A Paper on the Market Pull and Technology Push Factors That Resulted in the Commercialization of the Post-It Notes.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Faculty of Business & Management: School of Business Administration
Management of Innovation Technology
CASE #2
“Innovation at 3M”
Name: Ronald McLeod (0908851)
Tutor: Mr. S. Whittle
3M Corporation takes pride in being a culture of innovation. I will be reporting on just one of 3M’s many innovative products the post-it notes. I will also highlight the market pull and technology push factors that were considered in developing the innovation. The key terms to be identified in this report are innovation, technology push, and market pull. Innovation refers both to the output and the process of arriving at a technically feasible solution to a problem triggered by a technological opportunity or customer need. Technology push describes a situation where an emerging technology or a new combination of existing technologies provide the driving force for an innovative product and problem solution in the market place. Market pull is the advancement of technology oriented primarily toward a specific market need.
Post-it notes are pieces of stationery with a re-usable adhesive strip on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. The release of post-it notes in 1980 in the United States was one that was not only innovative for its time but one which captured the needs of consumers in a whole new way. Post-it note became a big success for 3M and was adored by customers. The first and probably most important technology push that resulted in post-it notes is senior scientist Spencer Silver’s 1968 discovery of an adhesive that didn’t act like any others. Instead of forming a film, it is a clear, reusable and pressure-sensitive adhesive. For five years, Silver promoted his invention within 3M, both informally and through seminars, but without much success. In 1974 Art fry perceived the idea of coating the adhesive on paper. He soon realized that this technology would serve well as
Faculty of Business & Management: School of Business Administration
Management of Innovation Technology
CASE #2
“Innovation at 3M”
Name: Ronald McLeod (0908851)
Tutor: Mr. S. Whittle
3M Corporation takes pride in being a culture of innovation. I will be reporting on just one of 3M’s many innovative products the post-it notes. I will also highlight the market pull and technology push factors that were considered in developing the innovation. The key terms to be identified in this report are innovation, technology push, and market pull. Innovation refers both to the output and the process of arriving at a technically feasible solution to a problem triggered by a technological opportunity or customer need. Technology push describes a situation where an emerging technology or a new combination of existing technologies provide the driving force for an innovative product and problem solution in the market place. Market pull is the advancement of technology oriented primarily toward a specific market need.
Post-it notes are pieces of stationery with a re-usable adhesive strip on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. The release of post-it notes in 1980 in the United States was one that was not only innovative for its time but one which captured the needs of consumers in a whole new way. Post-it note became a big success for 3M and was adored by customers. The first and probably most important technology push that resulted in post-it notes is senior scientist Spencer Silver’s 1968 discovery of an adhesive that didn’t act like any others. Instead of forming a film, it is a clear, reusable and pressure-sensitive adhesive. For five years, Silver promoted his invention within 3M, both informally and through seminars, but without much success. In 1974 Art fry perceived the idea of coating the adhesive on paper. He soon realized that this technology would serve well as
References: http://www.innovation.lv/ino2/publications/leonardo_manual/en/www.innosupport.net/webhelp/wso/ind http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?77777XxamfIVO&Wwo_Pw5_W7HYxTHfxajYv7HYv7H777777-- ex.cfm@fuseactionlearnl_id4240pl_id3558.htm http://www.tu-harburg.de/tim/downloads/arbeitspapiere/Working_Paper_5.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-it_note http://www.3m.com/us/about3M/innovation/archive.html