Process of Innovation
Why should firms invest in innovation?
Recent research shows that firms that can innovate have better performance than other firms, survive for a long time, and increase their profitability. Firms that innovate are more successful in marketing, finance, human resources, production, and research and development than other firms. In the information age, in which it is imperative to adapt to change and innovations rapidly, firms need innovation management practices to survive.
What are the major stages of the innovation process?
The innovation process consists of t major stages: (1) idea generation and mobilization, (2) advocacy and screening, (3) experimentation, (4) commercialization, (5) diffusion and implementation.
What is the major characteristic of a robust firm?
Firms that has defined and well-built innovation processes perform better in developing creative products than others. These firms are defined as robust firms. It is practical to realize innovation in robust firms. These firms use fewer resources to innovate.
What are the main characteristics of brittle organizations in the idea generation and mobilization stage of the innovation process?
-
Employees are unsure about what constitutes an idea.
-
Need and pressure are used in inappropriate situations.
-
Idea sources are limited in range and scope.
-
Idea generators are unclear about how to communicate ideas.
-
The value of ideas is often not recognized.
-
Sources and idea flow is unmanaged.
-
Rewards are lacking for good idea generators or recognizers. •Idea hoarding may be present, limiting mobilization.
What are the main characteristics of brittle organizations in the advocacy and screening stage of the innovation process?
-
Employees are nervous about sharing ideas because evaluation is unclear.
-
Little feedback, support, or constructive criticism is available.
-
The processes to share ideas are limited.
-
Evaluation process is unclear and subjective.
-
Egos play a large role in idea evaluation.
-
Focus is on short term impact and revenues, or local context.
What are the main characteristics of robust organizations in the experimentation stage of the innovation process?
-
Resources are in place for experimentation.
-
Process is defined and sanctioned
-
Adoption of external ideas is valued.
-
Documentation of process contributes to the organization.
-
Failure is part of the process, not an endpoint.
What are the main characteristics of robust organizations in the idea generation and mobilization stage of the innovation process?
There are guidelines and processes to standardize stages of idea generation
-
An ‘idea’ is defined.
-
There are multiple venues to identify ideas.
-
Procedures are defined to evaluate sources.
-
There is a wide range of defined idea sources.
-
Idea sources are connected across departments, geography, and authority ranks.
-
Idea sources are focused on the most likely or useful areas for the organization.
-
Idea generators and those involved with mobilization interact with stakeholders.
What are the main characteristics of robust organizations in the advocacy and screening stage of the innovation process?
-
Organizational and customer considerations are clear to advocates.
-
Possible ideas are broadly communicated.
-
There are numerous avenues to advocate for ideas and find supporters.
-
Standards for evaluation are articulated and communicated across the organization.
-
A clear, conscious shift towards evaluative objectivity is made.
-
Evaluation is as transparent as possible.
What are the main characteristics of brittlet organizations in the experimentation stage of the innovation process?
-
Structure and definitions are nonexistent.
-
It is difficult to customize existing experimental processes to a current need.
-
Documentation procedures do not exist.
-
Failure, risk, and resource expenditures are emphasized.
What are the main characteristics of brittle organizations in the commercialization stage of the innovation process?
There are isolated or internal processes.
- Weak evaluation of market trends decreases the likelihood of success.
There is one hit wonder syndrome.
- Ideas are not evaluated against market demands or service scope.
- Control is loose and uncoordinated..
- Failure is considered the end of the process..
What are the main characteristics of robust organizations in the commercialization stage of the innovation process?
- Public forums are utilized.
- Consumers are involved.
- Benefits are articulated and documented.
- Centralized unit manages this process.
- Commercialization is controlled and objective driven.
- Market response feedback is given to experimenters.
What are the main characteristics of robust organizations in the diffusion and implementation stage of the innovation process?
- The whole organization is targeted.
- Existing initiatives are incorporated.
- Realistic objectives are established.
- Unlearning is understood and prepared for.
- Values and culture are emphasized.
- Social networks are utilized.
- Customer segmentation is established.
- Technology is used for communications.
- Failures are evaluated and considered for further stages or processes.
What are the main characteristics of brittle organizations in the diffusion and implementation stage of the innovation process?
- There is a lack of dialogue.
- Objectives may be arbitrary.
- Old processes persist and unlearning is slow and not encouraged.
- Change is not obviously in line with existing values or culture.
- External stakeholders are disregarded.
- Technology is not fully supported.
- Failure is an endpoint.
During the idea generation, should the firms develop completely new ideas?
Idea generation is the creative process or procedure that a firm uses to figure out solutions to any number of difficult challenges. In this process, there are existing ideas that can be a source of innovation. Ideas in the process need not always be completely new. Often, existing ideas or some processes can be changed and renewed.
In which stage of the innovation process is an idea transformed from raw form to mature form?
Not every new idea is put into practice. The advocacy and screening phase allows us to evaluate an idea and understand its potential benefits and problems. It makes it easier for us to make decisions about the potential of the newly created idea. In this process, ideas are transformed from their raw form to their more mature form. Unnecessary parts of the idea can be discarded or improvements can be made in this process. If the idea has potential, different opinions can make the idea grow.
What are the things should firms pay attention while institutionalizing the new ideas so that they will pass the advocacy and screenin stage with our any damage?
Firms that want new ideas to pass this stage without damage should institutionalize this process. While providing this, firms should pay attention to three things. First, there should be processes where employees can advocate for a new idea and receive feedback to develop it. Second, the firm should create an organizational culture that is open to new ideas and ensure that managers are not biased towards innovations. Third, the advocacy and screening processes should be designed in such a way that ideas are evaluated transparently and impartially.
Which stage of the innovation process does cover feasibility testing?
[Experimentation] This stage is a feasibility study. If innovation is a product, its prototype is made. Innovation must be offered as a service or product and have a commercial value. Otherwise, ideas cannot progress. Ideas that have commercial value or can be commercialized are sustainable. Tested ideas are evaluated for suitability in a particular context. The experimentation process is more costly than the first two stages. The prototypes can sometimes be difficult for the firm to create in terms of resources. Also, the first version is always the weakest product. Therefore, the proposed innovation must have a high potential in the long run to pass this stage.
What are the major points that needs to be taken into consideration during commercialization process?
There are some points to be aware of in the commercialization process. The first is that firms tend to overestimate the potential of their products. This overestimation should not be mistaken and the commercialization process should be operated well. This process will prevent unnecessary resource consumption. Another important point is that managers should know the process well and have a plan for every situation. Finally, the next stage should not be initiated before the product is fully ready.
What are the characteristics of Laggards according to the diffusion of innovations theory?
Laggards – This group doesn’t like innovations. They tend to keep the products they use unchanged. It is the most skeptical group. They do not switch to a new product unless they have to. It is assumed that this group corresponds to 16% of the individuals in the society.
What are the key factors for success in the implementation of innovation process?
As a result of the research on the implementation of innovation, some key factors for success in the process have been identified. The first of these is the policies developed by the firm in order for the application process to work well. For example, the training that the company gives its employees to implement innovation, the level of technical knowledge of the employees, and practices such as rewarding for the use of new products are included in these policies. The second factor is that employees have a perception that innovation practice is important. In other words, it is the organizational climate that will support the implementation of innovation. Managers are very important in this process. Therefore, the support of managers is the other factor. The fourth factor is the availability of financial resources. The application process is costly. The other factor is the firm’s ability to learn. Learning organizations are more successful in innovation. The last factor is long-term perspective and planning. It will take a long time for a good innovation idea to pass the whole process and become successful.