Three, two, one, ignition! Exploring the transition process of firms towards the space economy

In recent years, the Space Economy (SE) has increasingly attracted the interest of different companies, including a growing number of firms that have based their business diversification strategy on the development of innovative technologies and solutions in the space landscape. In this context, this paper investigates the transition of firms originally operating in non-space sectors into the SE, aiming to understand how such diversification processes are implemented. Through a multiple case-study analysis which adopts the theoretical lens of the Actor-Resources-Activities framework, this research highlights both commonalities and differences in the trajectories of two entrepreneurial firms shaped by internal resources and external interactions. Our results highlight three key phases of this transition process: (1) evolution of the company; (2) access to the space economy; and (3) consolidation and growth in this industry. Two main contributions are derived from the empirical analysis. Firstly, the transition process towards the SE is characterized by the sequencing of distinctive behaviors—resource upgrading, exploring, visionary jumping, network positioning and exploiting—where “visionary jumping” emerges as a specific feature. Secondly, diversification processes in the SE imply substantial and simultaneous changes along the actor, resource and activities dimensions. These parallel and interdependent changes represent a key challenge for firms in transition towards the SE.