Strategy shift: Integrating strategy and the firm’s capability to innovate (original) (raw)

Understanding the Strategy-Innovation Link in an Era of Disruptions

Technology Innovation Management Review, 2020

strategy from 2007-2017 and map to what degree and how innovation and strategy have been treated together in prior research. We identify themes covered in this research and reveal that the papers that link these research areas are extensively cited. Still, a lot of work remains to be done, and fusing core properties of strategy theory with recent ideas from innovation literature we believe is both obtainable and prudent at the present time. The structure of this paper can be described as follows. First, we present extant strategy and innovation management theory to highlight similarities and differences across these two bodies of research and pose our research question. Second, we explain the method applied in the search, review, and analysis of the reviewed papers. Third, we present the findings from our analysis of the extant body of literature addressing strategy and innovation. And, finally, we offer a concluding discussion with implications on future developments for research and practice. 2. Theory Going back to Schumpeter and the notion of 'creative destruction' (Schumpeter, 1949), the need for innovation

Strategy and Innovation

Elsevier eBooks, 2006

This paper explores organizational knowledge that is embodied in structures and executives by studying the relationship between the structural composition of units, the movement of executives between units, and the reconfiguration of those units. The 'structural composition' of a business unit includes its origin (as internally-developed, acquired, or a recombination of existing units) and its subsequent recombination history. Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm, we predict that executives will tend to move to units with similar structural composition. In addition, we expect that movement of executives with greater diversity of experience or specific experience with reconfiguration will increase the likelihood of subsequent structural change. The study tests these propositions in a sample of 250 firms in the U.S. medical sector over twenty years. We find that executives are more likely to be moved to units with similar structural composition, reinforcing the path dependent nature of intrafirm mobility. Units are more likely recombined that receive executives from internally-developed units, not necessarily executives with recombination experience. Finally, units receiving any executives from other units were retained, and those receiving executives from acquired units were most likely to remain unchanged. Together the findings highlight the influence of executives from core businesses.

Embracing Innovation as Strategy: Corporate Venturing, Competence Building and Corporate Strategy Making

Creativity and Innovation Management, 2005

Large diversified companies companies do not have good track records in managing discontinuous change and in turning breakthrough innovations into long-term growth and profit engines. Their existing technological capabilities tend to facilitate cognitive inertia, path dependency and low levels of experimentation. However, some companies seem to find a dynamic balance between exploitation and exploration, between path creation and path dependence. We focus on how these established firms manage that continuous change process, and more specifically we seek to answer how corporate strategy, competence building and new business development interact in rejuvenating a company. Furthermore, we investigate how these concepts are at play on an operational level by looking at corporate practices in large companies that have a track record of successful strategic rejuvenation.

Innovative Companies' Approach To Innovation Strategy

Muma Business Review, 2023

The novelty created by these two activities is a benefit that somehow affects profitability (Beckenbach & Daskalakis, 2013; Kaiserfeld, 2020). The point of difference between these two concepts is their operational capability. Although creativity and innovation both originate from the creation of new knowledge, innovation is the product of new knowledge that can be operationalized to change, improve, and optimize existing systems (Durst & Edvardsson, 2013; Kim & Pierce, 2013; Kabir, 2019; Nakao & de Andrade Guerra, 2021). This change, improvement, and optimization does not always mean extensive changes in technology; even a small change to improve service delivery is considered an innovation. Based on our literature analysis, companies must view innovation

Reconfiguring the Firm’s Assets for Innovation

Journal of technology management & innovation, 2020

The innovation process and the generation of sustainable competitive advantage are permanently on the agenda in technology management. According to Teece (2007), one way to achieve a competitive advantage is to develop dynamic capabilities, a process in which the author identifies three moments: i) to perceive and shape opportunities and threats (sensing), ii) to grasp the opportunities (seizing), iii) to increase, to combine, to secure and, when necessary, to reconfigure the tangible and intangible assets. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the strategic internal changes were introduced to influence on developing the innovation capability in order to sustain and expand the competitive advantages of the firm. To do so, a case study was carried out in a firm that work within the furniture sector more than 30 years and took decision to increase its competitive advantage by investing in product design, what created conditions for the development of new capabilities. Interviews were conducted using questions that allowed the respondents to freely express their experiences and perceptions about the changes that have occurred in their sectors as a result of this process and was possible to identify the intensity of reconfigurations in capabilities that resulted from the creation of the Design Center.

A Focused, Competitive Strategy through Innovation

Through the process of innovation, organisations create technological growth. Successful innovation creates customer value through new products and services, and it could give rise to new markets. Successful innovations contribute to better quality, higher productivity, lower costs and increased profits. One of the ultimate goals for implementing innovation is to achieve a competitive advantage that leads to outperforming competitors. Through the understanding of the innovation processes, organisations can bring predictability into their innovation efforts. This comes from understanding and managing the forces that influence the decisions made by managers. Because of globalisation and fierce competition Spescom DataVoice, a South African technology company, is finding it increasingly difficult to compete in an international market. It is against the background of Spescom DataVoice‟s need to increase its innovation productivity that this research was spawn. The ambitious goal of this study was to investigate what Spescom DataVoice can do to become sustainable, innovative and competitive in its market space. This research firstly captured the important themes and theories around the subject of innovation and how it relates to strategy. The literature study will try to look into all the important work, especially well-known research and its significance. Lastly, the research will apply the knowledge gained by discussing the research questions relating to Spescom DataVoice‟s particular situation. The research will discuss the innovation capabilities and perspectives that Spescom DataVoice should focus on; the environment that is needed for sustainable continuous innovation; and innovation strategies that Spescom DataVoice could employ to improve its innovation productivity.

Strategic breakthroughs as flagpoles of innovation process

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2016

This paper empirically investigates the innovation process, from ideation to market leadership. The focus is on the nature of innovation process, action-outcome linkage, and learning from the environment. Our conceptualization of the innovation process being a series of strategic breakthroughs is built on the experiences of Samsung Electronics in creating two world-class products: microwave ovens and semiconductors. Our findings demonstrate that the process of innovation progresses through the occurrence of four types of strategic breakthroughs: Entry, Platform, Springboard, and Leadership. Based on our analysis, we infer that the process of innovation is more predictable and controllable in its early stages, but turns random in the later stages. Our explanation for such behavior adds to the current understanding of innovation process. We also describe the role played by the external (environmental) and internal (organizational) factors in facilitating the emergence of strategic breakthroughs.