It is often believed that the most radical innovation comes from the entrepreneurial start-ups rather than the larger established companies. This is despite the encouraging examples of revolutionary products which have emerged from established firms, for example the Intel microprocessor, Johnson Matthey’s catalytic converter, the VHS video recorder and the Apple iPod to name but a few.
This report, produced by the Institute of Manufacturing, aims to help established firms make a cultural shift towards enabling breakthrough innovation.
It also addresses some of the barriers which might be hindering them from moving beyond incremental innovation. A finding of the report is that companies’ over-commitment to their existing customers’ ‘wants’ can stifle their ability to radically innovate and result in them missing out on emerging technological opportunities.
The guide identifies four key ways in which firms can create an entrepreneurial environment and support breakthrough innovation:
- Encourage greater risk-taking;
- Accept that failure of some radical innovation projects is a natural part of the learning process;
- Make it easy to achieve organisation buy-in;
- Develop innovative incentive programmes that give employees ownership of radical projects.
The report includes case studies of established companies including ARM, Philips, BT, Qualcomm and BAE Systems.
Read the full workbook:
Organising for breakthrough innovation: Rejuvinating the established firm, Dr Simon Ford and David Probert, IfM, 2011
Recommended by David Probert, post by R&D Today admin
