Interesting things about Innovation
CHAPTER 1
The Importance of Technological Innovation
SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTER
The purpose of this chapter is to set the stage for the course by establishing the importance of managing technological innovation strategically.
First the chapter overviews the importance of technological innovation for a firm’s competitive success and the advancement of society in general. The chapter points out that 1) many firms are relying on products developed in the previous three to five years for large portions of their sales and profits; 2) globalization has increased competition putting more pressure on firms to compete through innovation; 3) advances in information technology have enabled both process improvements and the efficient generation of product variants which facilitates the execution of a differentiation strategy at a reasonable cost; and that 3) the residual growth in the GDP can be attributed to technological change. Both the positive and negative effects of technological innovation are described. Advances in food production are an example of the first and pollution is an example of the latter. Next the innovation funnel is introduced to show students that on average 3,000 raw ideas must enter the funnel in order to arrive at 1 successful new product launch.
Gestione dell'innovazione 2/ed
Melissa A. Schilling Copyright © 2009 - The McGraw-Hill Companies srl
Second, the chapter discusses the risks and cost of innovation. On average, many more innovation projects fail than succeed. Firms are much more likely to be successful if they have a well-crafted strategy for technological innovation. The book is organized to follow the chronological sequence of developing and deploying a rigorous technological innovation strategy, leading the students through each of the primary aspects that should be considered. The final section of the chapter outlines the layout of the book, reviewing the contribution each chapter makes to our understanding of the innovation process.
The Importance of Technological Innovation
SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTER
The purpose of this chapter is to set the stage for the course by establishing the importance of managing technological innovation strategically.
First the chapter overviews the importance of technological innovation for a firm’s competitive success and the advancement of society in general. The chapter points out that 1) many firms are relying on products developed in the previous three to five years for large portions of their sales and profits; 2) globalization has increased competition putting more pressure on firms to compete through innovation; 3) advances in information technology have enabled both process improvements and the efficient generation of product variants which facilitates the execution of a differentiation strategy at a reasonable cost; and that 3) the residual growth in the GDP can be attributed to technological change. Both the positive and negative effects of technological innovation are described. Advances in food production are an example of the first and pollution is an example of the latter. Next the innovation funnel is introduced to show students that on average 3,000 raw ideas must enter the funnel in order to arrive at 1 successful new product launch.
Gestione dell'innovazione 2/ed
Melissa A. Schilling Copyright © 2009 - The McGraw-Hill Companies srl
Second, the chapter discusses the risks and cost of innovation. On average, many more innovation projects fail than succeed. Firms are much more likely to be successful if they have a well-crafted strategy for technological innovation. The book is organized to follow the chronological sequence of developing and deploying a rigorous technological innovation strategy, leading the students through each of the primary aspects that should be considered. The final section of the chapter outlines the layout of the book, reviewing the contribution each chapter makes to our understanding of the innovation process.