TIM Lecture 4

Question 1

Strategic intent

Answer 1

Strategic intent is the current point of view of a long term future that the company would like to create, that provides a strategic theme filled with emotion for the whole organization.
– “Where do we want to be in 10/15/20 years?”
– “What are the resources/capabilities necessary to get there?”
– “How do we get there?”
=>corporate & business strategy
This defines the baseline for innovation & R&D

Question 2

Innovation Strategy: main pillars

Answer 2

• Capabilities and resources
• Technology field, degree of innovation and type of technology acquisition
• Organization of R&D (centralised/decentralised )
• Markets and type of profit appropriation

Question 3

Innovation strategy framework

Answer 3

• Innovation strategy
• Innovation processes
• Innovation resources
• Innovation capabilities

Question 4

Resources for innovation

Answer 4

– Financial resources
– Human resources
– Technological resources: both tangible and intangible
– Marketing resources: ownership and value of brands & access to lead markets
– Organizational resources: routines, procedures and practices
– Networking resources: partners and level of trust within them

Question 5

Innovation capabilities

Answer 5

– Capability: organizational and managerial skills necessary to organize resources and deploy them strategically (intangible)

–Core capability: VRIN capability (sustainable competitive advantage)
Valuable, Rare (competitive advantage)
Inimitable, non-substitutable

– Innovative capabilities:
Searching, selecting, configuring, deploying and learning

– Dynamic capability: capability to purposefully create, extend, modify existing resource base and capabilities

Question 6

Resources and Capabilities

Answer 6

Resources/capabilities are difficult (or impossible) to imitate when they are:
– Tacit
– Path dependent
– Socially complex
– Causally ambiguous
– Protected by effective IPRs
– Unique by their nature (e.g., location)

Question 7

Innovation Strategy in practice

Answer 7

– Statements on the role of innovation in creating value and building sustainable competitive advantage
– Understanding of market trends and technological environment
– Articulation of the firm’s innovation ambitions and long-term
objectives
– Recognition of gaps
– Plans for developing and mobilizing resources

Question 8

Problems with technology push

Answer 8

– Focus on what can most easily be researched
– Scientists might be too focused on one particular solution to a problem (“their” solution)
– Possible mismatch between innovation ideas based on technology push and corporate interest

Question 9

Problems with market pull

Answer 9

– Focus on most easily identified needs (but with minor potential)
– Once a technical solution to the respective need is found, one may be too focused on this particular application
– Market is locked into present products and can only think of incremental improvements

Question 10

Four levels of innovation strategy

Answer 10

• passive
• reactive
• active
• proactive

Question 11

Innovation strategy in conclusion

Answer 11

Innovation strategy may be seen as “the use of innovative activity for the success of the company”
– Aims at fulfilling goals, gaps that come from higher-level strategies
– Makes use of the company’s resources, capabilities
– Transcends into how the firm should organize to profit from innovation and its approach to R&D
– Also provides guideline on how to execute the management of product and service innovation and the tools needed/to be used in this context