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Hakkarainen, Kari; Talonen, Tapani
2014 International Journal of Innovation Science
The traditional innovation process - consisting of a funnel coupled with project screening - suffers from several practical shortcomings and flaws. Overemphasis on the role of early stages, such as idea generation, overshadows subsequent phases of equal importance. The drive to feed as many ideas as possible into the funnel may cause congestion that slows down overall progress. Furthermore, the yield may be of low quality if ineffective gates allow too many infertile ideas to pass through the funnel. Processes may be inflexible and slow to react, especially if tied to the corporate planning calendar as often proposed. This is not to imply that these problems are inherent; they are instead the consequences of poor practices.The authors discuss the disadvantages and suggest an alternative to overcome them. The proposed approach is driven by strategic business options and also introduces additional benefits. It produces savings in sunk costs and prematurely tied-up capital. It contributes to effective and economical use of resources, because a company commits irrevocably to only one step at a time. Lastly, options enable, and by their very nature even demand, active and adaptive management.
Ortega, Salvael; Furr, Nathan; Liman, Erin; Flint, Caleb
2014 International Journal of Innovation Science
Rather than spend an inordinate amount of time and resources on planning what is inherently unknown and uncertain, socially-focused organizations like Panera Cares, Banco Davivienda, and Brigham Young University's (BYU) Design Exploration lab quickly map out their assumptions, run experiments to test those assumptions, and adjust their plans based on their learnings. In this article, we explain and expand on how organizations of all kinds (whether they be large corporations, social ventures, or government agencies) have bought into the idea of using innovation and experimentation for impact; and how despite recent advancements of design thinking on the social impact front, the actual implementation of innovative ideas remains elusive for many organizations. The article further presents a more systemic model for social impact innovation: social impact models, which provide one possible solution by enabling social ventures to achieve a more robust validation of their new- and not-so-new-to-the-world ideas by mapping and strategies by mapping out each assumption and iteratively testing them in the field. With this article, the authors seek to provide a practical process for how to apply the model, and how to avoid the most common illusory validation traps, which together would allow socially-focused organizations to more frequently succeed and deliver more impact with their endeavors.
Zhu, Fang-wei; Sun, Xiu-xia; Miller, Janis; Deng, Zhi-jun
2014 International Journal of Innovation Science
This article presents an advanced method for managing knowledge using a modular design approach and applied the approach through an example with computer manufacturing. The benefits of modularity are discussed both within and between companies. We find that through modular design, knowledge management systems are simplified and communication between modules is greatly improved. In addition, modularity makes parallel innovation possible, as well as, sharing innovative resources through collaboration. Modularity leads to effective knowledge sharing and thus stimulates knowledge-based innovation. A case study of the computer industry further demonstrates the effects of modularity in an industry. Finally, we suggest that enterprises should take advantage of modularity when they carry out knowledge-based innovation and the measures are developed to implement successful modularity.
Xue, Xiaolong; Zhang, Ruixue; Yang, Rebecca; Dai, Jason
2014 International Journal of Innovation Science
doi: 10.1260/1757-2223.6.2.111
The construction industry has been recognized for its conservatism and lack of innovation. In order to improve the success rate of construction innovation, the implementation of innovations within the context of construction has been discussed and developed. Literature in this area focuses extensively on construction innovation, and yet does not contain a systematic review. This paper looks to fill this gap by providing a systematic review of construction innovation. The review synthesizes the conclusions and shows the implementation of construction innovation. Collaboration, culture, innovation process, and drivers are identified as critical factors to improve the performance of construction innovation. Finally, the limitations of prior studies in construction innovation are discussed and recommendations made for areas of future study.
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