Unit III: Managing Innovation:
Human and social capital management, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship,
strengthening the national innovation system.
1. Distinguish between innovation management and management innovation.
Innovation management refers to the overall process of managing innovation within an
organization, encompassing everything from generating ideas to implementing them and
monitoring their progress.
Includes activities like idea generation, selection, development, implementation, and
commercialization.
Management innovation, on the other hand, is a specific type of innovation focused on the
invention and implementation of new management practices, processes, structures, or
techniques to achieve organizational goals.
Involves the creation and implementation of new management techniques, such as new
performance evaluation systems, organizational structures, or decision-making processes.
2. Innovation management is equivalent to change management in an organization. Argue
for or against this statement.
While innovation can be a driver of change, and change management can be a crucial
component of successful innovation, the two concepts are not equivalent.
Not all change isinnovative : Implementing a new software program, for instance, might be a
change, but it's not necessarily an innovative one if that software is widely used elsewhere.
Innovation can occur without change management : A company can innovate within its
existing structure without needing to implement a formal change management process,
particularly if the innovation is incremental or doesn't significantly alter existing workflows.
Innovation can precede change : Innovation often leads to a need for change, but change
management can be required for various reasons, including strategic shifts, market
fluctuations, or even simply implementing existing best practices in a new way.
However,
Both involve transition: Both innovation and change management involve guiding individuals
and organizations through a transition from one state to another.
Change management facilitates innovation : A well-executed change management process can
create an environment where innovation is more likely to succeed by addressing resistance,
facilitating communication, and ensuring buy-in from stakeholders.
Innovation drives change: Innovation often requires organizations to adapt, leading to
changes in processes, structures, and even culture.
3. With the aid of diagrams, describe Rothwell’s 5 Generations of Innovation
1. Generation 1: Technology Push (1950s - 1960s)
Description: Innovation was primarily driven by scientific discoveries and technological
advancements. R&D departments focused on creating new technologies, and the market was
expected to adopt them.
Diagram: A linear model with R&D at the beginning, followed by production and then
marketing/sales.
Key Characteristics: Science-push, linear process, focus on technological capabilities.
2. Generation 2: Market Pull (1960s - 1970s)
Description: Innovation was driven by identified market needs and customer demands.
Companies focused on developing products that directly addressed these needs.
Diagram: A linear model with market research at the beginning, followed by R&D,
production, and marketing/sales.
Key Characteristics: Market-pull, linear process, focus on customer needs.
3. Generation 3: Coupling (1970s - 1980s)
Description: A more integrated approach that linked R&D and marketing. Recognized the
need for both technological advancements and market understanding to drive successful
innovation.
Diagram: A model where R&D and marketing are linked, with feedback loops between them,
and then followed by production and sales.
Key Characteristics: Integration of R&D and marketing, feedback loops, more complex
process.
4. Generation 4: Integrated (1980s - 1990s)
Description: Further integration of all business functions, including R&D, marketing,
production, and even finance. Emphasis on streamlining processes and improving efficiency
across the entire value chain.
Diagram: A model with a central core representing integrated business functions, with inputs
from Research and Development R&D, marketing, and production, and outputs going to the
market.
Key Characteristics: Integration of all business functions, process-oriented, focus on
efficiency.
5. Generation 5: System Integration and Networking (1990s - Present)
Description: Focus on open innovation, strategic partnerships, and system integration.
Recognizes the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing across organizational
boundaries.
Diagram: A network model with various interconnected nodes representing different
organizations (suppliers, customers, research institutions, etc.) and internal departments.
Key Characteristics:Open innovation, strategic partnerships, network-based, focus on
external collaboration.
2. What are the consequences of having only a partial view/understanding of the
innovation process? Give examples
3. The (Foster’s) S- curve is a famous tool used to model the dynamics of a technology.
With the aid of a diagram, briefly explain the different regions in the curve.
4. Describe the challenges of using the S-curve to analyze technology dynamics.
Fail ¿ Predict Emergence∧Impact : The S-curve doesn't tell us when a new technology will
emerge or how significant its impact will be. It only describes the trajectory of a technology's
performance once it's already in development.
Limitations of Forecasting: While S-curves can be used for forecasting, they are not always
accurate and may have limitations in predicting the exact timing and magnitude of
technological change.
Ignoring External Factors: The S-curve model often focuses on internal factors like R&D
and performance improvements while overlooking external factors like market dynamics,
user adoption, and policy changes.
Potential for Misinterpretation : S-curves can be misinterpreted as implying that a technology
will inevitably decline after reaching maturity, which may not always be the case. A new S-
curve can emerge, building on the foundation of the previous one.
Difficulty ∈ Defining Stages : Accurately defining the different stages of the S-curve
(introduction, growth, maturity, decline) can be subjective and challenging, especially in
complex technological ecosystems.
5. State the managerial issues that one might face when using S-curves to analyze
technological opportunities.
Difficulty ∈ gathering accurate data: Accurate S-curve analysis relies on reliable data about
past and current technology performance, R&D investment, and market adoption. This data
might not always be readily available, especially for emerging technologies.
Time∧resource intensive : Collecting and analyzing the data needed for S-curve analysis can
be time-consuming and resource-intensive, particularly for complex technologies.
Subjectivity∈interpretation: S-curve analysis can be subjective, and different managers might
interpret the same curve in different ways, leading to inconsistent strategic decisions.
Lack of clear guidance on investment decisions : S-curves don't provide a definitive answer on
when to abandon one technology and invest in another. Managers need to consider other
factors beyond the S-curve when making such critical decisions.
Strategic blindness: Managers might become overly focused on the S-curve analysis and
neglect other crucial aspects of strategic planning, such as competitive analysis, market
trends, and customer needs.
6. How can you use the S-curves to differentiate between incremental innovation vs
architectural/modular innovations? i.e. What are the typical ratios of the sources of
technological improvement?
S−Curves: S-curves represent the relationship between a technology's performance or output
and the effort or resources invested in it. Initially, progress is slow, then accelerates, and
eventually plateaus as the technology matures.
Incremental Innovation: This type of innovation focuses on small, continuous improvements
to existing technologies, products, or processes. On an S-curve, incremental innovation
appears as a gradual, upward slope as improvements are made within the existing
technological framework.
Architectural/ Modular Innovation: This involves changing the fundamental architecture or
modular structure of a product or system, leading to significant performance leaps. In terms
of S-curves, this can manifest as a steeper, more rapid increase in performance or a shift to a
new S-curve with a higher potential performance ceiling.
Ratios of Technological Improvement :
Incremental: The majority of the improvement comes from refining and optimizing existing
components and processes within the established architectural framework.
Architectural/Modular: A larger proportion of the performance improvement stems from
redesigning the product's architecture or introducing new modules that leverage new
technologies or system interactions.
Example: Consider hard drives. Incremental innovation might involve increasing the storage
capacity of individual disks or improving the read/write speed. Architectural innovation could
involve a shift to solid-state drives (SSDs), which have a fundamentally different
architecture.
