The common innovation process happens in a set frame, following certain rules and ways of thinking. This ‘game played’ by competitors is to innovate by doing what has been done before like product or process innovations or even position and paradigm innovations, but doing it better. In this competition of ‘playing the same game’ some firms manage to do better than others and can gain a competitive advantage through these innovations, but the ‘set of the game’ is accepted and do not change. Very rare something happens that breaks up this framework and changes how the game is played. This will not happen every day but when this arises the rules and boundaries of a market change rapidly. This will result in upcoming new opportunities and challenge the existing players in their way of working, thinking and doing business. A discontinues improvement occurs out of a technological and conditions stable Continue reading
Business Innovation
Four Important Types of Innovation
Innovation is defined as new ideas that work and a successful innovation can be achieved through the creation and implementation of new processes, products, services and methods of delivery which will result in significant improvements in the profitability and enhance the growth of an enterprise. An organization is considered innovative if it stirs up the marketplace, by creating competitive pressures and new opportunities. It has been recognized that innovation success in an established organization requires balancing the stabilized efficiency of the current market offerings and building new capabilities to create and develop offerings for unknown markets. There exist four types of changes to achieve strategic edge within an organization. Managers can use these four types of changes to achieve competitive advantage in the international environment. Each company can have maximum impact upon the chosen market through its own unique configuration of technology, product and services, strategy and structure, and culture Continue reading
Case Study of Rolls Royce: Innovating for the Future
Rolls Royce is a market leader in propulsion and distributed energy systems for both the defense and civil aerospace markets. Their commercial markets cover nuclear, gas turbine, and diesel technologies to power everything from small planes and trains to entire cities. The aerospace applications for innovation are where Rolls Royce has made significant investments and reaped interesting rewards. On the defense side of their business, they have over 16,000 engines in service. In the civil aerospace side of their business, they provide engines to airlines, private business and engines for helicopters. Major Changes in Industry The nature of the aerospace industry has relatively high barriers to entry as the cost for entry is high and requires specific skills and expertise. Nonetheless, the industry has been experiencing growth as the demand for flights increases resulting in the rise of aircraft manufacturing. Several factors have contributed to uncertainty in the aerospace industry Continue reading
Barriers to Innovation and How to Overcome Them
Innovation is doing things in new ways in order to achieve significant results and make a huge difference in performance compared to others. Innovation’s goal is to have a positive change, to make someone or something better. Innovation is also defined as new ideas that work and a successful innovation can be achieved through the creation and implementation of new processes, products, services and methods of delivery which will result in significant improvements in the profitability and enhance the growth of an enterprise. Innovation is a special case of planned change and learning that either transforms current products, services, and markets, or creates an entirely new market by introducing a radically new product or service. An organization is considered innovative if it stirs up the marketplace, by creating competitive pressures and new opportunities. It has been recognized that innovation success in an established organization requires balancing the stabilized efficiency of Continue reading
Case Study of Jack Welch: Leadership that Creates Innovation
When Jack Welch became CEO of General Electric in 1981, he was only the 11th CEO the company had seen in its 120 years of existence. Although GE was a $13 billion a year company, it began showing signs of necessary change as it had reached the stage between maturity and decline. After 20 years at the helm, Jack Welch had turned General Electric (GE) into one of the world’s most successful companies. Welch increased GE’s market value from $13 billion to over $300 billion in 2001. He guided the once struggling company to what was then the biggest corporation in the entire world as well as the most profitable. Through the use of goal setting, empowerment, and communication Welch transformed the gigantic and complacent company into an energized multi-national organization ready to face world competition. Through an analysis of the techniques employed by Welch, one can gain a better Continue reading
Types of Innovation and Mapping the Innovation Space
There are different types of innovation. There are four broad categories of innovation. Following these categories are referred as the 4Ps of innovation: ‘product innovation’ — changes in the things (products/services) which an organization offers. ‘process innovation’ — changes in the ways in which they are created and delivered. ‘position innovation’ — changes in the context in which the products/services are introduced. ‘paradigm innovation’ — changes in the underlying mental models which frame what the organization does. For example, the new version of a car, a new bank account offer and a new home personnel computer are all examples of a product innovation. In comparison to a product innovation a change in the production process and machines used to manufacture the car or the home computer these examples are process innovations. Similar the example of the new bank account offer if this came up by changing procedures and sequencing in Continue reading