stage, which the individual patent holder may not possess but would need to acquire for commercial success. Inventors possessing services such as marketing, management, manufacturing in-house stands to increase the probability of commercialising. Therefore, access to such disciplines is also essential to both groups. The study findings for the predictor variable diffusion helps to predict the success of commercialisation based on the new technology adoption characteristics. The findings help evaluate and understand the current level of innovation characteristics that would enable the diffusion of patented innovation in Sri Lanka. The study results support the findings of past studies carried out by Chunbo 2018; Ostlund 1974; Lo, Wang, Chien and Hung 2012. It indicates the importance of developing technology characteristics that are in line with market demand, leading to a higher potential of commercial success. Innovations meeting the market orientation and diffusion criteria would also lead to higher valued patents that could then be supported and backed by the state to further the commercial potential through patent registration in other countries and negotiating with overseas patent buyers and local manufacturers for profitable licensing and other contracting. VI. C onclusion and M anagerial C ontribution © 2021 Global Journals Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXI Issue IV Version I Year 2021 ( ) E 40 The Impact of Market Orientation and Diffusion on Commercial Success of Patented Innovation in Sri Lanka This study contributes to the body of knowledge in various ways. Firstly, the study model is tested in a national setting combining different patent ownership categories, which are scarce, especially in the context of developing counties. Most innovation studies carried out concentrate on a single ownership category, most often based on organisations such as technology transfers or commercialising of IHL innovations or technology transfers or commercialising of GRI innovations or limited to technology spin-off or startup organisations commercial performance. Studies that combine ownership groups in a wide range of industries, as in this study, is rare. The study also contributes to an area of limited literature by studying innovation diffusion based on the characteristics of the innovation. It examines 5 innovation characteristics in a national setting across several innovations. Studies that exist either use one or two characteristics or limit the research to a specific innovation. As a result of these two limitations, the reliability and replicability are low (Tornatzky and Klein, 1982). This study uses the characteristic of innovation for diffusion in a replicable model, using tested and reliable measures with statistical power to predict the outcome, contributing to this knowledge gap. As a result, the study gives deep insight into the use and practice of two critical variables identified as necessary for the commercial success of new technology by empirically validating the use of the Market Orientation variable and the Diffusion variable along with its use by innovation ownership in the commercialising process which is represented in this study by patents. Every research study has its limitations that arise from the methodology, research context, or biases from survey respondents. The sampling process in this study combines three ownership segments: IHL's, GRI's, and Commercial organisations under one ownership category of Organisations. These three segments would most likely vary in their research needs, research