Innovation management and new product development, 6th ed.

Abstract

The demise of Kodak is a sharp reminder to all firms, even great big ones, that success today does not ensure success tomorrow. The ability of firms to develop new products and services that people want will surely help them survive into the future. But precisely how should firms go about this? The Kodak case is even more remarkable because Kodak was the pioneer in digital cameras – the technology that, ultimately, led to its decline in income. So, in this case, it is not a lack of innovation per se but how it is used to deliver value to the firm and its customers. We are all well aware that good technology can help companies achieve competitive advantage and long-term financial success; just look at Google. But there is an abundance of exciting new technology in the world and it is the transformation of this technology into products that is of particular concern to organisations. There are numerous factors to be considered by the organisation, but what are these factors and how do they affect the process of innovation? This book will explain how and why the majority of the most significant inventions of the past two centuries have not come from flashes of inspiration, but from communal, multilayered endeavour – one idea being built on another until a breakthrough is reached (Johnson, 2010). In this book we see that many of the old traditional approaches to management need to change and new approaches need to be adopted. Increasingly, managers and those who work for them are no longer in the same location. Often, complex management relationships need to be developed because organisations are trying to produce complex products and services and do so across geographic boundaries. Cross-functional and cross-border task forces often need to be created.