A thesis in 100 words

Motorola A920:
Early 3G mobile
2003
Motorola lost $4B 2007-9
Sold to Google.

Two versions of a 100 word abstract for the final thesis award:

1.In this thesis, I examine how mobile phone consumers understand and experience value in 3G mobile phones, from the perspective of innovation theory. Value is an important concept in innovation theory, but it is only partly analysed and defined. This thesis opens and explores the black box of value, to analyse and define value as fully as possible, to better understand innovation, particularly how and why consumers adopt innovation in the form of a new technology. A focus on value expands the way innovation is defined from something new and different to something new and useful or otherwise valuable.

2.Why do innovations fail? Why do new technologies go unused? How do consumers decide if they want to buy a new technology? I interviewed 3G mobile phone consumers to find out. What came out was an emphasis on value. Value is tricky because it is so complex. Value is personal, social, and sensitive to new information. 3G consumers described 80 types of value I summarized to 12 value meanings. I developed a process model of value. Value expands innovation beyond the new to the new and useful.

The peer reviewed copy

The informal explanation

A third version (follows what is it about; why it is important; what did you find; how does it change anything):

3.This thesis explains how and why consumers buy 3G mobile phones, to better explain how consumers understand innovation in a dynamic environment. Innovation theory has focussed to heavily on understanding how firms manage innovation, and on innovation narrowly as something novel and different. Value emerged from my analysis as a better explanation for and process of consumers' adopting new technology. I found 12 value meanings and practices which analyse consumer valuing as complex, subjective, social and sensitive to new information. A value perspective expands innovation definition from new and different to new and useful or otherwise valuable.

Which do you prefer?

iPhone 3G:
2009 advertisement for App Store
1B app downloads in first ten months
Largest public company in world 2011.
Grew from #300 (2003) to #5 (2013): Fortune 500. 

Nearly there:... "Once you have confirmed that your field of study and thesis title are correct and have added your 100 word abstract, you will be considered to have met the requirements of the degree..."