Perspective: The Innovation Dilemma: How to Innovate When the Market Is Mature

Most companies have ambitious growth goals. The trouble is there are only so many sources of market growth. Markets in many countries and industries are mature and increasingly commoditized; achieving growth in market share is expensive; and acquisitions often do not work. For most companies, product development means line extensions, improvements, and product modifications, and only serves to maintain market share. Markets aren't growing, so firms increasingly compete for a piece of a shrinking pie by introducing one insignificant new product after another. The launch of a truly differentiated new product in mature markets is rare these days. As a result, development portfolios have become decidedly less innovative since the mid‐1990s, and R&D productivity is down. The answer is bold innovation—breakthrough products, services and solutions that create growth engines for the future. This means larger‐scope and more systems‐oriented solutions and service packages. Examples such as Apple's iPod are often cited. (Note that Apple did not invent the MP3 player, nor was this opportunity in a blue ocean; in fact there were 43 competitors when Apple launched!) What Apple did succeed in was in identifying an attractive strategic arena (MP3s) where it could leverage its strengths to its advantage and then to develop a solution that solved users’ problems. The result—an easy‐to‐use, easy‐to‐download MP3 system, which also happened to be “cool.” Our benchmarking studies reveal that five vectors must be in place to undertake this type of innovation to yield bolder and more imaginative development projects. First, develop a bold innovation strategy that focuses your business on the right strategic arenas that promise to be engines of real growth. Most businesses focus their efforts in the wrong areas—on flat markets, mature technologies, and tired product categories. Break out of this box towards more promising strategic arenas with extreme opportunities. Next, foster a climate and culture that promotes bolder innovation. Leadership is vital to success. If senior management does not have the appetite for these big concepts, then all your efforts and systems will fail. Senior management plays a vital role here in promoting an innovative climate in your business. Next, create “big ideas” for integrated product‐service solutions. The best methods for generating breakthrough new product ideas are identified in this paper. Then drive these “big concepts” to market quickly via a systematic and disciplined idea‐to‐launch system designed for major innovation initiatives. Just because these projects are imaginative and bold is no reason to throw discipline out the window. In fact, quite the reverse is true. Finally build a solid business case and focus on the winners. Most innovation teams don't get the facts, and consequently build weak business cases; the result is that many worthwhile innovations don't get the support they need to be commercialized. It's essential to do the front‐end homework, and so build a compelling business case. Then make the right investment decisions—evaluating “big concepts” for development when little information is available. Note that financial models don't work well when it comes to evaluating major innovations, because the data are often wrong. But other methods can be used to make these tough go/kill decisions. Illustrations and examples are provided from many industries and companies to show how to implement these five vectors.     

Vertical Enclosure: Vertical Integration and the Reluctance to Purchase from a Competitor

Vertical integration can reduce integrating firms' trading opportunities and, contrary to predictions of two-firm models, this loss of trade can make integration unprofitable. If downstream units must commit to suppliers before contracting on the final terms of trade, then suppliers will have ex-post monopoly power. This monopoly power reduces the quality that an integrated supplier will provide to its competitors. Expectations of this quality reduction can prevent firms from purchasing from an integrated supplier even though the supplier would be better off if it could commit to provide its downstream competitors with sufficient quality to retain their business.     

树立形象 打出品牌--上海新七浦市场运作高招叠出

做 生意图的是赚钱，在投入了 相应的人力、物力、财力后，争取获得利润的最大值无疑是商家追逐的目标。问题是，机遇往往是与风险并存的，要想马到成功，心想事成，唯有凸显自身优势，树形象，打品牌，才能促进效益提高，这方面上海新七浦服装市场运作给了我们有益的启迪。 由上海新七浦投资发展有限公司投资兴建的新七浦服装市场，投资总额高达2.3亿元人民币之巨，堪称大手笔。虽然这一投资项目因涉及旧区改造，马路市场入室，繁荣区域经济，振兴都市型的海派服装等方方面面，得到了当地政府的大力支持和享受了各项优惠政策，利好消…     

When are technologies disruptive? a demand‐based view of the emergence of competition

By identifying the possibility that technologies with inferior performance can displace established incumbents, the notion of disruptive technologies, pioneered by Christensen (1997), has had a profound effect on the way in which scholars and managers approach technology competition. While the phenomenon of disruptive technologies has been well documented, the underlying theoretical drivers of technology disruption are less well understood. This article identifies the demand conditions that enable disruptive dynamics. By examining how consumers evaluate technology and how this evaluation changes as performance improves, it offers new theoretical insight into the impact of the structure of the demand environment on competitive dynamics. Two new constructs—preference overlap and preference symmetry—are introduced to characterize the relationships among the preferences of different market segments. The article presents a formal model that examines how these relationships lead to the emergence of different competitive regimes. The model is analyzed using computer simulation. The theory and model results hold implications for understanding the dynamics of disruptive technologies and suggest new indicators for assessing disruptive threats. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我是怎样当好经理的

我是2000年4月担任上海申威达机械有限公司常务副总经理的。当经理,对我来说是一种新的尝试,新的挑战,既有压力,也有动力。当经理,说难也不难,无非是要抓好三件事:市场是否抓牢,人是否用好,管理是否到位。但要当一名好经理并且是工作出色的经理,并非是一件轻易举的事。 有的人说,当经理很忙,我     

中集公司启示录——一个世界级企业如何崛起

中国刚刚加入世贸组织,一个仿佛突然冒出来的企业,在我国经济生活中,掀起了一个相当强劲的冲击波.这个企业就是中国国际海运集装箱(集团)股份有限公司.     

如何开好管理评审会

企业建立质量体系后应进行管理评审,它既是企业最高管理者履行的重要职责,也是对质量体系运行效果的一次全面验证,是体系运行中不可缺少的重要的质量活动。我公司从1996-06-04通过中建协质量体系认证中心的质量体系认证后,每年至少召开一次管理评审会,至今已经召开了8次管理评审会,对公司质量体系的优化、运行质量的提高起到重要作用。公司最高管理者对管理评审越来越重视,为管理评审会开得一次比一次成功提供了先决条件。其中,1999年在迎接复评审核的前后,就召开了两次管理评审会,对公司顺利地通过复评审核和体系文件的进一步优…     

How to become a top business-to-business marketing scholar

Leading academics in business-to-business marketing were asked to reflect on their careers and to provide advice for doctoral students and early-career academics. Contributors responded to four broad, open-ended questions on this subject: what worked for them in their careers, what did not work, what were the dilemmas they encountered, and what overall advice would they give to junior researchers starting their academic career. This editorial distills the comments and reflections of the contributors into a collective wisdom, organized around the four interview questions, which combine to form a rich set of guidelines for early-career academics.     

印刷从业者如何成为财富的主人

财富的积累意味着社会的进步、企业的发展.实践证明,只有用与时俱进的创新理念,才能在勤劳致富的基础上更快、更多地创造财富.纵观印刷业的发展,财富的积累无不与观念更新、诚信经营、注重无形资产及重视人才等方面有关.     

How combinations of TRIZ tools are used in companies – results of a cluster analysis

Many engineers and natural scientists in companies are using tools directly or indirectly related to the theory of inventive problem solving (abbreviation derived from the Russian title: TRIZ) by Altshuller (1984, 1996) . Some of the TRIZ tools are based on the application of condensed technical knowledge, others are special techniques for directed creativity. The usage of TRIZ and its tools should lead to improvement of efficiency within the innovation process as well as to more and smarter problem solutions.
More than 40 reported applications of TRIZ in companies show that usually not the whole set of TRIZ tools is used. This is surprising, because in the original TRIZ literature all the tools are recommended for usage in a classified order named ARIS (Russian acronym for 'algorithm for inventive problem solving'). A cluster analysis of the applications reveals that there are three subsets: (i) basic TRIZ, (ii) resource and ideality-based TRIZ, and (iii) substance-field based TRIZ. This leads to important consequences: TRIZ training and TRIZ implementation should be structured according to the three subsets.     

如何加强对项目部资金控制

文章针对项目部管理的失控问题,阐述了如何对项目部资金进行控制,并提出了若干建议。     

资质认定实验室如何设置监督员

本文根据实验室资质认定（计量认证）评审准则和本单位资质认定的要求，就实验室设置监督员时应着重注意的几个方面进行了阐述。     

Vertical Alignment Between Hospitals and Physicians as a Bargaining Response to Commercial Insurance Markets

The relationship between physicians and hospitals has dramatically changed over the last decade, with the employer–employee model supplanting the traditional model of private physicians with hospital admitting privileges. We examine the motivation for this form of vertical integration by considering physician–hospital alignment as a tool to increase bargaining power with private insurers. We find a positive and significant relationship between private insurance concentration on physician–hospital alignment, which is driven predominantly by for-profit hospitals.     

怎样当好计量认证评审组长

水利系统共有 85个通过计量认证的质量检测机构。其中 ,每年有 2 0个质检中心需进行评审 ,另有 2 0个质检中心需进行中检 ,如何组织好评审和中检 ,评审组长是一个关键。陈华康同志 (原长江科学院副院长 )是老评审员 ,有丰富的评审经验。为了今后进一步把评审工作搞好 ,现将他 2 0 0 0年 8月在北戴河水利部计量办公室召开的评审员会上的发言予以刊登 ,供广大计量工作者学习和参考     

论房地产企业如何面对房地产信贷改革

中国人民银行颁布的《关于进一步加强房地产信贷业务管理的通知》，给房地产行业带来了新的问题和风险。主要表现在金融链条收紧，融资渠道变窄，行业竞争加剧。房地产企业应怎样应对，怎么改革?章提出了推进金融产品创新拓展融资渠道，把握市场定位和完善行业管理体系等建议。     

如何发挥审计实施方案在项目审计中的指导作用

<正>审计方案是为顺利完成审计任务,实现预期审计目标,在实施审计前对审计工作所做的计划和安排,审计方案在审计项目质量控制体系中起着"龙头"作用。要发挥审计实施方案的计划、指导作用,关键     

如何做好化工设备进口通关工作

义马煤气化工程利用澳大利亚政府贷款6300万美元,其中约3788万美元为引进设备费用。笔者从事该工程进口设备管理工作,在实践中体会到做好化工设备进口通关工作,必须重视以下环节。 一、建立健全通关工作执行机构 由于进口设备通关工作涉及专业多、时间跨度大、政策敏感性强、善后事宜多等,因此,必须有一个健全的执行机构进行组织保证。设备通关工作涉及专业较多,成立机构之初,应适当吸收外贸、机械、电气、仪表、管理等专业人员参加;由于设备通关时产生的问题可能会影响到以后设备的运行,因此机构里应有固定人员自始至终参加,以对其间产生的问题有一个完整的了