5 - Creating Worldwide Innovation and Learning

Question 1

What are the 3 key capabilities of businesses when it comes to innovation?

Answer 1

1. Sensing
2. Responding
3. Implementing

Question 2

What are the 2 classic processes of innovation?

Answer 2

Center-for-global and local-for-local innovation

Question 3

What is center-for-global innovation?

Answer 3

1. Headquarters senses opportunities
2. New products are created by the centralized assets and resources of the parent company
3. Implementing strategy is decided centrally and executed locally

Found in international and global companies

Question 4

What is local-for-local innovation?

Answer 4

1. National units sense local needs
2. Distributed assets and resources allow for local response
3. Local-for-local implementation

Found in multinational companies

Question 5

What are the issues associated with the center-for-global model of innovation?

Answer 5

1. Risk of market insensitivity
2. Imperialism
3. Competitive advantage of home market may fade
4. Resistance of local subsidiary management

Question 6

What are the issues associated with the local-for-local model of innovation?

Answer 6

1. Risk of duplication
2. Inefficient
3. Reinventing the wheel

Question 7

What are the 2 main factors of transnational innovation?

Answer 7

Locally leveraged and globally linked

Question 8

What does it mean for transnational innovation to be “locally leveraged”?

Answer 8

The special resources and capabilities of each subsidiary are available to other units as well.

Ex: Nokia’s Indian operations became a source of global expertise in mobile phone retail

Question 9

What does it mean for transnational innovation to be “globally linked”?

Answer 9

The resources and capabilities of many units are pooled to jointly create and manage an activity

Ex: P&G detergent used technology strengths from Europe, Japan, and US markets

Question 10

What are the 4 main barriers to collaboration and when do they occur?

Answer 10

1. Not-invented-here: Occurs when a seeker of help is unwilling because the innovation wasn’t created at their subsidiary
2. Hoarding-of-expertise: Occurs when a potential provider of help refuses because they want to keep their IP
3. Needle in the haystack: occurs when a seeker of help is unable to get it because they can’t find a source of assistance
4. “Stranger” problem: Occurs when a provider of help is unable to help because the units or people are unfamiliar with each other

Question 11

What are the major management levers to promote collaboration?

Answer 11

1. Leadership values and goals
2. HR procedures
3. Lateral cross-unit mechanisms including benchmark systems, experts, and connectors

Question 12

What are the 3 simplifying assumptions made about multinational enterprises?

Answer 12

1. Subsidiaries should be symmetrical
2. HQ-subsidiary relationships are based on clear patterns of dependence and independence
3. Corporate management exercises decision-making and control uniformly

Question 13

How does transnational innovation break the assumption of symmetrical subsidiaries?

Answer 13

Moves from symmetry to differentiation as demands for integration and responsiveness must be assessed separately for each business, function, and region

Question 14

How does transnational innovation break the assumption of dependence/independence?

Answer 14

Moves from strict dependence relationships to interdependence where an integrated network of dispersed and specialized resources and inter-unit integration mechanisms are created

Question 15

How does transnational innovation break the assumption of simple management control?

Answer 15

Moves from simple control to flexible coordination. There is a complex coordination of the flow of resources and knowledge following the formalization, centralization, and socialization process

Question 16

What is reverse innovation?

Answer 16

Developing a product for a market in an emerging economy and then selling that product in developed markets

Question 17

Why is reverse innovation important?

Answer 17

Many emerging markets are no longer small and have high growth rates
Local companies can enter developed markets with low-cost alternatives
Fixes glocalization’s problem of ignoring faster growing middle and lower-end customer segments in emerging markets

Question 18

What are the conflicting needs that make reverse innovation difficult?

Answer 18

Reverse innovation requires decentralization but centralized structures provide cost benefits that the business may need so the 2 models must cooperate

Question 19

How is the foreignness of a company becoming a liability in China?

Answer 19

Only 18% of Chinese university students want to work for a foreign company
R&D positions at Chinese companies tech companies are more attractive due to equal or greater benefits than foreign companies as well as better cultural understanding

Question 20

How is China’s strengthening IP policy impacting multinational enterprises?

Answer 20

China now has specialized IP courts which rule on disputes and may act more favorably toward Chinese companies
The number of patent application in China is rising which reduces the ability of a company to develop technology without infringing on some other rights

Question 20

Why are MNEs struggling with whether or not to share technology with China?

Answer 20

There is growing market pressure to transfer technology and conduct R&D in order to survive but transferring the tech makes Chinese competitors stronger so they may surpass youq

Question 21

In what way do Chinese companies have an advantage when it comes to transaction costs?

Answer 21

One of the biggest challenges for MNEs operating in China is transparency, predictability, and fairness of regulation. Chinese companies do not experience the same troubles because they have close relationships with government officials

Question 22

How is China impacting MNE feelings surrounding time to market?

Answer 22

China tends to have faster time to market, development cycles are becoming faster. Companies can no longer have strict internal processes or stringent quality standards that slow them down

Question 23

How can MNEs reduce the issue of the growing liability of foreignness in China?

Answer 23

Have adequate local faces in management positions
Reorient company culture to correct false perceptions about the ability of the Chinese to innovate

Question 24

How can MNEs reduce the issue of sharing technology with China?

Answer 24

Conduct more advanced innovation in China only if global operations can quickly and effectively respond to strong Chinese competitors

Question 25

How can MNEs reduce the issue of shortening time to market?

Answer 25

Becoming adept in “good enough” innovation to get a product to market quick
Reviewing culture and processes that result in faster TTM
Create shortened decision paths and faster experimentation cycles